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I became a legion lich

Fantasy 53 Chapters 57.7K Views

Author: victoralr

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Synopsis

Athos has always had a happy life. Loving parents, talent from birth, a bright
future awaited him. But what will he do when all this is taken from him? When the
world he knew is torn apart in front of his eyes? How far will he be willing to go
for revenge? And what will he have to sacrifice for that?

Chapter update schedule: 6 chapters per week

I am not the owner of the cover. If the breeder wants me to take it down, please
contact me.

Parents Strongly Cautioned

Chapter 1

Athos Savage has always grown up admiring his parents' work. He was born with a
weak body that constantly needed care not to get sick. But luckily was born as the
son of the only alchemist in the small border town of Faltra, which allowed him to
have an almost normal life thanks to the constant treatments that received from
parents.

His father Robert Savage was praised as a good and honest man who sold potions
cures and treated illnesses at reasonable prices, never trying to make more money
than you should about your products.

His Mother Agatha Savage was a former adventurer who decided to retire when she got
married with your father. She became a botanist who helped her father and together
they maintained the only potion shop in town. She was kind like her father, but she
was strict about her his upbringing and whenever he did something wrong a solution
was always a good spanking.

His parents always told bedtime stories of adventurers, knights and wizards
legendary. But Athos would always reply that he preferred to be an alchemist and
help people like the father. He was the greatest hero in their eyes.

His parents were always smiled when he said that, thinking it was just the dream
passenger of a child, but as Athos grew he became more and more time in her
father's shop watching everything he did.

The selection of ingredients, the preparation, the tools used, the mixtures and
even were finally ready. Athos had learned the basics of alchemy the knowledge of
their parents. And a week after turning 9 Athos decided to put your knowledge to
the test.

*****

Late at night at the Savages' house, a small shadow moved stealthily across towards
the potion brewing room while making the most of your concealment to avoid getting
caught tampering with your father's lab.

Athos knew the most important part was not getting caught trying to make a potion
or they would never let him near the lab again. they can only stay knowledge of
what he did after the work was done.

His parents would still be mad at him after tampering with the lab without
permission and he would probably still take a beating from his mother, but in his
head it was worth it for him to prove that he could already make potions.

After arriving at the laboratory, Athos silently took the only ingredient that To
make the simplest potion of all: the minor healing potion.

"hum...here! A flower petal of light!" Athos said while using the tools of the her
father and ground the petal into a white goo, then split the goo into a small pot
of water half full and put it to boil.

He turned on the only magic furnace in the house and watched closely until it
vaporized all. Then he turned off the fire and waited for it to cool with crossed
fingers.

"Come on... come on, it has to work!" Athos cheered softly as he waited
impatiently. After it cooled down and Athos saw the milky white liquid in the pot
he could not contain his excitement and shouted:

"IT WORKED! IT REALLY WORKED!!!" Athos shouted in the middle of the night as he
took the proof of his success and ran towards his parents' room.

"DAD! MOTHER! WAKE UP, WAKE UP SOON! I DID IT!!" Athos said while invaded her
parents' room.
"What's going on? Are you okay son?" Asked his father half confused and half still
sleeping.

"Why are you screaming at this hour Athos?" Said his mother angrily as she dropped
the hatchet hid under the bed.

"It worked, look, I made a potion!" Athos said with his best smile as he placed the
prize in front of her eyes, hoping it would lessen her anger his mother when she
realized he went through his father's things.

"What??" They both said at the same time.

"Look, it's true, I managed to-" Before Athos could finish speaking, his father
interrupted in concern.

"I don't care! I want to know if you got hurt! You if burned did? Son, Why did you
do that?" Yelled his father, as he looked for any sign of burn on Athos' hands,
arms and face.

"Well, I wanted to prove that I could make potions dad! You never let me do it! I
thought that by doing that you would let me help you!" Said Athos trying to
justify.

"Look Athos it's not that we don't want your help, but, you have to understand that
you only 9 years old, what kind of parents would we be if we let you mess with
potions at that age?" said his father gently as he scolded him.

"I know dad, but I got tired of having to stay in the store doing nothing, if I at
least helped father at work would be less boring." Athos said with a tone of sad
voice.

His parents always worried about him and even when he stayed at the store he could
only observe and at most help his mother take care of the plants in the greenhouse.

"Wait son I've been ignoring this until now but, did you really make a potion
alone?" said his father after the worry had passed his curiosity led to best.

"Yes, I got it the first time just watching you!!" Athos cheered up again while
displaying the potion to his father.

"Well let's see..." said his father in a tone of disbelief not believing he could
make a potion without help.

"So? how was it?" asked his mother.

"..."

"Hey, why the silence? Say something! Is the potion useful or not?"

"...It's amazing" his father muttered in disbelief. "It's a minor healing potion,
just like the potions I make! It has no difference with the potions I sell in the
shop. "

"What? How is that possible?" his mother said.

"Athos how did you make that potion? I'm sure I never taught you how to do it."
Said his father as he looked into his eyes.
"I just copied what dad does, it's easy." Said Athos as he shrugged.

"Amazing, just amazing! Does love know what that means?" asked his father with the
same enthusiasm as a child in the park.

"That your potion is so easy to copy that even a child can do it?" said your mother
with a raised eyebrow.

"Gaah… no! That means our son is brilliant!" Said your father half embarrassed that
his potion was easily copied.

"That means I can start making potions now doesn't it?" Said Athos, he was so happy
you could almost see stars shining in his eyes.

"Just a minute son." Said her mother in an oddly gentle tone as she holding his
shoulder, Athos knew what that meant and it gave him goosebumps.

"Wait, I can explain!" Said Athos while trying to free himself, but without
success.

"No, you've explained enough to me. You sneaked into the laboratory your father,
used the ingredients without permission, and used the magic furnace to make the
potion, even though your father and I said it was forbidden to stir. Did I forgot
something?" Said your mother, while counting on her fingers how many times he
disobeyed her and how many beatings he would take it.

"You forgot the part where I succeeded." Said Athos in a proud tone.

He already knew he was going to get beaten up, but he wanted to get out of it with
dignity.

suddenly a vein it jumped on her forehead and her eyes were like a dead fish.

"Yeah, I forgot about that part. What do you think about us testing how effective
this is potion?" said his mother with a crooked smile as all Athos' bravery faded
and he trembled in front of her like a rabbit in front of a wolf.

For the rest of the night, his mother insisted on teaching Athos the consequences
of moving in your parents' things.

Chapter 2

The next day, Athos woke up at almost noon. Even though he slept late, he still
feels like crap when he woke up.

"I shouldn't have teased Mom yesterday. I can still feel her slapping me, but at
least I confirmed the success of my potion and Dad promised he would start teaching
me alchemy today." Said Athos as he grabbed a sandwich from the kitchen and joined
his parents at the store.

His house had two floors, the first being the shop and laboratory and the second
the bedrooms. His mother's greenhouse stayed in a small warehouse in the backyard.
"Look who finally decided to wake up, forgot he was going to start his studies
today?" Said Agatha sitting near the shop counter. In a backward city like Faltra
where the only source of light came from the sun or torches and lanterns, people
were used to waking up early. Sleeping until noon was like missing half a day's
work.

"If you hadn't hit me so hard that I needed to use my potion, I wouldn't have slept
right now." replied Athos sullenly.

"If you hadn't messed with your father's lab, I wouldn't have hit you in the first
place!" Agatha countered as she started to get annoyed.

"But-" Before Athos could set the firewood on fire, his father appeared from behind
to stop the fight.

"What's going on here and why are you two fighting already?" Asked Robert in an
exasperated tone.

"He/she started." They spoke in unison.

"For God's sake, how can you fight so much being so alike?" Robert said in
exasperation.

"Love, you know that using potions consumes energy and Athos' body is weaker than
usual, it's only natural that he slept a little longer."

"And Athos, your mother is also right. You tampered with my laboratory without
permission and were punished for it. Let this be a lesson to you, understand?" Said
Robert seriously as he looked into his eyes.

"I understand." said Athos.

"Great, now you must still be hungry, right? One sandwich isn't enough for someone
who skipped a meal. Go back and eat right, I'll wait for you in my lab for your
first alchemy class." said Robert when he returned to his usual gentle tone.

After Athos went up to the kitchen, his mother brought up a subject that had been
bothering her for some time.

"Whenever I talk to Athos we fight, he never listens to me, but he listens to you.
He always gives me a sharp answer, but when it's you he just obeys." Said Agatha a
little wistfully. "You know I feel like you're a lot better at this than I am."

"Did you just realize this now?" said Robert in disbelief. This was something so
painfully obvious that it had never crossed his mind that his wife didn't know
about it.

"Hey, you were supposed to deny it you know!? Why do you think you're better than
me??" She replied annoyed at how blunt his answer was. His surprised face and the
speed with which he responded only served to piss her off even more.

"You're bossy, short-tempered, easily irritated and your mood varies so much that
if I didn't know you better I'd think you're bipolar." Robert said while counting
one by one his biggest flaws. "Athos only teases you because he knows you will
respond and yell back.

"I on the other hand try to act like an adult and stop the discussion."
"That's not true! I-" Agatha was about to deny it, when she remembered the previous
discussion. "Damn it! You're right, I end up acting like a child when I talk to
him."

"Yes, but that just proves how similar you two are, you know?" Robert said with a
playful smile. "Angry mother begets angry son of course."

"Okay! But I'm still his mother, he shouldn't answer me like that." Said Agatha not
wanting to lose the argument.

"Of course, because no child answers their parents." Robert said in a sarcastic
tone.

"Well I wasn't-" The words died in her mouth as she reminisced about her past. From
her childhood where arguing with her parents was routine until her adolescence when
she ran away from home to become an adventurer.

"You're right." She sighed. "Athos is just like me when I was a kid. I just don't
know how to deal with him."

"One thing at a time dear." Robert said as he gripped her shoulders. "You just need
to talk without fighting, to realize how similar you are. How about you teach Athos
botany too? That way you'll have a moment alone and without fighting."

"Love, that's great!" Agatha said with a bright smile. "But do you think he'll have
any interest in botany?"

"Botany is a subject closely related to alchemy, so I'm sure it is. And even if he
doesn't want to, I can convince him to go."

Before they could continue they heard the door open and a customer.

"Okay, I'll go back to my lab, let Athos meet me there as soon as he comes down."

******

After eating quickly Athos went downstairs and went straight to the laboratory.

"Hey wait son!" yelled his mother before he could walk right past her.

"Hm? What is it? If it's about me waking up late you've already fought with me,
it's not worth fighting again!" Said Athos trying to approach the laboratory door
to ask for help just in case.

"No, it's not about that. I just wanted to know if you want to learn about botany
too. Learning about plants is critical to becoming a skilled alchemist after all."
His mother said without ever turning to look at him.

She was eager to spend some time with her son, but she didn't want to be the first
to give in.

After receiving only silence for several seconds, she couldn't take it anymore and
turned to face him.

He was looking at her in shock, wondering if he'd misheard or if it was just a ploy
to make him let his guard down.

"Hey, why are you making that weird face?" Said Agatha.
"No, it's just that you never ask me anything, you just give me orders, so I didn't
know how to react." Athos replied still suspecting that it could be a trap.

Agatha had to take a deep breath to calm herself and not respond to the
provocation. After a long second she asked again: "So? Do you accept it or not?"

"Of course, I was going to ask Dad if he could teach me about botany too, but if
you can do it for me it would help me a lot Mom." replied Athos.

"Perfect! Now go to your father's lab before he gets tired of waiting." Agatha said
with a triumphant smile after getting what she wanted.

After Athos entered the laboratory he quickly locked the door behind him.

"Athos what are you doing?" his father asked confused.

Athos approached him before whispering, "Father we have a serious problem. I think
the mother has been replaced by a shape-shifting monster."

"What? Why do you think that?" Robert asked even more confused by the absurdity.

"You might not believe it, but just now she asked what I wanted without trying to
order me around! I even tried to provoke her and she didn't even react! I'm sure
she's a copycat monster!" Athos said with a serious tone.

"Pfff! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" After that, it took some time for Robert to stop laughing and
explain the whole situation to Athos.

Chapter 3

"So, it was just the mother wanting to spend more time with me?" Athos asked.

"That's right son. Your mother doesn't know how to be honest, so try to take it
easy on her, ok?" Said Robert with a wry smile on his face.

"OK." Athos replied.

"Great! Now let's start class." Robert said with an expectant look. "First, show me
how you made the potion last night."

Athos obeyed his father, showing him step by step until finishing the potion.

"There! It's the same as you do, isn't it?" Athos asked in a smug tone.

"Yes, it's the same as what I do." Robert sighed. "And that confirmed my
suspicions."

"Um? What suspicions?" Athos asked confused.

"That you have no idea what you're doing." Robert answered brusquely. "You just
copied what I did, but you didn't learn anything from it."

"It's not true! I learned from you-" Athos tried to refute, but was prevented from
continuing.
"So tell me, why do you need to use a flower petal of light? Why do you need to mix
it with water for the potion to work? Why does it need to be boiled and not just
mixed?" Robert asked.

"Eh...I, I don't know." Athos was stunned. Only now did he realize that he didn't
know what he was doing, he was just copying what his father did.

"Alright Athos, that's exactly what I'm going to teach you. After all, this class
would be useless if you already knew everything, wouldn't it?" His father asked.

"Well, let's start with the method you used to create this." Robert took the potion
from his hand as he spoke. "It's called extraction. Everything in this world has
mana and that includes plants. The problem is that every living thing has a unique
type of energy."

"Our bodies reject any energy other than our own or the pure world mana. That's why
we alchemists created this method to be able to harness the magical properties of
plants and the like without being poisoned by their energy."

"By mixing it with water and vaporizing, the water obtains the healing properties
of light flowers without their energy signature." At this part Robert paused and
looked at Athos to make sure he was following along.

"Why does water do that?" Athos asked confused

"Because when you boil a petal of light next to water, it makes it fall apart and
the light element mixes with the water." Robert replied. "Something more?"

"What happens if I use a fire flower petal then?" Athos asked curiously.

"In that case you would create a minor fire resistance potion." Robert replied
seeing that Athos had no more questions he decided to continue the class." And that
brings us to the next topic: potion ratings."

"As you've noticed, potions have different ratings: Minor<Medium<

Major<Special<Elixir. Keep in mind that certain types of potions can deviate from
these ratings, these types of potions are all classified as unique."

"What's the difference between them? And what are unique potions?" Athos asked.

"Let's use healing potions as an example. A minor potion can only heal minor cuts
and bruises, just like we used on you last night.

The middling potion can heal more serious wounds and is primarily used to stop
bleeding and dislocations.

The larger potions can heal any wound except loss of organs or limbs.

The special potion can regenerate lost limbs or organs.

And lastly, the Elixir can heal any wound, no matter how serious, except death."

They all have the side effect of draining the person who took them of energy and
nutrients, causing tiredness and hunger. And how much unique potions are like the
antidotes to specific poisons that cannot be classified.

"Does the same apply to other elements?" Athos asked still trying to assimilate
everything his father said.
"Yes, but in the case of resistance potions it just increases the amount of damage
resisted until it becomes near immunity in the Elixir." Robert replied. From the
look of confusion Athos was making he felt that he might be rushing things too
much.

"Sorry son, I think I got carried away and said too much. Want me to come back and
explain again?"

"No, I was just wondering how I make better potions, is it just using more
ingredients? Or is there something else?" Athos asked.

Robert was once again surprised by Athos' intelligence and curiosity. He hadn't
even started to learn the basics and was already thinking about how to do advanced
alchemy.

"Son, don't put the cart in front of the horses. I'll teach you step by step how to
make not only potions, but everything I know related to alchemy. But for now let's
stick to the basics ok?" Robert said.

"Alright dad, let's just do the basics then." replied Athos despondently. He really
hoped to quickly progress through alchemy and skip the basics.

Sensing his son Robert's sudden lack of interest, he decided to lift the spirits.
"Come on, don't be discouraged now, we're getting to the good part. It's time for
some practice."

"That's it! Finally the good part!" Athos's mood lifted in an instant at those
words.

"Fine. Now sit next to me and let's get started." His father pointed to the chair
next to him as he grabbed some ingredients from the cupboard.

For the rest of the day Robert taught hands-on how to create simple potions and mix
the right ingredients for potions with better effects. They continued to practice
until after dark when Agatha broke into the lab and invited them to dinner.

"Hey, you guys plan on staying in this lab until what time-" She was about to
complain about being late when she caught a pungent smell coming from theirs. What
Robert forgot to take into account when they started practicing is the strong smell
that came from the various boiling ingredients.

"For God's sake, what a horrible smell! what have you guys done here to stink so
bad??" She complained as she walked away in search of fresh air.

"Sorry about that love, I didn't take into account the odor that would be left in
the laboratory after trying so many different potions-" Robert tried to apologize a
little embarrassed, but was interrupted by Athos.

"Dad, you only taught me so far because I asked, it's not fair for you to apologize
for that. You can let me take over from here." Athos in a serious tone as he waved
his hand for him to move away, as he took a step forward.

"No, wait a minute! I have a bad feeling about this-" He sensed that Athos was
about to do something bad and tried to stop him, but Athos was quicker.

"Mom! I learned a lot from Dad today! How about a hug to celebrate?" Athos asked
with a mischievous smile as he stretched out his arms dirty with more ingredients
than he could count and immediately ran into his mother's arms.
"Get out of here you little sewer mouse!" screamed his mother as he ran through the
house with Athos close behind. She'd always hated the stench of that lab, and the
thought of touching those filthy god-knows-only hands wasn't pleasant at all.

"My God, those two really never change." Said Robert wryly while rolling his eyes,
before joining the family "joke".

He joined his son in pursuit and together they cornered Agatha against the wall.

"Don't resist mom, you have nowhere to run!" Athos said before throwing himself at
her in a bear hug.

"Sorry honey, but you know I never turn down a family hug." Attacking her from the
other side.

Cornered, she found herself with no choice but to surrender. "Damn it, do what you
want! But I'll make you regret it later!" She said as she let herself be hugged by
the two smelly alchemists, but that she couldn't help but love.

Chapter 4

After the little run at home, everyone went to clean up for dinner.

"God, I still can't believe you two smeared me with- what was that goo on you?"
Agatha asked irritably as she set the table.

"It was a little bit of everything. I planned to teach Athos the basic potions
during the week, but he learned so fast that we almost finished everything today.
The smell was only "a little strong" because of the mixing of ingredients." Robert
responded as he helped her.

"I think your nose has already stopped working if you call that putrid stench 'a
little strong'. How did you not feel it?" Agatha asked with a slight eagerness just
to remember.

"I couldn't call myself an alchemist if I let a bad smell stop me." Robert puffed
out his chest with pride as he answered.

'I think it's not just his nose that's the problem.' Agatha thought.

"I'm done! Is dinner ready yet?" Athos burst into the kitchen and interrupted their
conversation.

"You took your time son. And yes dinner is already on the table." Robert said.

Athos quickly sat down at the table while Agatha served the dishes. But before he
could eat, his mother stopped him.

"Hey, you forgot to thank God before you eat again! How many times do I have to
remind you of that?? You should thank Eishin before every meal!" Said Agatha
fighting him.

"Okay, okay. Mister Eishin, thank you for the meal," Athos had long ago given up
trying to fight his mother when it came to religion, so he tried to change the
subject. "So what's for dinner?"

"Today is stew." Agatha replied dryly. She never liked her son's lack of
appreciation for his religion.

They spent the next few minutes eating in silence. Everyone at the table wanted to
say something to lighten the mood, but they were always at an impasse when it came
to church.

'Damn, whenever I think they've taken a step forward something like this happens.
If I don't do something to lighten the mood now, they'll be like this for days.'
Robert thought quickly.

"Honey, I talked to Atos about botany classes and he agreed to learn from you,
didn't he, Athos?" said Robert.

"Eh? Are you serious son?" Agatha asked, quickly getting excited.

"Well, you know a lot about that and Dad will already be busy teaching me about
potions, so I think it's good to learn from you." Said Athos shrugging his
shoulders.

"You're right! It would be too much for your father, wouldn't it? So you can leave
it to me!" Agatha said with a huge smile and totally motivated.

'Why do I have a bad feeling about these classes?' Athos can only swallow the bad
feeling after seeing how happy she was, Athos can only smile and wave.

"About this son, I've thought about it and I think you should learn more than just
potions." Robert said looking into his son's eyes. "I intended to wait until you
were older, but I believe that as soon as you finish learning about potions and
botany, I can start teaching you how to deal with poisons and monster parts as
well."

"What? What do you mean, Dad?" Athos was surprised by his father's change.

"Yeah, what do you mean Robert?? He's only 9 years old! Are you crazy to teach a
child something as dangerous as dealing with poisons?!" Agatha slammed her fist
into the table as she screamed. She couldn't believe the nonsense she was hearing.

Robert knew when she called him by name it meant trouble, but losing his composure
would be even worse. He steadied himself and quickly explained himself.

"Love, until yesterday I would also have thought it crazy to teach Athos about
poisons, but what he showed me today was far beyond what I expected. Athos' ability
and speed of learning is something I've never seen before. He absorbed everything
like a sponge.

And most importantly, he was always extremely careful while making potions. Always
avoiding silly mistakes and not feeling ashamed to ask for help when I didn't know
how to proceed. I truly believe that with me around, he can learn about poisons."
Robert tried his best to convince her that Athos could handle this, but it had all
gone in one ear and out the other.

"I don't give a damn if he's ready for this or not! He's too young to be dealing
with poison and you know it!" At that moment Agatha got up and started walking
slowly towards him.
"Of course we're not going to start practicing right away! I just wanted to make it
clear that under supervision we could include lessons on poisons as well." Robert
also got up and started circling the table always making sure to be on the opposite
side of her.

'I would like to take classes on how to prepare poisons, but the mother is very
furious at the moment and I don't want to be the next in line. It all depends on
you, father!' Athos thought, rooting for his father internally, but made a point of
circling the table too, staying in his blind spot.

"But what if he gets it wrong? Or he tries to go behind our backs like he did last
night??" Agatha was already imagining worst-case scenarios and that only made her
walk faster.

"That's exactly why I want to teach him! To be there and instruct him when he
messes with dangerous things and not take any risks doing it behind our backs!"
Robert stopped walking and stared at her showing how serious the matter was." We
both know he's inherited your temper and with his intelligence, it won't be long
before he learns everything we have to teach.

"It's better to teach him at once than to risk him breaking into our room again,
only this time holding a paralyzing drug instead of a healing potion." Robert
pointed to the son who was still trailing behind her.

Agatha turned and glared at him for a few seconds before sighing. "Okay, you're
right. I can easily see him walking into the middle of the night grinning ear to
ear with a pot full of poison."

"Does that mean I can study how to make poisons too??" Athos said trying to run
away, but she grabbed him by the back of the head and lifted him in the air as if
he weighed nothing.

"BUT! I have some conditions! First: you are prohibited from handling anything
related to poisons without your father's supervision. Second: This must not
interfere with other classes. Learning how to deal with poisons has to be an
addition to yours learning, not a hindrance."

She paused to take a deep breath before holding her son's face and saying, "And
third, you have to promise me that you'll be very careful when doing this."

"Okay, I promise!" Athos said.

Something was telling her that he was going to ignore all her rules and do whatever
he wanted, but it was too late to go back.

"Perfect. Now Athos, we'd better go to sleep before she changes her mind." Robert
signaled him to leave and he promptly complied.

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" she asked a while after Athos had left.

"No, there's no way to know if that was the right choice or not." Robert said in a
gentle tone. "What I can be sure of is that now, if anything happens I'll be there
to help."

******

The next few months passed uneventfully. Athos learned about potions and botany
when there were no customers in the shop and about poisons and how to extract the
right parts from monsters after the shop closed.
Athos was learning more and more and had already completed all the learning about
intermediate potions to the point of creating his own.

He had started to work actively in the shop making and selling his own potions.

Athos felt better with each passing day. He needed the potions less and less to
stay healthy.

Chapter 5

In the middle of the night, the savage house was awakened by a child's cries of
pain. Robert and Agatha woke up startled and ran to their son's room.

But what they saw when they arrived was different from what they imagined. There
weren't any bandits attacking him or anything like that that could threaten him.
Athos lay on the bed as a whirlwind of world mana swirled around him.

"Hey Robert, what's going on??" Agatha asked in panic as she tried to get closer to
her son, but the mana that surrounded him made it impossible for her to get close.

"Shit! This shouldn't happen! Not like this!" Robert on the other hand tried to
remain calm and quickly understood what was going on.

"Hey, can you tell me what the fuck is going on here!? What's going on with my son
and how do I stop it?" Agatha grabbed her husband by the collar and demanded that
he answer.

"That's not going to be possible. We can't stop it from happening." Robert said
still stunned by the amount of energy that had built up in the room.

"What do you mean you can't stop it? He's clearly suffering! If you know what it
is, do something!" She was already crying, not knowing what to do.

"There's nothing we can do. He's just forming his own mana core after all..."
Robert whispered to himself, but because of the close proximity of the two Agatha
was able to hear.

"Hey, what do you mean forming the core? It shouldn't be like this, much less so
early! I only formed my core when I was 11, I just had a fever and my body glowed a
little." Agatha recalled her own experience with the formation of the nucleus and
did not understand why the formation of Athos was so violent.

"That's because you only formed a common core. Athos is special. Remember the
potions Athos takes to keep himself stable?" Robert asked.

"Yes, I remember, but what does that have to do with it?"

"They are called mana control potions. They help regulate the mana in one's body
and are mostly used by young mages who still can't quite control their spells."
Robert took her shoulders and calmly explained.

"Wait, that's impossible! There's no way Athos can have his mana deregulated,
because he doesn't have mana to begin with! His core is just forming now." The more
she listened, the more confused she became. She was so bewildered that she only
noticed Robert leading her out of the room when he closed the door behind them.

"That would be true if it weren't for his rare condition. He was born with an
unusual body capable of attracting the world's mana even before it formed a core.
That's why Athos needed mana control potions to circulate and filter world mana and
not allow it to form a nucleus prematurely." Robert paused in the explanation to
allow her to take in everything he said.

"How can you keep it hidden from me all this time? I always thought he just had a
weak body and the potion was just a medicine to help and now you come to me with
this one??" Panic and helplessness quickly turned to anger at her husband for lying
to her.

"Because I know that if you knew of Athos' condition, you would think of him as
some kind of prodigy and try to get him to train mana control, possibly forming his
core prematurely and killing him in the process!" Robert spoke brusquely hurting
her deeply. But at the moment he couldn't care less about it. He was also scared
and helpless, feeling unable to help his son when he needed it.

He fell to his knees on the floor, feeling the world spin around him." I failed
him. I should have known something was wrong when he started using potions less and
less, but I was so happy with his improvement that i ignored it something so
obvious." He said through tears.

Seeing her husband's state and how much anguish he must have felt keeping that
weight to himself, her anger seemed meaningless to her. She slapped herself across
the face to compose herself and help him to his feet.

"Let's not stay here crying. Is there anything we can do for him?"

"No. There's nothing we can do about it now. Even the mana control potion would be
useless now and we can't approach him without getting caught in the mana
whirlpool." At this point Robert looked down at the floor, but Agatha spoke before
he could moan.

"No, you're wrong about that. There is something we can do for him." She said
resolutely "We can be there for him."

She opened the door and got as close as she could before screaming. "ATHOS! THIS IS
YOUR MOTHER! I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT, SON! I'M HERE WITH YOU! I SWEAR THAT IF YOU GIVE
UP, I WILL HIT YOU SO MUCH THAT EVEN MY GRANDCHILDS WILL HAVE THE BRAND!"

Robert was speechless. How could she make jokes at a time like this? Not, she was
the one capable of doing something like that.

"My God, what a stupid thing to say. But it's just like her it's." Robert spoke
cynically, but soon realized he had stopped crying. The world was no longer
spinning and he found the strength to get up again.

"ATHOS! YOUR FATHER IS HERE TOO! YOUR FAMILY IS HERE! HAVE STRENGTH SON!" He
started screaming too, to show his son that he was not alone.

*****

Athos had never felt so much pain in his life. Every time his core tried to form,
mana would build up in his chest, only to be overwhelmed by the excess energy and
scattered randomly throughout his body.
Every time this happened Athos screamed in pain, feeling as if boiling oil flowed
through his body. The world's energy was expelled from the body only to be
reabsorbed in a seemingly endless cycle.

Athos even tried to drink the mana control potion he kept close by for emergencies,
but he didn't have the strength to do so. Unfortunately, even if he took the potion
in his current state he wouldn't be able to stabilize. The potion was only able to
control mana flow to a level that the body deems "normal". Now with the body
actively drawing in the world's energy, there was little to no effect from the
potion.

Amidst all this pain, Athos' mind was starting to fade. He was still fragile-minded
and unaccustomed to pain, this whole sudden ordeal was too much for him.

When Athos was about to faint, he could hear his mother's voice in the distance. At
first it was just a background noise, but as time passed and his father joined the
chorus, slowly but surely, Athos began to regain consciousness.

He didn't have the strength to open his eyes, but it helped him. The lack of one of
the five senses helped him discover a newly acquired sixth: the mana sense.

He could feel how his core was unsteadily trying to assume a spherical shape, but
the excess energy caused him to warp and expel the energy back. He noticed that
every time his body spasmed or moved for some reason, the energy in his body moved
accordingly.

Athos couldn't move, nor did he have any experience in manipulating energy, so he
did the only thing he could still do: breathe.

When the energy was expelled from the core, he took a deep breath, puffing out his
chest and absorbing even more energy. When the energy reached the extremities of
his body he exhaled, releasing all the excess at once. The sudden burst of mana
surprised both parents and threw them against the wall, but it served its purpose.

The mana blast left Athos' body with nothing to absorb for a few seconds, but it
was enough. Athos opened his eyes suddenly and exerting all the strength he could
muster took the potion he kept under the bed and drank it.

With no energy to absorb and under the effects of the mana control potion, his core
quickly stabilized, before the world energy returned.

Chapter 6

Athos passed out the moment his core became stable. Despite all the willpower he
displayed, the stress was too great for both his body and his mind. Even though he
had managed to reduce the damage suffered by the energy discharges, his body still
suffered severe internal and external damage, which if left untreated could lead to
death.

"Damn, what was that?" Her parents were still stunned from the blow, but thanks to
her mother's superior physique, she quickly recovered. As an ex-adventurer, she was
already used to blows like this.

"ATHOS!!!" She immediately rushed to her son's body fearing the worst. She hugged
her son's soft body and shivered as she felt the pool of blood forming. She quickly
laid her head on his chest to check his pulse.

Alive. He was still alive, but not for long. her heart was beating weakly and
slowing with each passing second.

"ROBERT!!! The healing potions, quick! He's still breathing, we can still save
him." Agatha screamed at the top of her lungs, snapping Robert out of his stupor.

"Yes, of course! Hang in there son, I'll be right back." Robert ran to the lab and
brought all the potions he knew he would need. He returned soon after and took off
Athos' clothes. Both gasped in horror at what they saw.

Athos' skin was torn with muscles and bones exposed. Blood oozed from open wounds
as spikes of broken bones protruded from the sternum. His ribs were fractured and
even at a

glance Robert could see from Athos's pale expression that he was bleeding
internally.

"Quick, make him drink it all! Breathing gets weaker by the second." Agatha rushed
her husband, never stopping to check her son's vitals.

Robert nodded and lifted his son's face slightly, before making him drink a
superior healing potion. At the same time he spread two intermediate potions on the
exposed parts.

"Why didn't you use the best ones on everything?" Agatha asked doubtfully, not
understanding his actions.

"I did this because healing the internal organs is the priority and I don't believe
Athos has enough energy to heal everything at once." He cheered when he saw that
both potions worked. "Yes! Luckily, no organs were destroyed to the point where a
special potion was needed."

They could see with the naked eye how the bleeding stopped and pieces of bone fell
back into place. Robert then took a mysterious potion and made Athos swallow it.

"It's a nutrient bomb." He answered before she could ask. "The healing process is
very demanding on the body and these potions help cover the cost. It's easy to
ingest so it's something used on unconscious patients in big cities."

Athos' complexion visibly began to improve. The metabolism accelerated by the

potions absorbed everything, recovering some of the lost blood. Even so, by the
time the potions wore off, Athos' skin still hadn't healed leaving much of his body
raw.

"I can't administer more potions without endangering his life. Even if I gave him
more nutrition, the shock and stress on the body could still kill him." Robert said
with eyes full of regret.

"And what do we do now?" Agatha asked in anguish.

"We will clean his body carefully and bandage it. The wounds can become infected if
left untreated."

*****

Even with the constant care of the parents, it took a week for Athos to wake up. In
the meantime, her father temporarily closed the shop due to "family problems".
Neither of them had a mind for anything other than taking care of their son.

Agatha took care of him 24 hours a day, leaving only when she needed to go to the
bathroom or eat. She feared that the moment she took her eyes off him something bad
would happen again. Robert needed to mix tranquilizers into her food just to get
her some rest, but even then she refused to leave Athos, side by sleeping on his
side of the bed.

Robert wasn't doing much better. During the 3 days he used everything he knew to
try to cure Athos. He was able to regenerate his skin back to normal and his body
has recovered to the point where there are no visible wounds. He even called a
church priest to use healing magic, but there was no result. He felt helpless and
helpless and it scared him.

As an alchemist and researcher the unknown was exciting. But as a father, seeing
his son unconscious and not being able to do anything filled him with dread.

What none of them knew was that Athos' problem was not physical but magical. No
diagnosis would point to any problems, simply because there weren't any. After
Athos passed out, his body began to absorb energy again, but as the core was newly
formed, it was still not able to strengthen itself, forcing the energy to circulate
through the body.

Your bones, organs, muscles, blood, skin, even your hairs are slowly, but surely
being strengthened. The magical energy nourished his body in the same way that
training and cultivation would, but it put his body into a comatose state until his
core became able to store energy.

****

"Um... did I fall asleep?" Agatha wondered, waking up suddenly beside Athos' bed.
"Isn't Robert here? He must have gone out to get something to eat-" She wasn't able
to finish speaking.

Athos, which until then had not given any reaction, was moving. It was something
subtle and hard to notice, just a small movement of the eyes, but it was definitely
there. All sleep, tiredness and hunger disappeared from her mind in an instant.

She watched with a sinking heart as Athos slowly opened his eyes. He looked around
with unfocused eyes, apparently in confusion, until he caught her. She saw herself
reflected in his eyes, she had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep and
looked a little thinner from lack of food.

But she was also smiling one of the happiest smiles of her entire life, as hot
tears of pure happiness welled up in her eyes.

"Mom...? Why are you in my room? Am I late for your class again?" Athos said in a
weak, husky voice. He tried to get up, but Agatha was faster.

"ATHOS!!!!!!!" She jumped on him hugging him with all the strength she could
muster. She cried loudly like a baby feeling like a weight had been lifted from her
chest. "I was so scared of losing you! Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"GAHAH! Wait, this HURTS! Help I can't breathe, someone help!" Athos begged for
help, feeling suffocated.

Suddenly the door is broken down and Robert bursts into the room.
"What is happening!?" Robert had heard his wife crying and ran to the bedroom.
Seeing her crying over her son's motionless body made him assume the worst. Then,
when he catches Athos' gaze, he rushes to join the embrace, turning the
asphyxiation into a strangulation.

"I... I will die again..." Those were the last whispers of Athos before giving up
and letting himself be crushed by the embrace.

Chapter 7

It took some time for his parents to calm down enough to let him go. The first to
do this was his father, realizing that it wasn't the best of ideas to crush someone
who had just woken up.

"Can you release me soon?" Athos begged red as a tomato for the absence of air.

"Sniff…sorry son, it's just that seeing you wake up filled me with joy and I
couldn't help myself." Robert apologized as he wiped his tear-fogged glasses.

"Yeah, you worried us a lot you know? You slept for a whole week." Agatha said
still clinging to her son.

"One week? Why did I.…? Urk!!" Athos suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, as the
memories of all the pain he had gone through came flooding back.

He began to shake uncontrollably as he struggled, searching for wounds that weren't

there.

"Athos, calm down! It's over, you're healed, the pain is over." His mother grabbed
him by the wrists and forced him to stop, afraid he would hurt himself. At the same
time she desperately tried to calm him down, but to no avail.

"Son, look at me! Just me. It's okay, you're safe now." Robert held his face with
both hands forcing him to look him in the eyes. He spoke slowly and calmly, so that
Athos could understand him.

As he repeated soothing words, the shaking began to subside and he stopped

resisting his mother's grip. Taking the chance, Robert made him drink a
tranquilizer, not taking even 2 minutes for Athos to sleep.

"Phew. How did you manage to calm him down?" Agatha asked as she checked her vitals
to confirm that Athos was just sleeping.

"I studied alchemy in the town of Clastro before coming here, remember? The church
presence is weak there, so healing and treatment is mostly done by alchemists. We
are trained to care for patients, not just brew potions."

Robert sighs before continuing. "I didn't want him to fall asleep right after he
woke up, but it would be dangerous if he stayed in that state. The sedative was
supposed to just make him relax, but his mind was so messed up that he ended up
sleeping.

Their conversation died there. They were no longer worried about whether Athos
would wake up or not, but what they would do when he woke up. Luckily for them,
Athos only slept for 15 minutes before waking up.

This time they didn't jump on him, but gave him room to breathe.

"Son, how do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere?" Agatha asked cautiously, ready to
immobilize him in case he had another attack.

Athos took a few deep breaths, trying to keep calm. After a few seconds he raised
his head and said:

"... I'm hungry." His stomach roared with impeccable timing, as if in agreement.

"Hahh." Agatha sighed, all the tension leaving her body. "Let's get something to
eat, I'm starving too."

****

After his parents brought him something light to eat, they began to argue about his
condition.

"So son, how do you feel?" asked his father.

"Weak. I don't feel any pain, but I'm having trouble moving." Athos answered
honestly as he opened and closed his hand.

"Well, that's to be expected. You took a lot of nutrients to heal and even though
your mother and I fed you a liquid diet, you're still skin and bones.

It was only then that Athos realized his condition. He was always a skinny kid, but
now he looks malnourished.

"You know what happened to me? I know I formed my core, but why was it so painful?"

Robert then spent the next 15 minutes explaining to him what happened.

"And that's what happened. I still don't understand why you passed out for so long,
but that can wait. For now, can you feel the mana through your body?" Robert asked
curiously if his unique condition would interfere with his abilities.

"Hey, love Athos has just woken up. It's impossible for him to-" His voice trailed
off as she noticed a faint glow on Athos's body.

"That's how it's done?" Athos asked, unaware of how absurd his actions were.

"What? How can you already manipulate mana? It takes months just to feel it!"
Agatha exclaimed in shock.

"Really? When my core was forming I felt like something was flowing through my
body. It's pretty cool." Athos felt better just by circulating the mana through his
body. He closed his hand and tried to focus the energy on it, but nothing happened.

"Hmm? I can't get the mana to concentrate in my hand. It just spreads all over my
body and doesn't obey me." Athos frowned in concentration, but nothing happened.

"Well, that's obvious son. It's amazing enough that you are able to feel your core
and release mana through your body without any training." Said Agatha with a wry
smile. "You need to focus your will on the core and make it flow to your hand. Thus
you see?" She showed a slightly glowing hand.
She was just trying to show off, but when she saw him close his eyes and raise his
fist in front of his face, she started to get lively.' It's impossible for him to
do it, isn't it? It took me months to do this. He'd be a monster if he got it the
first time.'

She waited anxiously while he concentrated, but soon the glow on his body
disappeared.' Well, of course that would be the result. Even so, I must
congratulate him on that-' His thoughts were interrupted by the faint glow on his
hand.

"Thus, isn't it? "He asked with a smug smile.

"Okay, have you two finished the measuring contest yet?" Robert asked with a hint
of jealousy in his voice and a raised eyebrow. As someone unable to feel his own
core, the demonstration in front of him was like rubbing salt into his wounds.

"Love, stop being grumpy and let's celebrate! Don't you realize how amazing our son
is? If we train him right, he can become a great adventurer in the future! Or maybe
even a knight!" Agatha was elated as she imagined her son's bright future.

"I don't know if this is a good idea." Robert didn't share her enthusiasm. "Being
an adventurer is a risky job where you face unknown dangers around every corner.
Athos is a child raised at home, not used to violence. I don't think he can get
used to fighting."

"What? Are you kidding me? Can't you see how talented he is? He has a great future
ahead of him, it's our duty as parents to nurture him." Agatha said confused by his
lack of enthusiasm.

"I know that, but it's also our duty as parents to look out for his safety.
Besides, his dream has always been to be an alchemist. If we think about the
future, I'm sure I earn a lot more money than all the adventurers in this city. ."
Robert said trying to convince her, but it proved useless.

"I'm not talking here! With a talent like his, he can become a famous adventurer
even in big cities. Being able to earn rivers of gold coins, much more than he
would earn as a nameless small-town alchemist." Agatha said, immediately realizing
the mistake she'd made.

"An unnamed alchemist like me? "He asked quietly.

"Love, I-" She tried to apologize, but he got up and left without listening to her.
He stopped in front of the door and spoke without turning around.

"Starting tomorrow I'll open the shop again. We'll resume classes as soon as Athos
recovers. And about Athos' training. I won't oppose anything as long as he wants
to. It's his life we're talking about after all. " He left the room soon after.

Agatha was rooted to the spot, thinking about the bullshit she'd said and what she
could say to fix it.

Meanwhile, Athos was still sitting on the bed with his eyes closed and his fist in
front of his face, apparently concentrating.

'Damn, I should have left when they started talking about me, but I was afraid
they'd drag me into the mess. If I leave now, it will only make things weirder. Be
like the air, be like the air.' He thought praying that the mana didn't run out so
he wouldn't blow his cover.
Chapter 8

The next few days passed peacefully. Learning was put on hold until Athos fully
recovered, which allowed him to fully focus on practicing mana manipulation. Which
wasn't much, as his core was still in the early stages, he could only practice for
25-30 minutes before he wore out. But while the effect lasted, he would be
stronger, faster, and have better reflexes.

Another thing he discovered was that his body could passively regenerate mana by
absorbing it from the environment. According to his mother, it should take at least
4 hours for the core to fully recover, but Athos could do it in 30 minutes. He
could also actively absorb energy from the environment, but it required a lot of
concentration which made him forget about his surroundings.

Finally, he also learned to use the mana absorbed in the environment to further
increase his physical reinforcement, but this came at a price. Boosting his body
with more mana than he was able to handle caused muscle tension and if used for too
long could damage the muscles.

When he told his parents about the abilities, they were shocked at the unusual
abilities he had. Her mother was mostly envious of her ability to passively absorb
energy saying that when she started training, she only lasted 15 minutes before
getting exhausted.

She spoke openly with him, helping as best she could, but she never mentioned the
training again. She seemed to be conflicted about whether or not to bring it up
again. His father, on the other hand, remained completely neutral. He wasn't able
to feel his own core, so he couldn't assist; He also didn't mention training,
leaving the decision to his son.

This placed Athos between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, he really liked
the feeling of using mana. The feeling of strength he got every time he used it was
intoxicating; And the support she received from her mother every time she asked for
help also helped.

On the other hand, he really couldn't see himself facing monsters or bandits. The
idea of having to constantly fight for life and being able to die at any moment was
unsettling. He'd heard stories of adventurers who bought potions at the store and
they were spooky. Nothing about glory or rivers of money, but about dangers and
deaths. In comparison, life as an alchemist seemed boring and monotonous, but
infinitely safer and more stable.

He agonized over what to do until he decided to seek advice from the smartest
person he knew who appeared to be neutral.

"Dad, are you busy?" Athos entered the laboratory asking.

"Athos? You can talk, I'm done here." Robert dropped the tools he was using on the
table and turned to look at his son.

"I was just asking for advice, actually. I'm not sure if I should train with mom or
not. I like to use mana, but I don't know if I want to be an adventurer. Before I
dreamed of being an alchemist because I don't I had another option. I couldn't
fight with a weak body, so I always took it for granted that I would have to be an
alchemist.

Now, there are so many possibilities that I don't know what to do. I may be an
adventurer, but it's risky. I may be a knight, but the idea of spending a lifetime
serving a noble doesn't seem the least bit pleasant. I may be an alchemist, but it
seems monotonous. What should I do?" Athos breathed, relieved to be able to share
that weight with someone.

"..."

"Um? Why are you silent?"

"No, it's nothing. I'm just... surprised. I thought you were just playing with a
new toy, but you're really thinking things over. You really act like an Athos
adult." Robert said surprised at his son being worried about the future.

'Athos really is different from other children. Not only is he smart, but he
worries about things like no child should. Even I, at his age, didn't give a damn
about those things.' Robert thought.

What he didn't know, is that Athos only became this way because of them. Athos did
not have much contact with other children, always talking to the adults around him.
He spoke like an adult because it was the only way he knew how.

"So what do you think I should do?" Athos asked.

"Son I think you should do what you want. Regardless of what you choose I'm sure
you will succeed." Robert said trying to cheer up his son.

"You know Dad, answers like 'do what you want' or 'whatever you choose' are the
worst answers." Athos crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance. "Besides, I know
I'm going to succeed. I'm just not sure what to do in the future."

A vein popped in Robert's forehead at his son's smug attitude. 'Now I understand
how he manages to get on her nerves so easily. He really is annoying when he wants
to.' He thought.

"Well, since you're so confident in your success, why not try a little bit of
everything? While it's impossible to experience what it's like to be a knight, you
already know what an alchemist's life is like and you can ask your mother to teach
you the basics of an adventurer." your father said.

"That's it! You're a genius dad! If I try both might find out which one I'm a
better fit for. I'll ask her right now. Thanks." Athos thanked his father before
running out of the laboratory.

Robert smiled at the sight of his son cheered up again, but he stopped abruptly
before leaving.

"Anything else, Athos?"

He hesitated for a second before asking. "Aren't you upset with me? I mean, I might
end up turning into an adventurer instead of an alchemist. And you seemed to be
against it."

Robert's eyes widened at his question, but then he started laughing like it was a
stupid question. "Did I really give that impression? I'm not against you becoming
an adventurer, I'm just worried about your safety. Almost every day I see
adventurers passing by here to buy potions and they say it's risky to work in this
field."

"Then, why aren't you trying to stop me?" Athos asked confused.

"Because my job as a parent is not to decide your future, but to nurture and teach
you so you can make your own decisions." His father said with a gentle smile.

After hearing this Athos began to look around suspiciously as if looking for
something.

"Why are you looking around like that?" Robert asked.

"You always say nice lines like that. There must be some catchphrase paper around
here, nobody's that nice naturally." Athos said seriously, going so far as to boost
the vision with mana to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"You won't gain anything by fawning over me, you know? Now go talk to your mother."
He tried to be serious, but a smile still crept onto his face.

"One more thing. How long are you going to stay mad at Mom? You know she didn't
mean that, right?" Now that the weather was at its best, Athos decided to test the
waters.

"About that? I've never been annoyed to be honest." He said with a shrug.

"Eh?" Now it was Athos' turn to be confused.

"We've been married long enough for me to know when she's serious or not."

"Then why the bad weather?"

"Because you're right, it's so much fun to play with her. Her reactions are top
notch." He said with a playful smile.

'This guy is not afraid of danger.' Athos thought. 'I better be away when she finds
out.'

Chapter 9

The next day, Athos met with his mother in their backyard to learn the basics of
being an adventurer.

"I am very happy to hear that you made the right decision and decided to become an
adventurer, son." Agatha said with a bright smile. She had been humming with
happiness ever since Athos asked for her help. She could already see him as a
famous adventurer full of gold and perks.

"You know I'm just 'testing' what it's like to be an adventurer, don't you? I still
have to decide what to do in the future." Athos said bursting her bubble and
bringing her back to reality.

She huffed in annoyance and said, "You're saying that now, but when you experience
what it's like, you'll change your mind right away."
"Well, let's get down to business. The adventurer system works-" Agatha tried to
explain, but Athos cut her off.

"You can skip that part, you know? Everyone already knows the guild system. You
sign up, get quests from the quest board, complete the quest in record time, the
girl at the front desk yells 'You're awesome!!' a veteran adventurer arrives
picking a fight and you beat him up. The guildmaster shows up just after the
trouble is over and takes you to his room and gives you a special quest in exchange
for letting you go."

"Where did you hear that?"

"From some adventurers who came to the store." Athos replied.

"haah, men." Agatha sighed. "I won't deny that it can happen, but it's best not to
get your hopes up. Do you even know how adventurers rank?"

"They go from F to SSS."

"That's right. And since the you already knows everything, we can skip the boring
part and get straight to the point." She said picking up wooden swords, one big and
one smaller. She threw the smallest to Athos and said:

"Let's practice the basics today. Every wannabe warrior always starts with a sword.
We can test how you it iswith other weapons later, but that's it for today." She
tried to look serious, but something was telling Athos that if he took a step
forward, only a world of pain would await him.

"Hey, wait! Dad forbade me to practice alchemy until I recovered, don't you think
training in these conditions would be bad?" Athos pointed to his own muscleless
arm, to emphasize his point.

"Didn't your dad tell you yet? You're skinny, but fully recovered. He was just
playing with you." She said laughing.

'That guy didn't just fool mother, but me too!' Athos ground his teeth in anger at
being deceived. He could already imagine his triumphant smile after having tricked
them both. 'I will take revenge somehow.'

"Enough of the bullshit! It's time to train!" Agatha steadied her stance and
pointed the wooden sword at him. "Besides, you don't have to worry about injuries.
I asked your father to make healing potions, so even if you get hurt a lot, we'll
still be able to continue training.

"Wait! Why bruises? Won't you just teach me the basics?" Athos asked almost
panicking.

"And what better way to learn than in practice? Now let's go!" She advanced without
heeding his complaints.

Despite Athos' entreaties, they spent morning until dusk training. They only took
breaks for Athos to recover his mana and drink potions, as it was the only way he
could keep up with his mother.

When Robert arrived to invite them to dinner, Athos was sprawled on the floor with
bruises all over the body, while Agatha sat next to him with a smile.

"What happened here?" Robert asked confused.

"Love, our son is way more amazing than I imagined! He learns fast, and never
repeats the same mistake! I was able to train him much more than expected." She was
all smiles, as if she'd relieved all the accumulated stress.

"..." Athos on the other hand, did not share her enthusiasm. He was lying on the
cold floor, while looking at his father with the eyes of an abandoned puppy, hoping
he could save him from what he thought was a torture session.

'Don't you think you might have exaggerated a little?' He asked, pretending not to
see his plea for help.

"Bullshit. If I had taken things slowly it would have taken me a week to do what we
did today." She answered.

"Fine, but make sure he can continue tomorrow." Robert sighed, realizing once again
that it was impossible to reason with her when she was lively. He bent down on his
son's body and applied the potions to the bruises.

"No, please don't heal me! If I recover she'll want to resume training!" Athos said
in despair.

'My God, I'm going to have to talk to her about prudence. Intense training or not,
that's over the line.' He thought.

After Athos' wounds were treated, they went to dinner. Robert, curious, decided to
ask what they did during the day to make him stay in that state.

"So why did you attack Athos like that? He could have been seriously hurt you
know?"

Athos looked at him as if to say, 'Wasn't that serious enough?'

"Actually, it was just an accident. I attacked him at the beginning of training, to

show that an adventurer must always be prepared and to my surprise, he managed to
defend! I slowly increased the pace and he kept following it.

I didn't have to teach things like posture, basic movements, or footwork; just do
it a few times in front of him and he's already learned." She made it look amazing,
but in reality what she did was attack a complete amateur, with moves he's never
seen before, until he learns.

"Okay, I understand that. What I didn't understand is why he was all bruised on the
floor." Robert asked bluntly.

"Well in the middle of training I thought 'if I apply more force, won't he learn
even faster?' So I tried it and it worked! The training pace improved a lot,
although in some parts, Athos looked at me desperate, what kind of adventurer would
he be if he couldn't take a fracture here and there?" She said it like it was the
most obvious thing in the world, making Athos fear for his future.

'This is even worse than I thought! Now I understand why he was so desperate to the
point of preferring to stay hurt. She'd pressured him all day, always keeping him
in a state where he could barely keep up. He must have been desperate, but he had
no choice but to continue.

I have to admit, she thought of a perfect training for an adventurer if it weren't

for the fact that Athos is still a child.' Robert thought, steeling his resolve to
face his wife.
"Love, I understand that you want to train him the best you can, but don't you
think you might have overdone it a little-" Robert tried to defend his son, but
Agatha stopped him from continuing.

"Darling? You're not implying that I should stop train him, are you? Not now that
Athos has finally made the right decision and decided to train with me, are you?"
She asked slowly and gently, but her eyes were blank.

Robert knew what that meant and did the only thing he could to save himself.

"No, I didn't mean that. I just wanted you to let me know next time so I can brew
more healing and nutrient potions." He sold his own son to save his skin.

"Great! I knew you'd understand me! You're the only one who understands me." With
that her expression returned to normal.

'Phew, that was close. Sorry son, but it's necessary-' Robert breathed a sigh of
relief, but it was too soon.

"He lied." Athos said suddenly, interrupting the two.

"Hm? How so, Athos?"

"He lied to you mom! Dad pretended to be fighting with you until yesterday just for
fun! He played with you!" Athos screamed, making his father freeze.

Athos had made up his mind. If his father was willing to throw him to the wolves,
he would do the same.

"Athos, what an outrageous thing to say! I would never-" He tried to explain, but
Agatha was quicker.

"I thought it was weird. You seemed to have forgiven me out of nowhere, so that's
why? Was it just a bad joke?" Before he knew it she had come around the table and
was holding his shoulder from behind, forcing him to remain seated.

"Honey, I think we need to have a little talk alone, don't you?" She whispered in
his ear, before forcibly dragging him out of the kitchen.

"Father, I will never forget your sacrifice. Mainly, why you tried to sacrifice me
first." Athos muttered to himself.

Chapter 10

Two months later, Agatha took Athos out of town. More precisely, to the surrounding
forest. Athos had already understood the basics of combat and she wanted him to
have some experience in real combat.

They left the house early and reached the edge of the forest 1 hour later. Athos
was excited for his first adventure and couldn't help but jump into the forest. He
was equipped with a simple adventurer's outfit that consisted of: gloves, bracers,
breastplate, helmet, pants, greaves, and leather boots.

He carried a short iron sword at his waist and a round wooden shield on his back.
After learning the basics of a fight Agatha made him test several different weapons
until he found the one that best suited him.

Athos preferred to use the sword as it was a more flexible weapon and a shield to
defend against his mother's savage attacks during training.

Her mother on the other hand wore a hunter suit and carried a bow on her back. Two
long daggers hung on either side of her hip.

"Athos, since this is training on adventurers I'll give you a quest for you to
complete. If you're successful I'll let you eat as much dessert as you want for the
rest of the week." Agatha said.

"Although?" Athos did not rejoice at this. He knew her well enough to know there
was a "But."

"But if you fail my mission, you'll have to clean your father's lab for the next
month." She said teasing him. The absurd penalty almost made Athos scream.

"What? This is unfair! Does the lab have to be cleaned every day, otherwise the
smell becomes unbearable and you want me to clean it for a month?" Athos shouted
indignantly.

"Yes, that's unfair. But it's the penalty adventurers have to pay whenever they
fail a quest. Usually they have to pay 10 times the quest completion value as a
fine." She said bitterly, as she remembered the unfair rule that forced her to
leave the guild.

As a rookie adventurer, she had failed an extermination mission and with no money
to pay the fine, she would have become a debt slave if a certain alchemist hadn't
fallen in love with her and paid her instead. She still held a grudge against the
guild and wanted her son to succeed in her place.

"I don't think I can refuse now can I? So stop being a be mysterious and tell me,
what's my mission?" Athos sighed in resignation.

She snapped out of her reverie and held up three fingers. "I'll give you three
missions. Kill 2 gray wolves. Gather herbs from the water. And escort me through
the forest safely and without me having to fight."

"Is that all? No tricks?" he asked in disbelief. He'd been asking the adventurers
who shopped at the store about the monsters around since she'd told them her plan.

From what he'd heard, gray wolves were the base of the food chain, second only to
horned rabbits and whip-tailed rats.

"Yeah, that's all. And to make things better, if you only complete one of the
missions, you won't need to clean the lab." She said making the mission even
better.

"Okay, I accept. It's just not worth giving up later." Saying this Athos began to
enter the forest.

'He's screwed.' Agatha thought, anticipating disaster.

After entering the forest Athos spent the next 30 minutes trying to find the
wolves, but to no avail. He went to areas he knew there were monsters but except
for small birds and rodents he didn't find anything.
He tried to boost his senses with mana, but still failed.

"What the hell! Why can't I find anything? Have the adventurers lied to me?' He
thought in frustration, until he saw a horned rabbit in the distance. 'Well, maybe
the smell of blood will help.'

He tried to get closer, but the rabbit was faster. Before Athos could approach, he
raised his head and looked in his direction, before running away.

'What?' Stunned, Athos didn't even try to chase the rabbit. He didn't understand
how he was able to detect it from a distance. He turned to ask Agatha and found out
why.

'That's it! She is circulating mana through her body not to reinforce but to blend
in with her surroundings.' He could see the mana coursing through her body as if it
were blending into the surroundings. It almost completely erased her presence.

In comparison to her, Athos was releasing mana all the time, trying to find any
monster. This was like a beacon for other monsters capable of using magic.

He immediately started copying her. He sat on the floor and began to practice,
oblivious to the surprised look he received. He had a hard time at first, but as he
had an example right beside him, it was easy for him to learn.

'What he is doing? He's not one to give up that easily.' She thought, unable to
understand his actions. That was until his presence began to gradually fade away.
'Is he trying to erase his own presence?? But that should take weeks, not seconds!

Athos rose half an hour later. His presence disappeared on the same level as hers.
He went back to looking for monsters, and it didn't even take 5 minutes before he
found another horned rabbit.

'This time, I can.' He thought as he sneaked up on the monster. The rabbit still
didn't notice anything and continued eating leaves peacefully. It wasn't until
Athos got within 5 meters of him that he noticed.

He immediately tried to jump away, but Athos was faster. He changed the mana
circulating through his body from stealth to reinforcement, before launching
himself at the monster.

Realizing it couldn't escape, the rabbit turned 180 degrees and tried to impale it
with its horn.

Athos reinforced the shield in his left hand with mana and stopped the rabbit's
onslaught. Then he stabbed the sword in his right hand into the back of the rabbit
still trapped in the shield.

'Phew, that was easy." Athos smiled as he took the prize. He held it by the horn
and showed his mother. "Look, I got my first prey!"

Agatha on the other hand was still gaping at what had transpired. She tracked the
entire hunt using mana in her eyes, so she could step in at any time 'How did he do
that? How did he manage to change the mana, after he left the core?'

She was right. Common sense dictated that after the mana left the core, it was
possible to control it, but never change its nature. Just as a mage couldn't turn a
fire spell into an ice spell, it shouldn't be possible for Athos to turn mana meant
to blend in with the environment into reinforcement.
Yet reality screamed the opposite. 'I must tell him never to show this to anyone,
or those dogs of the order of magic might come after him.'

"Hey mom, can you hear me?" Athos waved in front of her face, catching her
attention.

"Yes, I'm listening. I'll cook him when we get home so take his blood and let's get
on with it."

"Actually, I had a better idea." Athos said. He carried the rabbit's body to a
tree, then threw the corpse and smeared the blood around it. He took something out
of his pocket and put it on the corpse before leaving. The smell of rabbit blood
around here must attract their predators, like the gray wolves.'

It didn't take long for them to show up. Suddenly Athos heard a rustling in the
bushes and saw 5 wolves come out.

"Look, your plan worked, but I think 5 of them is too much for you. What are you
going to do now? Do you want help?" she asked teasing him.

"Just watching is enough." he said confidently.

Soon the wolves approached the corpse and started sniffing it looking for any
abnormality. After not detecting anything, one of them tried to catch it with its
mouth to take it to the den, when suddenly...

TSSSSS...

BOOOOMMM!!!!!

The corpse exploded and along with it, all the wolves that were nearby.

Chapter 11

"See, I said I didn't need help." Athos said teasing her.

"What was that explosion? And how did you do it?" Agatha asked in disbelief. She
was already ready to step in if something went wrong, but it proved totally
unnecessary.

"That's simple. I put a bag of explosive dust inside the rabbit's body. When the
wolf bit him, the bag opened and dust exploded upon contact with the environment."
Athos explained, proud of his plan.

"Are you walking around with something that dangerous?" She took a step back, as if
her son might explode at any moment.

"No need to be afraid. The bags are completely sealed inside this reinforced
leather bag and even if it does leak, it takes a few seconds before it explodes."
He tried to be convincing, but the idea of carrying an explosive in his pockets
didn't appeal to Agatha.

"It's impossible to ask you to throw this away right now so make sure it doesn't
explode, okay?" She said with a frown as she looked at what was left of the
explosion. "Also, if this were a real quest, you would have destroyed all the
monster material, as well as wasting valuable stuff on mere gray wolves."

The wolves' bodies were completely charred. Only one had survived, but it seemed
unable to move, having burned its entire right side. He was on the verge of death,
before Athos put an end to his misery.

"I know I shouldn't waste-" Athos couldn't finish speaking. His mother lunged at
him and hurled him as far as she could before jumping to the side with all her
might.

In the next second a shadow fell right where they were, generating a cloud of dust.

"Cough, cough!" Athos coughed as he stood up, quickly getting into position. He had
rolled on the ground after being thrown, so he avoided getting hurt. He tried to
see beyond the curtain of dust and was paralyzed with fear.

A rock bear was there, as it glared at him menacingly. The monster was 4 meters
long, it had bulging muscles all over its body, covered in brown fur, while its
paws ended in stone claws, which looked more like a spiked club than slashing
claws. They looked like they were made to crush, not cut.

His white fangs gleamed in the sunlight as he growled at Athos. He looked the Athos
up and down, as if wondering where to start his meal. Athos was paralyzed with
fear.

The monster emitted a suffocating energy that rooted him to the spot. He had
already heard his mother talk about it. When a creature faces another several times
weaker, the mana released forms a kind of aura, preventing it from fighting back.
Knowing this terrified Athos to death.

He knew he had no chance of surviving when he saw the bear open its jaws right in
front of his face.

"ATHOS!!" Her mother screamed, as she concentrated mana on the arrowhead before
shooting, using one of the skills she learned as a hunter, pircing. One of the
first lessons Agatha taught Athos about mana manipulation was the use of abilities.

Depending on how mana was manipulated different effects could be obtained. In the
case of pircing, the mana was concentrated on the arrowhead, increasing the
penetration power.

Puck!

The arrow was embedded in the bear's left thigh causing it to turn and roar, but
that was it. There wasn't enough power to penetrate a monster made of rock-hard
muscles.

'I won't be able to kill this thing, but I have to get it away from Athos enough so
that the effect of the aura wears off and he can run away.' Agatha thought, quickly
readying another arrow as she backed away.

ROAR!!!

The monster ran, charging at Agatha at full speed. She shot arrow after arrow
trying to slow him down, but to no avail.

Puck! Puck! Puck!

They dug into his shoulders and paw, but he didn't slow a step. He got close enough
to her, exploiting the moment she slowed to shoot and to jump on her and crush her
under her paws.

Agatha quickly dodged to the side, dodging by a hair's breadth from being crushed
to pulp. She drew the dagger from her waist in a desperate move to try and cut him,
but only managed a scratch.

"Shit! His fur is rock hard too!" She thought as she ducked and rolled backwards,
dodging a paw swipe at her face.

"ROAARRR"

The bear roared furiously at the prey that kept running away from him. He swung his
paws wildly, trying to crush her. Agatha had given up on the offensive, focusing
completely on deflecting for her life.

'I have to wait for a gap to attack. If I hit the neck where it's least resistant,
I might have a chance!' She thought, completely focused on his movements.

The fight dragged on for a few more minutes as the bear grew more and more
impatient, making more violent attacks. This was her chance. She exploited a moment
when he slammed his paws on the ground, to jump on his back and plunge the dagger
into his neck and jump.

The bear moved frantically trying to get it out, but couldn't. Every time he
touched the dagger, blood spurted from the wound. Agatha didn't miss the
opportunity, and she slipped beneath him and stabbed the other dagger into the
opposite side.

"Haah...haah...I'm really out of shape." Agatha breathed heavily as she hurried

away. A long time had passed since the last time she fought like this. His stamina
was already at the limit. "I have to get this over with soon."

"Rrrrrr..." The bear had given up taking the dagger and was looking at it warily.
He recognized her as a threat, not prey. Which means it wouldn't attack recklessly
like before.

"If I had hit a little deeper…" She said regretfully, when she saw the amount of
blood flowing through the wound. Blood flowed continuously, but it was too little
to make any difference now. She would be dead before the blood loss affected him.

They stared at each other for a while, sizing each other up. As the monster was
about to resume the offensive, Agatha heard a voice that shouldn't have been there.

"Mother!!" Athos was there.

"Don't come any closer! Get away from here, now!!!" She screamed as loud as she
could, shooting arrows at the bear to keep his attention focused on her.

The bear didn't give Athos a second glance, recognizing him as nothing more than a
snack.

And that was correct, except for one thing.

"Mom, shoot that!" Athos had thrown a bag of explosive with all his might at the
bear.

Not feeling any mana in the object, the bear ignored it. And that was a mistake, a
mistake

Agatha didn't let it go. She drew an arrow as far as her bow could handle, focusing
her mana on both the eyes and the arrow feathers. The first improved its accuracy,
while the second was a rapid-fire skill.

The arrow accelerated beyond what should have been possible, and hit the bag still
in the air, on top of the bear. The explosive powder spread over the top of the
bear before it exploded.

BBOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!

The explosion was 3 times bigger than with the wolves. Athos had used all the
explosive powder he had, betting everything on this attack.

"Phew..." Agatha dropped to the floor, feeling the tension leave her body. Athos
rushed to her side, and made her drink the healing potions he had prepared.

"Are you okay? Does it still hurt somewhere?" Athos asked worriedly, but received a
pinch in return.

"You should have run, when I told you to run."

"Is that how you thank me? I saved you!" Athos grunted as he held his cheek.

"Correction. I saved you first." Agatha said before hugging him. "Still, thank you
so much for coming to my rescue."

She noticed his knees were shaking the entire time, but he took a step forward for
her anyway. It meant a lot to her.

But, as if to interrupt this familiar moment, a paw stomped out of the smoke.

The monster was still alive.

Chapter 12

The bear slowly emerged from the black smoke. His condition could only be described
as deplorable. His brown fur was completely burned. His left side was charred,
while his back, which received most of the blast, was raw. His left arm was gone,
leaving only his right paw for support.

The left side of his face was burnt with half his jaw missing, making his tongue
loll around, or at least what was left of it. His left eye was completely closed,
with the melted skin covering it.

Pieces of rock fell through his body, indicating that he had used some skill to
save himself, sensing danger at the last second.

But even with the body in that state, it reared up on its hind legs and roared, as
if told that it wasn't dead yet and that it could still fight.

RRROOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!
Agatha and Athos tensed. None of them had the strength left to fight. Agatha had
used up all her mana on the last shot to make sure she hit. Whereas Athos only
needed a scratch to die.

They both waited with bated breath, as he roared. But to their relief, he fell to
the ground as soon as he was done roaring.

That roar was his last fight. He died the instant he fell to the ground, feeling
all his strength drain away.

Athos was mesmerized by that scene. Even though they fought to the death, watching
him fight until the last second was fascinating to him. He burned that scene in his
eyes. In that moment he decided his future.

"I want to be an adventurer." he muttered unconsciously.

'Heh, it was really a good idea to come here today.' Agatha thought happily.

"Don't get carried away. You still have to train hard if you want to face a monster
like the rock bear." Agatha said. "Normally an adventurer would take the monster's
corpse, or whatever he could carry with him, but since I don't have my card
anymore, let's just leave it there.

Now let's go, before the noise of the explosion attracts more monsters." Agatha got
up with the help of her son.

"Shouldn't we try to put out the fire? It could spread and swallow the whole
forest." Athos asked, while looking at the small fire behind them.

"Relax, the forest spirits always fix these things. Look, it's already started."
She pointed to a spot in where the fire started to go erase.

Grass grew around the fire as the flames slowly died down. Affected trees regained
their vitality, and new leaves grew to replace those that had been lost.

Before they could leave the fight, all traces had already been erased, leaving only
the rock bear's corpse behind.

"What!? How is that possible?" Athos was confused by the phenomenon capable of
breaking the laws of physics.

"Who knows? All we know is that there are special forests, capable of cure
themselves . The church says it's because of the spirits of light that dwell
there." Agatha said.

Athos was silent for the rest of the trip. He couldn't understand the phenomenon no
matter how much he thought about it.

As they approached the city, they noticed something strange. The guards were
restless, watching something inside the walls rather than guarding the gate.

Agatha could see thick black smoke, rising from somewhere in the city. 'a fire
started somewhere? The only water we have comes from the river and wells, it will
be hard to erase.'

They passed the guards, who were too distracted to see them. She was about to pass
through the gate, when she heard a conversation she couldn't ignore.

"Man, I can't believe the alchemy shop caught fire like that. If they don't get the
fire under control soon, it's going to burn the entire block down." The 1st guard
said.

"Seriously, this sucks. A lot of people died when the fire started. Do they already
know what caused the fire?" the 2nd guard asked.

"They think it was an experiment gone wrong. The fire started in the store and
burned the entire street down in an instant. It's really a shame, Doctor Robert was
a good man, he didn't deserve to die like that." The first guard said regretfully.

"Didn't he deserve it? Are you kidding me? Because of him, all those people died!
He deserved what happened to him." A 3rd guard joined the conversation in a rage.

He had a sister who lived on that block. He didn't know her whereabouts and being
stuck in guard duty, while watched the fire from a distance was agonizing.

Agatha had overheard the entire conversation. She didn't want to believe it. She
started to run desperately, ignoring the people around her.

'He'll be fine. Robert never made that kind of mistake. The gate guards haven't
left their posts, so they have no way of confirming it. They are just speculating.'
She kept repeating to herself as she ran as fast as she could.

As she got closer, she could see her whole life together flashing before her eyes.
The first time she walked into his store and he fell in love with her at first
sight.

The moment he confessed to her and she rejected him, saying she had no interest in
relationships.

The moment he saved her in the guild, antagonizing the guildmaster himself to save
her.

Their first date, where he was so nervous to impress her that he ended up messing
up.

Their first night together, where she was so nervous she ended up drinking too much
and ruining everything.

Her wedding, where she revealed to him that she was pregnant, causing him to pass
out at the altar.

The birth of Athos, one of the happiest moments of her life.

All the most important moments passed in front of your eyes. And they all fell
apart when she got to the front of the block. The charred bodies were strewn across
the streets. City guards collected the corpses and lined them up, covering them
with cloths and blankets.

Ashes were scattered all over the place, making it difficult for anyone who tried
to get close to them to breathe. But Agatha didn't care about any of that. His face
was an expressionless stone mask.

She still remembered the clothes her husband wore early in the morning, so she
checked one by one all the bodies on the street and after not finding him among
them, she didn't take a second look.

She approached the house or at least what was left of it. A guard tried to stop
her, saying it was dangerous to approach, but she didn't listen and threw him
aside. She advanced, until she reached the laboratory.

There was a body on the floor. The body was completely charred with blackened
flesh. He was lying on the other side of the lab, as if he'd been thrown. The
broken eyeglasses lay at his feet.

It was only then that Agatha allowed herself to collapse. Until then, she had one
last hope. Hope, that maybe he had survived by some miracle.

Now there was no more hope, only pain. A pain so strong that she felt as if
something inside her was being ripped to shreds.

Agatha cried, hugging her husband's body. She screamed with all her strength,
praying to Eishin to give back the husband she loved so much.

And Athos arrived soon after, and saw his father's body being embraced by her. He
didn't believe it he didn't understand. It was something too sudden for him to
understand.

Athos wept silently seeing his father's body. It was the moment when the world he
knew shattered.

Chapter 13

The guards entered soon after and forcibly moved Agatha out of the ruins of the
house.

"Let me go! It's my husband over there. Robert, Robert!" She kept screaming his
name, trying to free herself from the guard.

"Ma'am, please get away from here, it's dangerous! The house could collapse at any
moment." The guard tried his best to get her out of the place, but she didn't
listen to him. With no other choice, he forcibly carried her off the premises. He
also guided Athos away.

He placed she gently on the ground, away from the ash. Athos approached and hugged
her crying.

"Mom...the Dad, he..." They hugged each other for a while, feeling the loss. They
were so desolate, they didn't notice the looks they were getting.

Some time later, a group of guards approached them. One of the guards, a little
better dressed, came forward and asked them:

"I am the captain of the city guard. Are you Mrs. Agatha Savage? Robert Savage's
wife?" The captain asked, clear hostility in his voice.

Sniff...It's me, why?" Agatha replied in a husky voice.

"We have orders to take you into custody. Please come with us peacefully." He
didn't wait for her answer, before signaling for his men to surround her.

Wait, what do you mean with, in custody? Who ordered this?" She stood up, looking
cautiously at the guards around her, trying to cover her son.
"If you resist we will use force to stop you. Last chance." He said, his hand
resting on the hilt of his sword.

The guards around her were releasing a bloodlust, as if they wanted her to resist.

"Wait, why are you taking my mom? She didn't do anything!" Athos put himself
between Agatha and the captain of the guard as if trying to protect her.

"Don't get involved, brat." He looked at Athos as if he were an annoyance.

"Damn it." Athos was about to draw his sword, but his mother stopped him. She
slapped the back of his head with a movement trained to make him pass out, before
placing him gently on the floor.

"I'm the who you want, isn't it? So leave him out of it." Agatha said looking at
the captain of the guard.

"... Whatever. Tie her up." He snorted, before ordering his subordinates. They tied
her arms behind her back and took her away.

The people around, whether they were victims of the fire, relatives of the victims
or even people who had nothing to do with it and were just watching, they all
looked at her with hatred, as if she was to blame for the accident.

Meanwhile, Agatha looked at her son, growing more and more distant, until the
moment she lost sight of him in the crowd.

She turned around, dropping one last silent tear. "Farewell, Athos."

"Don't worry about the brat. The church will take good care of him. The orphanage
is always looking for new kids to take care of." The guard captain said with a
sneer.

Agatha glared at him, but said nothing. She knew of the fate of orphaned children
taken to the orphanage. Favela bandits regularly kidnapped them and sold them as
illegal slaves.

The church had already appealed to the city lord to do something about the bandits,
but no response came.

'Athos will be fine, he is a smart boy. He just needs to stay safe until he's 15
and join the guild. After that, he can leave this damn town!' Agatha thought, as
she was taken to the city prison.

"Do you know how many died in the accident your husband caused? 47 dead and 62
injured. 47 good people, who were just living their lives and are now dead because
of your husband." The guard captain said after they entered the prison.

They stripped her of all her gear and left her half-naked before handcuffing her to
the wall.

"My daughter was among them. My little daughter, killed by that bastard alchemist!"
The captain of the guard began to cry, while screaming in rage.

"I'm sorry-" Agatha felt his pain and tried to apologize, but a slap shut her up.

"Shut up! You're not sorry, not yet. I'm going to make you feel, what those people
felt." He said, before giving another slap. And another. And another.
*****

The town quickly got wind of the accident that happened at the alchemy shop. The
news spread quickly and before the day was out, 90% of the town was pointing to the
alchemist's incompetence, as the main cause of the accident.

Rumors spread; accusing him of selling fake potions, demanding absurd prices and
extorting customers. The accusations were all false, but as the person himself was
already dead and there was no one willing to stand up and defend him, the absurd
rumors became absolute truths.

The reputation Robert has built through decades of hard work, effort and
dedication; was thrown into the mud and he went from being a good and just man to a
corrupt incompetent.

People who heard these fabricated stories felt outraged and flocked to the town
lord's house, demanding that justice be done and the culprit captured and killed.

The lord of the city, a baron with no experience in dealing with crowds, felt
cornered by the large numbers of commoners gathering and mistook the protest for a
revolt, sending in his personal guard and turning it into a fight.

Some people confused his attitude, believing that he was protecting the alchemist,
others already believed that he was involved in the accident and was evading
responsibility.

The baron's silence gave space to the wild imagination of the angry people,
spreading distrust among the commoners and transforming mourning for the victims
into hatred for those responsible.

The commoners attacked the baron's personal guard, accusing him of the incident and
of protecting his accomplice, the alchemist.

The baron, hearing the angry screams of the population, felt confused by the false
accusations, but even when he tried to explain himself, people turned a deaf ear to
him, saying that it was an obvious lie and that he was just trying to escape.
People were not thinking rationally and only believed what was convenient for them.

The argument continued for a long time, neither side getting anywhere, making the
situation a stalemate. An impasse that lasted until unexpected news reached the
lord's ears.

The captain of the guard had captured the alchemist's wife and held her in custody
in the city prison. Witnesses at the scene stated that the captain took her under
"superior orders," that is, the baron himself.

It was for this and other reasons, that the people gathered in front of the manor
did not believe the lord's claims. The situation had reached such a point that it
was difficult to distinguish what was true and what was false. So people chose to
believe what was easier: an incompetent alchemist and a corrupt noble protecting
him.

The baron did not remember giving such an order to the captain of the guard, but
that could be left for later. The important thing was to resolve the situation in
front of you. He quickly formulated a plan to solve the problem.

He walked up to the second-floor balcony and announced to the crowd:

"Faltra citizens! It has come to my attention, the terrible accident that happened
this morning! It is a truly sad situation that good citizens, my citizens, have
died because of the incompetence of an alchemist.

But don't worry! Although he died of his own stupidity, his wife and accomplice,
Agatha Savage, was captured alive by my brave guards and will be brought to justice
tomorrow!

All of you, who want to see justice done, join me tomorrow in the town square and I
promise I will make her pay for the crimes she has committed!!!"

"OOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!!!!"

The crowd cheered with a sense of accomplishment, as if they had done the right
thing for the accident victims.

And so, Agatha Savage was sentenced to death, as the baron's scapegoat.

Chapter 14

Athos woke up in an unknown place. He looked around and all he saw was a white
room. He tried to get up, but a sharp pain in the back of his neck stopped him.

"Damn it, Mom! Why do you always knock first and talk later? That's why-" It was
then that he remembered everything that had happened. The fire, the burned body of
the father, the guards taking his mother away and her hitting him on the head to
stop him from attacking the guards.

Athos jumped out of bed, ignoring the lingering pain in the back of his neck, but
fell to the floor shortly thereafter. His body was numb for some reason.

Hearing the noise coming from the bedroom, a passing nun entered and quickly helped
him back to bed.

"Boy, you shouldn't get out of bed yet. You're still recovering." She gently placed
him back on the bed.

Athos tried to push her back, but her body didn't obey. His limbs were limp and
uncoordinated, as if he was drugged. He looked suspiciously at the nun in front of
him as he circulated the mana through his body to rid himself of the effects.

"I'm sorry we used magic on you, but you couldn't stop struggling in your sleep, so
we had to do that to keep you from getting hurt." She said, seeing the suspicion in
his eyes.

"Where I am?" Athos asked, after looking around for the tenth time and not
recognizing the place.

"We are in the city church, more precisely, in the area where we bring sick people
to be treated."

"How did I get here? Do you know what happened to my mother after I passed out?"
Athos asked quickly, clearly concerned for her safety.
"The city guards left you here, along with the others injured in the fire. We kept
you in a separate room from the others, for safety." She replied, apparently a
little sorry for him.

"What do you mean, security? Why would I need security?" Athos said confused.

"Some people might have bad intentions against you after what happened yesterday.
We didn't want anything to happen to you, so we left you isolated." She tried to
get up and leave, but Athos stopped her.

"Wait, you still haven't answered my question: What happened to my mom after I
passed out?" Athos gripped her left wrist tightly, preventing her from leaving.

"How can you move?" She was clearly in shock. She would never have imagined that
Athos had already awakened her core, as well as being able to manipulate it. "Let
me go!"

"Not before you answer me, What happened to my mother?" Athos tightened his grip,
hearing an answering snap.

She pulled out a dagger she kept hidden in her back and tried to stab him, but
Athos grabbed her forearm, stopping the knife inches from her chest.

"Shit! That's why I don't like going to church!" Athos kicked her in the chest,
leaving her breathless. Afterwards, he twisted your left wrist, leaving it at an
unnatural angle.

"Arkk!" She screamed in pain, lessening the force that pushed the dagger and trying
to reflexively pull away. Athos took the chance and used all his strength to twist
his body, throwing the nun onto the bed and straddling her.

He pressed his right knee over his twisted left wrist, immobilizing the limb. At
the same time, he used his now free hand to take the dagger from her hand and press
it against her throat.

"If you try to scream, I'll cut your throat like a chicken, understand?" Athos
threatened, citing the 7th sentence of the "48 sentences when you want to threaten
someone" that his mother taught.

She still tried to resist, but Athos she twisted her other wrist and pressed the
dagger even deeper, causing a trickle of blood to drip. This time she held back the
scream, fearing it would cut deeper.

"Do you feel more willing to talk now?" Athos asked, with anger in his eyes.

"Yes, I-" She tried to explain herself, but a left hook shut her mouth.

"You don't speak, you just answer. Am I clear?" Athos asked, trying to look
intimidating.

"..." She didn't answer this time, glaring at him.

"Fine. Now tell me, what had done you do to my mother after I passed out?"

"The captain of the guard took her to the city prison. I don't know what happened
after that." she said quickly.

"And why did you bring me here?"

The city guards brought you here. The other fire victims tried to attack you, so we
moved you here."

"Do you want me to believe that you guys saved me out of goodwill?" Athos asked
with a raised eyebrow.

"It's true! We couldn't let anything happen to you, you brat, so we moved you
here!"

"What do you mean, couldn't let anything happen to me? What are you talking about?"
Athos punched her again, causing blood to leak from the corners of her lips.

"You'd better let go of me soon, because at any moment someone is going to show up
and things are going to get ugly for you." The nun said, trying to threaten him.

Athos took the dagger from her throat, causing her to sigh in relief for a second,
before slamming the hilt across her nose. He shut her mouth to keep her from
screaming and for a few seconds, the only sound heard inside the room was the
muffled screams of the nun.

"You only answer what I ask, remember? Now tell me, why can't you let anything
happen to me?" Athos asked hastily. He knew he couldn't waste time, but he needed
answers.

"We received orders from the Baron... to keep you alive as collateral... after
yesterday's riot." She answered between gasps, having trouble breathing.

"Okay, now you've lost me. What do you mean a riot?" The more Athos listened, the
more confused he became.

"People wanted justice for the victims of the fire, so they gathered in front of
the baron's house and asked for the alchemist to be handed over to them."

"My father is already dead! What else do you want to take from him??" Athos was
furious with the townspeople. He gripped the nun's neck furiously, as if he wanted
to take out his anger on her.

"Wait. There's more! The Baron was afraid of a revolt, so he decided to execute the
alchemist's wife instead!" The nun said quickly, seeing the murderous intent in his
eyes.

'How can a child emit murderous intent? She thought with dread.

"Shit, shit, shit! When will the execution be??" Athos asked, on the verge of a
mental breakdown. He had just lost his father and now his mother, his only
emotional support, was about to be taken away from him as well.

"Will you let me go if I say so?" She asked with tears in her eyes, trying to
appeal to his feelings.

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to kill you right now!" Unfortunately for her,
Athos didn't give a damn about her fake cry.

"It's today at noon! Two hours to go until the execution." She responded
begrudgingly.

"Last question. Where's my gear?" he asked, determined to save her.

"In the priest's room! He stored his equipment and potions there. Boy, I've said it
all, so-" Athos interrupted her.

"Then you are no longer useful to me." Athos said coldly, He slammed the handle of
the dagger into her temple, making her faint. "You're lucky I've never killed
anyone until now, because you sure deserved it,"

Athos opened the bedroom door and peeked around to make sure no one was coming.
That's when he noticed his hands were shaking. He'd never interrogated anyone
before and despite the facade he used to scare the nun, he didn't have the heart to
kill anyone just yet.

'It's no use thinking about it. I have to concentrate on getting to the priest's
room first. Luckily, I know where it is.' He thought, running towards the room,
while trying to avoid other people.

Although he had never been to the church infirmary, his mother had taken him to
church several times to try to indoctrinate him. If he remembers correctly, the
church was divided into 4 sections: the orphanage, the infirmary, the nuns'
quarters and the church itself where people gathered.

Chapter 15

Athos wanted to run straight to the priest's room, but was stopped by the sheer
number of people in the church. There were only 3 people who could use holy magic
including the priest himself and dozens of wounded, apart from the normal patients
that the church tended to. Most of the nuns in the church were just normal people,
unable to feel their own core or who had never trained it.

Athos needed a distraction. Something that caught people's attention, especially

the burn victims in the church corridors. And he quickly had an idea.

He went out through the halls, but instead of heading towards the priest's room, he
went the other way, towards the kitchen. Luckily, no one was there when he arrived.
All the nuns were busy with their respective tasks.

After looking around, he went to a door beside the fireplace and opened it. It was
where they kept items such as firewood, charcoal and oils. All the materials he
could use to start a fire.

"The church is made almost entirely of wood, so if I start a fire here, they'll be
forced to evacuate everyone, which will give me time to get my gear." Athos
muttered to himself, oblivious to the damage his plan could do.

He spread the oil, before using a flintlock to ignite everything. The fire spread
throughout the kitchen in an instant and at the speed it was spreading, it would
take less than 30 minutes to spread throughout the church.

'But I don't have that much time.' Athos thought, trying to figure out a way to
quicken the fire. 'Mana can strengthen everything, can't it? Be it meat or metal, I
can inject mana into anything and fire shouldn't be any different.'

Athos decided to test his theory. He crouched by the fire and let his energy flow
into him. Mana flowed into the flames, which instantly increased in intensity. The
heat increased, the flames rose and the fire spread even faster.
Athos was speechless seeing that scene. Watching the flames consume everything was
a beautiful thing for him. Despite having lost a family member in a similar
situation, he was not afraid of the flames, on the contrary, he was attracted to
her.

He didn't know why, but he felt a connection to the fire. He raised his right hand
and the flames began to rise. When he moved to the left, they moved accordingly,
burning the walls.

"That's too cool." Athos said, his eyes shining with excitement. "I think this
should serve as a distraction."

He opened his arms and stretched as far as possible, causing the flames to
momentarily spread throughout the room. Then he clasped both his hands in front of
his chest and the flames scattered across the room gathered in front of him. He
then pushed as hard as he could towards the hallway door.

BOOMMMM!!

The flames blew the door and continued until they reached the end of the hall.
Luckily, the kitchen was a somewhat isolated area of the church, so there was no
one there to get hurt.

"Ackk! What was that?"

"What was that noise? It sounds like something exploded..."

"Hey, is that smoke smell?"

As chaos spread through the church, the culprit for it all was looking with an
idiot look at the damage he had caused.

"I,,, didn't think it was going to be that powerful." Athos said, a little
embarrassed. In his mind, the flames should just destroy the door and the noise and
smell of smoke would do the rest. Athos rejoiced in the new power he discovered,
until he realized how much energy was spent.

"Half my mana gone? This skill is really expensive!" He whimpered as he fled. Even
so, he did not lose sight of his objective. He jumped through a kitchen window and
circled the outside of the church, all the while circling mana to blend in with his
surroundings.

He reached the priest's room and hid under the window, listening to one
conversation.

"What do you mean a fire?? What caused it?" He heard an angry old man's voice
coming from inside the room.

'It's the priest's voice.' Athos thought, recognizing his voice.

"We're sorry your lordship, but the explosion was too sudden for us to notice. One
minute everything was fine and the next, the entire kitchen and adjacent rooms were
on fire." A female voice spoke, clearly scared.

"Shit! Have the nuns evacuate the wounded and get the neighbor's help to control
the fire. Anyone who can carry a bucket should go to the nearest pit and get some
water! In the meantime, the four of you should evacuate the children from the
orphanage." The priest shouted orders quickly.
'I only heard a female voice, are there other people in the room?' Athos thought.

'And where is, your lordship going?" A different nun asked.

"I'm going to make sure our 'guarantee' doesn't burn to death like the father;" The
priest said in a cold voice. The nuns around them shuddered, before quickly leaving
the room.

"Damn, what a useless bunch. When I find the woman who did this I'll get rid of her
myself." The priest said with rancor as he left the room.

And Athos heard it all, while gnashing his teeth in rage. "How dare he talk about
my father like that? Has this guy already forgotten everything my mother did for
the church? All the potions she donated?'

After hearing the sound of the door slamming, Athos opened the window and broke in.
The room was incredibly simple. There was a sofa, a closet, a wooden table and
three chairs, one behind the table with its back to the wall and the other two in
front.

Athos did not need to look around to find what he wanted. His leather armor was
inside the closet, while his sword and shield were under the table.

He quickly put everything on, before jumping out of the window and fleeing the
scene, using alleyways to avoid being seen. 'I have to get to the prison soon,
before they take her to the town square. It's my only chance to save her.'

Athos had no concrete plan on how to save her. He didn't have time to think. Time
was ticking and if he didn't do something soon, he would lose the only person left.

*****

At the same time in the city prison.

A half-naked woman lay on the cold prison floor. There were bloodstains all over
the floor, indicating that the person standing there had undergone intense torture.
His body was completely ragged, with more whip marks than could be counted. Her
wrists were bound in iron shackles, but even if they weren't, she would be unable
to escape.

Both tendons of the feet had been severed. The wounds were horrible, as if they had
used a dull blade to cut her. The wounds were still open, with dried blood smeared
across her legs.

His hands were purple, with the fingers twisted in all directions, while the nails
were strewn across the floor after being brutally ripped out. But worst of all was
his face.

His beautiful face was completely disfigured, smeared with dried blood, snot, and
tears. His front teeth were chipped and his tongue cut out, as if the person who
did this had grown tired of hearing his screams. His eyes were so swollen it was
impossible to see them, while his nose was flattened against his face, as if it had
been assaulted, even after it was broken. The skin on his face was completely
burnt, as if boiling oil had been spilled.
Chapter 16

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard down the hall. The captain of the guard
and 4 more guards had arrived. They walked until they were in front of Agatha's
cell.

"Captain, don't you think you exaggerated a little? I can't even recognize her
face." The 1st guard said.

"He's right, captain. She was so pretty, it's such a waste that you left her in
this state before we could taste it." The 2nd guard said, clicking his tongue in
disappointment.

"She deserved it, after what they did to my daughter. I would have continued, if
the baron hadn't meddled." The captain complained, glancing contemptuously at the
half-dead woman in front of him.

"Is she still alive? You were brutal with her yesterday, a normal person would have
died like 10 times already." The 3rd guard said perplexed. He didn't know whether
to praise the woman's tenacity, or praise the captain's technique, which left her
alive even in such a state.

"Don't worry about it. She's capable of using mana like me, so she's stronger than
she looks. We just need someone to use divine magic on her face, enough to
recognize her, so we hand her over to the baron." The captain of the guard spoke.

"But how are you going to get the priest here? It's full of people because of the
fire." The 1st guard asked confused.

Don't worry, I've already taken care of that. Isn't it, sister?" The captain spoke,
looking at the 4th guard, who had been silent until then.

The 4th guard removed his helmet, revealing a female face. City guard helmets
covered the face of the person wearing it, to keep the person's identity hidden. It
was a security measure, to prevent the guards' families from taking any risks by
having their identities exposed.

The problem is that this allowed anyone to easily disguise themselves as a guard,
as happened now.

"Haa...this stuff is suffocating, you know? How can you bear to wear it all day?"
She took off her helmet, revealing a female face.

"And I thought you were just a rookie the captain called. Who knew you'd have such
a pretty face." The 2nd guard whistled at her.

"Control yourself, she is here on duty, understand?" The captain glared at him.

"Gavin, my pretty, you don't have to be so cold to me. You know you can call me
whenever you want." The nun said in a seductive tone, as she clung to the captain
out of habit.

"Liza, I'm not in the mood right now." The captain said, pushing her away abruptly.
"Now do your job and heal that bitch, so I can take her to the baron."

"Tch, what a boring guy. You're a lot more fun without your uniform." The nun said
angrily, but obeyed. She entered the cell and held Agatha's face roughly. "You just
need her face healed, right?"

"Yeah, let's make her wear an overcoat, so don't worry about the rest." the captain
said.

"OK." She turned around again and closed her eyes in concentration. A white light
began to gather in her hand, before spreading across Agatha's face. The light
spread from her head to her neck, diagnosing all injuries.

"Hey Captain, did I hear wrong or did that nun call you pretty?" The 2nd guard
asked. trying pull subject. Until the healing was over, they could do nothing but
wait.

"That doesn't interest you." The captain responded brusquely.

"I'm also curious, I thought the nuns had a vow of chastity." the 1st guard asked.

"See? I'm not the only one who's curious! How did you go about eating a nun and how
do I do it too?" the 2nd guard asked, getting excited just thinking about it.

"Hahaha, vow of chastity, isn't. It's hard to keep vows, when the priest is a
regular customer of the red light district." The captain laughed at his stupidity.
"Most nuns are just like him. They pretend to be innocent to people, but they have
affairs with other men.

If you really want to fuck a nun, I can do you a favor and ask Liza to introduce
you to someone." The captain spoke with a disgusting smile, but his subordinates
didn't see it because of the helmet.

"Captain, you are the best!" The 2nd guard said.

Meanwhile, Liza struggled to try to heal Agatha. Her wounds were so many and so
deep that a single mistake could kill her. Her body had lost a lot of blood and any
attempt at healing would drain what little vitality was keeping her alive.

Liza struggled to try to heal her enough to be recognized, but failed. She had no
choice but to throw in the towel. "Hey, sorry to mess up the orgy planning, but we
have a problem."

"What's the problem?" The captain asked.

"She's too weak to be healed. If I keep going, she'll die before her lips go dry."
Liza said with a shrug. She didn't give a damn if Agatha died or not, the important
thing was that she got her pay.

"Um...that's a problem. There's no way to nourish her enough, just to heal her
face?" The captain asked irritably, even though it was his fault, she be like this.

"Until yesterday morning there was, a pity it burned everything." Liza said with a
sneer. referring to the nutritional potions that Robert sold.

"If you ignored her condition and continued healing, do you think you could make
her face recognizable?" the captain asked, with a hideous plan in mind.

"Holy magic doesn't work on corpses, but I could use a strong spell to heal
everything at once, but she'll still die." Liza said, not understanding what he was
getting at.

The captain thought for a while, weighing his options. 'I can't take her to the
baron the way she is. He wants a show to calm the public, so his face must be
visible.

She's going to be killed anyway, so as long as people don't find out it won't be a
problem.' He made his decision and ordered:

" Proceed. "

"But-" Liza tried to object, but the captain's steely gaze stopped her.

She silently turned around and performed an advanced healing spell, divine
blessing. The spell spread across her face, healing her quickly.

The purple eyes regained color, the crushed nose came back into place, the broken
teeth grew back in, the severed tongue regenerated, and the burnt skin was
restored. To the guards' amateur eyes it seemed like a miracle, but for someone
capable of feeling mana like the captain, it was a horrible thing.

The spell just healed everything with brute force, ignoring all the damage it did
in the process. He reopened the stagnant wounds and forcefully healed them, tearing
the flesh and healing it in place. The chunks of nose bones pierced her flesh,
increasing the damage even more.

In the end her face was partially healed with a few small scars and a swollen nose,
but nothing that made her unrecognizable.

Liza didn't need to see her vitals to confirm the death. It was enough to flow the
mana to the eyes to notice the core falling apart and the energy flowing through
the body. A clear sign that she was dead. The mana would remain in the body for
approximately 1 day, before dispersing.

"Well, that sure was anticlimactic. But I did my part and I want my payment." Liza
said, feeling a bitter taste in her mouth. She had already witnessed the death of
other people, but it was the first time she had killed in person.

She felt horrible and wanted to get out of that place. After receiving, of course.

The captain didn't say anything to her and just handed her a bag of coins. After
confirming the amount, Liza left without looking back. The captain didn't give her
a second glance, focused entirely on Agatha's body.

He felt extreme anger just looking at her and wanted nothing more than to break her
to pieces, but he had to hold back.

"You two rip her feet apart until they're no longer recognizable. We need a reason
to carry her." He pointed to guards 1 and 2. "And as for you, bring an overcoat and
put her on. We're already late for the trial, we can't wait any longer."

Capitulo 17

"Err, her tendons are already cut captain, why cut more?" the 2nd guard asked in
displeasure.

"Is this really going to work, captain? People will be confused if she is 'asleep'
in the middle of her own execution don't you think?" The 1st guard said, reluctant
about the plan.

"You're paid to do your job, not to give your opinion. Now shut up and do what I'm
told." the captain ordered them, releasing some of his mana to scare them and make
them obey.

'The baron decided to execute her with the guillotine. Her body will be trapped and
will not be visible to the public. I just have to make sure that no one gets close
to

hers, until I trap her there.' He thought, sure of his plan.

"Hey Captain, how are we going to get her up to the stage? Wouldn't it be weird to
drag her there?" The 2nd guard asked doubtfully. That plan looked like shit, even
to someone as simple-minded as he was.

"I'll call in other trusted guards and we'll surround her up to the stage so the
audience can't see her. Then, just strap her to the guillotine and our job is
done." The captain tried to sound confident, but his plan had more holes than a
sieve.

"And how do you intend to inform the Baron about this, Captain? He probably wants
to give a big speech to win the support of the people, but now he won't be able to.
Who's going to break the news to him?" The 3rd guard and the smartest of the trio
asked, after returning with his coat.

"You're going to do that. Go to the baron and report everything that happened here.
Tell him to cancel the speech and execute she as soon as we arrive. Understand?"

"Yes sir." The guard waved, before running out of the prison.

"You two, dress her on while I call others to help." The captain turned and left
after speaking.

Left alone, they began to discuss what kind of trouble they got themselves into.

"Do you think this will work?" the 1st guard asked.

"Whether it works or not, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that we don't
have any leftover for us." The 2nd said with a shrug.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes watched them in a corner of the prison, crying
rivers of tears, while burning the vision of them destroying the corpse.

********

A few minutes ago.

Athos managed to arrive in front of the prison, without being recognized by anyone.
It was fortunate for him that many people had gathered in the square and there were
few people in the streets.

'How do I get in?' He agonized for a while, trying to find a way to get past the
guards, but to no avail. Security wasn't that strong, but Athos still didn't have
the ability to exploit security breaches.

He was starting to get impatient, when he had an idea. Athos lurked in an alley
near the prison, until he found what he was looking for. There was an iron trapdoor
in the floor, used to access the city's sewage.

He opened the rusty trapdoor and entered. After descending, Athos tried to look
around, but all he saw was darkness. He expected the place to stink, but strangely,
the only smell he could smell was musty.

"This is weird. This place should stink almost as much as Dad's lab, but why don't
I feel anything?" Athos was confused.

He tried to improve his eyesight with mana, but he still didn't see anything. He
continued forward, tapping his short sword scabbard lightly against the ground for
guidance.

Athos continued like this for a few seconds, until the sword hit something soft.

*blob*

"Blob?" Athos repeated, trying and failing to recognize the sound. Suddenly, he
felt something catch in the scabbard and heard a hissing sound.

He quickly drew his sword, before tossing the scabbard away. He heard the sound of
something dragging across the floor and was on guard.

"I wanted to avoid using this as it consumes a lot of mana, but it won't do.' Athos
thought as he slammed his sword against the stone wall, the friction generated
sparks which Athos fed with mana, turning into fire.

Fire latched onto the blade of the sword and lit up the hallway, allowing Athos to
see his surroundings.

They were slimes. there were slimes everywhere. Shapeless green slime crawled
across the floor. Athos watched as his scabbard dissolved in a matter of seconds.

"This is bad, very bad." Athos muttered in panic as he looked around for a way out,
but he was surrounded.

As far as Athos knew, slimes were the greatest enemies of novice adventurers. They
had extremely strong acid, as well as being nearly immune to physical attacks. Even
if they manage to destroy one by some miracle their weapons would corrode and
become useless.

And to make matters worse, it is forbidden to use fire on a slime, because it would
turn the acid into a gas, further increasing the risks.

Athos found himself with no choice but to keep the sword as high as possible, lest
he risk burning one of them by accident.

He looked around anxiously, as he watched them squirm. Whenever he took a step,

they crept towards him. Realizing this, he had an idea. He picked up two stones
from the ground and threw them in opposite directions, the vibration attracting the
slimes and clearing a path for him.

Athos ran as fast as he could down the hall, jumping on the few slimes that hadn't
been attracted to the stones. He came to an area where the stone was strangely
smooth, so as not to allow any slime to climb.

He looked up and all he saw was a fist-sized hole. It was at about 5 meters high,
too high for Athos to reach, even boosted with mana.
Athos concentrated his mana in his knees and ankles, just as his mother had done
while training him. He bent his body like a spring and jumped, leaning slightly
forward and reached 4 meters in a single leap.

He already knew the maximum height he could jump, so he leaned forward. He kicked
the wall, gaining the momentum he needed to reach the hole.

Athos hung from the ceiling, using only his left hand to hold the hole. He realized
that unlike the sewer made of stone, the hole was made of wood. Athos used his
right hand with the sword heated enough, as if it were a saw and cut the wood just
enough to get through.

He was lucky there was no one in the prison other than the guards outside and the
captain himself and his men. He had ordered no one to enter the prison since the
day before, so he could torture Agatha without interruption.

Athos jumped out of the hole and found himself inside the guards bathroom.

"How disgusting! How do these guys manage to get the edge dirty with a hole that
big?" He muttered in disgust, seeing some stinky stains on the armor. "I don't have
time to complain, I have to save the mother."

He came out of the bathroom and and crouched, down before searching the prison. He
kept himself as sneaky as possible as he searched her cell.

Athos heard the sound of a door opening and hid behind a table. A guard hurriedly
left the place, followed by a man Athos would never forget. He was the man who took
his mother away and involved him in all this trouble, the captain of the guard.

He waited for the man to leave the room, before peering through the door. Then,
Athos saw his mother's corpse being mutilated, and the guards talking.

He felt sadness, regret and despair, but the hatred was the most intense. Hate
clouded his thoughts and even when he cried rivers of tears, he didn't blink or
look away, recording that scene in his mind and vowing to make everyone involved
suffer a hundred times what she suffered.

It was the moment when Athos abandoned all his dreams, all his future, all his
life, in search of one thing:

Revenge.

Chapter 18

He was about to invade into, the room when he heard the sound of several footsteps
approaching. Athos hid in an adjacent room and concealed his presence. He couldn't
see who it was, but he could hear them.

"So, have you finished dressing her yet?" the captain of the guard asked.

"Yes captain, all set." The 1st guard said.

"Fine, now tie her arms behind her back and cover she face with that." The captain
threw them a rope and a sack of potatoes. "We can't risk anyone finding out she's
already dead.

You two will carry her to the stage and hold her in the guillotine. Remember to
only remove the bag when it is already attached, so that no one suspects anything."

"Wait, isn't it going to be weird to take her all tied up? We usually just tie the
convicts' hands, so people can see who's dying." the 2nd guard said in confusion.

"That's because we usually execute people alive, you idiot! If the Baron hadn't
come up with the brilliant idea of turning the execution into a show, I wouldn't be
here having to all this trouble." The captain yelled angrily, kicking a nearby
table against the wall.

He glared at the two guards in front of him and said, "Now, does any idiot still
have any questions?"

"No sir." Both responded in unison. They were still skeptical about the plan, but
they knew that if they asked more questions, they could join in the execution.

"So what are you waiting for? Bring the corpse in at once and let's end this damn
show." The captain said with a scowl, ordering his men to form around them.

Athos overheard everything and found out who he should kill first.

'This guy is to blame for all this. I will make him suffer all that she has
suffered.' Athos thought, marking the captain as his first target.

******

In the middle of the town square, a huge crowd gathered to see the execution of the
alchemist's wife and accomplice.. Normally, few people would stop to see this kind
of event, but the situation was different this time.

The number of victims and the speed with which the rumors spread moved a large
number of people to witness the event.

This only increased the baron's anxiety. The news that the convict was already dead
and that they would have to stage the execution, didn't help.

"What the fuck did that bastard do??? Why would he kill her before execution?? Just
for the pleasure of taking it into his own hands??" The baron asked the guard
brought the information, holding him by the collar.

"I-I don't know! The captain just told me to warn him to cancel the speech and
execute her as soon as she arrived. I swear I don't know anything!"The guard was in
a panic, fearing that the baron would take out his frustration on him once this was
all over.

"My lord, I advise you to cancel the speech, as the captain suggested. We can
discuss what to do with him later, but first we have to resolve the most urgent
situation." An unknown man spoke to the lord.

He wore a simple green robe with a hood, leaving only his face exposed. He had a
youthful face and didn't look particularly strong, the kind of person who didn't
attract attention, but no one dared to block him as he made his way to the baron.
This was due to the gold medallion he proudly displayed around his neck.

The locket had the symbol of a six-pointed star, with each of the six elements of
magic at each end. Light occupied the top and darkness occupied the bottom. The
wind was to the left of the light, while the water was to its right. Fire was to
the left of darkness and earth to its right. A white circle was in the center of
everything, symbolizing pure mana.

Silver threads linked the elements to mana, forming a hexagram. They symbolized the
order of magic and only mages who graduated from magic academies could receive one.

"Mr.Ricley, I understand that we need to resolve the situation, but I cannot

neglect the captain's actions-" The Baron said, all his bravery from a moment ago
draining away.

He'd hired the mage months ago, the moment he'd inherited the peerage. He had
contacted the order of magic, requesting a mage to be your bodyguard, and the order
sent in Ricley, a rookie who had just graduated.

Ricley always kept a frown on his face, despite the polite tone he used. He felt
wronged to be sent to this backward little town, while his colleagues were sent to
big cities and important research institutes.

He considered himself superior to all these people and the only reason to obey an
inferior noble like a baron, was the orders he received from the Order. They wanted
someone to keep an eye on the border town and report any movement of the demihuman
empire.

Ricley knew there were a few forts beyond the city, but none responded to order,
just the country. He knew the importance of the mission and it was the reason his
ego supported the Baron's orders.

"Sir, execution takes precedence. We can punish the captain after this whole ordeal
is over." Ricley cut the baron, off before he could say any more nonsense.

'How can this man be so stupid?' Ricley thought, internally mocking the Baron.

"Very well, you're right Mr.Ricley, I-" The baron was cut off once more, only this
time by the crowd. Countless screams and curses began to be heard, indicating that
the culprit had arrived.

The Baron took the stage and saw a group of guards approaching, cutting through the
crowd. The captain was in front of them, releasing an intimidating aura and making
the crowd instinctively back away.

Just behind him, ten guards followed in formation, escorting the condemned womam.
Two guards stood in the center of the formation, carrying a woman completely
trapped.

People didn't get a full view of her, but from what they saw, her entire body was
covered except for her feet.

"You damn!"

"Your husband killed my father! Take responsibility for it!"

"You are his accomplice! Your should have died together!"

People screamed their resentment against her, as if they wanted to unleash all
their anger and frustration.

The baron looked anxious as they approached. He made brief eye contact with the
captain of the guard, trying to show his displeasure, but the captain only snorted
in response.

The baron was insulted by his attitude, but he couldn't afford to argue in front of
so many people.

The guards arrived in front of the stage, but only the captain and the guards who
carried the condemned woman went up, the others followed the orders given earlier
and stood guard in front of the stage, preventing people from approaching.

The captain stood by the guillotine and drew his sword, ready to cut the guillotine
rope, once his subordinates had the body in place. The guards nervous put her in
place, before removing the bag from her face.

The crowd recognized her face, but people were confused by how quickly it was all
happening. There was no speech, no lynching or anything like that. Even condemned
woman was silent, as if she didn't care.

Noticing the people's unease, Ricley whispered a few words into the baron's ear,
which made his expression light up.

"My citizens! I understand your confusion, but I want to inform you of one thing.
Despite the condemned being an accomplice in the fire incident, I, in all my
benevolence, judged that she did not deserve to go through all the humiliation of
be lynched and i sent that my faithful mage, used a spell to put her to sleep and
allow her to die a painless death.

Some of you may disagree with my decision, but please, allow this poor woman to
leave without pain." The baron made a miserable face, as if he felt sorry for her.
At the same time, he made a disguised signal for the captain execute her.

He obeyed instantly, cutting the rope with all his might, as if he were cutting her
neck himself.

The blade descended, and as fast as it did, Agatha's head flew. She soared high,
until it hit the hard ground and falled to the crowd's feet.

And Athos witnessed it all, with clenched fists and making a point of remembering
of every person present on that stage.

Chapter 19

'The baron, the captain of the guard, the two guards who carried her and the priest
who is not here. These are the people I must kill.' Athos thought, watching the
"execution" from the top of a nearby building.

He glared at the figures above the stage. The way they treated his mother's death
as a show, was maddening for him. Especially the baron, who pretended to feel sorry
for her, just to cover up his death.

'That bastard is to blame for this. It was he who ordered the captain to take my
mother away, just as he used her as a scapegoat when people rioted in front of his
house.' Athos thought, wrongly deducing the culprit.

As the townspeople had done, Athos believed that the baron was the culprit behind
it all.

Athos' anger was such that without realizing it, he had changed the shape of his
mana and instead of blending in with the environment, he was releasing a slight
aura.

"Um? Who is this?" Ricley sensed her aura, even from a distance. As a mage, he was
sensitive to any change in mana and an aura would not go unnoticed by him.

He tried to use mana vision to search his surroundings, but found nothing.

'Was it my imagination?' He questioned himself for a few seconds, before forgetting

about it.

"I got careless. I have to remember to be careful of that guy, when I go after the
baron." Athos said, lying on top of the building to avoid being seen, while using
mana to erase his presence again.

'I will take revenge on each of them, but first, I need to prepare myself. I gain
nothing but an early death by being reckless.' It was Athos' last thought before he
left the place.

*****

The next week was hectic in the city of Faltra. Despite the Baron's attempted
cover-up, people suspected the veracity of the execution. The speed at which it all
happened, made the whole thing seem artificial and left a feeling of
dissatisfaction in the population.

But all this became irrelevant when news shocked the entire city. The church had
been set on fire!

Thanks to the priest's quick orders and the help of the people, they managed to
stop the fire from taking over the entire church, but about 40% of the church was
rendered useless. This included the nuns' dormitories and the orphanage wing,
forcing most of the children who lived in the church to return to the streets.

There were no deaths this time, which made the priest's quick decision-making even
more praised, but people were uneasy about the back-to-back fires. The population
began to suspect and soon the rumors began. Rumors that both fires were not an
accident but a criminal act, rumors that the alchemist was innocent and just
another victim, rumors that the alchemist was still alive and setting buildings on
fire to avenge his wife.

No one had a conclusive answer as to what was happening around town and everyone
created their own theories but never came to a conclusion. This lasted until the
next day, when the truth finally came out.

One of the nuns had been found injured, with both her wrists sprained and wounds to
her face. She claimed that the alchemist's son assaulted and knocked her out and
that he was most likely to blame for the fire.

The priest also did not find his equipment in his room, adding to his accusations.
The baron, along with the city guard, found him guilty of burning the church and a
reward of 10 pieces of silver was placed on his head.

A high reward for a child, but for the crimes he'd committed, it was justifiable.
Novice adventurers in need of money, bandits and the city guards scoured the entire
city for Athos, but to no avail.
The city guards also found a strange hole in the prison toilet, big enough for a
child to climb through, but even after combing the sewers, they found no trace of
the culprit.

Athos had disappeared and no matter how hard the authorities searched, they could
never find his whereabouts.

They never found him, because he hid in plain sight. Athos had discarded his
equipment, leaving only the short sword, for fear of being identified and if mixed
with the homeless of the slums.

Despite all the searches on his behalf, hardly anyone knew his face, allowing Athos
to roam freely through the slums after blending in.

He also had no problems supporting himself, as his concealment skill made him a
natural thief. He was slowly but surely gathering the items he needed to begin his
revenge.

Even though was talented, Athos knew he didn't stand a chance against the captain
of the guard. Decades of experience and training could not be surpassed by two
months of training and natural talent.

If Athos wanted a chance, he would have to level the playing field. And lucky for
him, he knew exactly how to do that. He would have to use his skill as an
alchemist, not a warrior, to win.

Athos used the sewer passages to move around, but he encountered some unforeseen
circumstances. He wasn't the only one who knew about this place, guards patrolled
it regularly and slum thugs used this place to transport contraband.

The place was much busier than Athos imagined, but he found a relatively remote
place where he could work without being discovered. He prepared everything he
thought he might need and left the sewers, a furious expression plastered on his
face.

He easily found out where the captain of the guard lived. He was one of the
strongest people in town, so figuring out his identity wasn't difficult. Athos only
needed to hide in an alley near the city barracks and reinforce his vision with
mana for a moment, every time someone leaves, until he found the right person.

The captain of the guard was a bald man, in his late 40s, but he didn't appear to
be over 30. The mana in his body slowed the effects of aging, allowing humans
capable of using mana to live longer than normal people.

He had deep bags under his eyes. He had spent the last few days hunting down Athos,
mobilizing all the subordinates he had, but to no avail. The only thing they found
was his armor.

He felt exhausted and things only got worse for him. A removal order was issued by
the baron, but he only sighed in resignation, lacking the will to contest it.
Between the hunt for the alchemist's son, the burial of his own daughter and his
wife's depression, the dismissal seemed irrelevant to him.

*****

Late at night, in front of the captain of the guard's house.

"Haah... come on Gavin, you can do it." The guard captain repeated to himself in
front of the front door, but didn't have the heart to open it. Since the church
fire, he was been completely obsessed with hunting down Athos, refusing to return
home until he finds him and neglecting his grieving wife until now.

He knew she was hurting, but because of pain and anger, he thought only of himself
and left her alone. However, when he got home and found no lights on and no one
waiting awake for him, that was the moment he realized the mistake he'd made.

"Haah, there's no use standing here. Let's get this over with." He said to himself,
after spending nearly 10 minutes at a standstill, gathering his courage. He opened
the door with shaking hands, nervousness tangible in his expression.

The house was destroyed, furniture broken, fabrics and blankets torn and dishes in
pieces on the floor. Gavin's mind went from tired to alert in an instant, and for a
brief moment he feared the worst. Then he saw his wife in her daughter's room,
leaning on her bed, sleeping after crying so much.

Her hands were slightly injured and her clothes had splinters from the wood of the
furniture, indicating that she must have been injured in a fit of rage, while
destroying the furniture in the house.

Gavin relaxed, sighing for the umpteenth time tonight, as he let his guard down.
His house hadn't been raided and his wife attacked. His wife had destroyed the
house.

Chapter 20

"Darling, I'm sorry I left you alone until now. Come on, let's go to bed." Gavin
said gently, as he lifted his wife. He was about to leave the room, but he heard
the sound of broken glass.

He turned around, but because of the accumulated tiredness, his reaction was slower
than usual. He tried to jump back and draw his sword, but it was too late. A glass
bottle shattered on the wall behind him, splashing green liquid onto his back.

"Argh!" He screamed in pain as the liquid spurted down his back. His shirt
instantly melted as his skin sizzled from the slime acid.

He leaned forward, shielding his wife from the acid using his own body. He quickly
focused the mana around his back, using the bronze body skill. The muscles in his
back tightened and the sensation of pain lessened until it became bearable, which
allowed Gavin to get a look at his enemy.

An incredibly small man was in front of her, entering through a broken window. By
his stature, he wasn't bigger than a 10-11 year old kid, but the fact that he
already had a formed core and was able to circulate mana told the captain that he
couldn't underestimate him.

He was dressed in black clothes, a gray coat and a mask covering the lower part of
his face. Gavin saw that his core was still incredibly weak, but he couldn't
protect his wife and fight an assassin at the same time.

"Who the hell are you?" Gavin asked, trying to buy time to wake his wife. He shook
her body, trying to wake her up, but there was no response. He looked away for a
brief moment and saw a dart stuck in her neck, dripping blood and an unknown
transparent liquid.

"What did you do?" Gavin removed the dart, glaring at Athos. The latter responded
by taking two glass bottles from his belt and throwing them.

Gavin was alert this time and managed to dodge it in time. When the bottles smashed
against the wall, the green liquid exploded and began to corrode the wall.

Athos threw a fourth bottle, but Gavin couldn't dodge it in time forcing him to
break the bottle with his sword. Lucky for him, this time it was a feint, there was
only water in the bottle.

Gavin knew he wouldn't get anywhere like this and that the acid in his back would
only get worse with time. He also knew he couldn't fight with his wife around,
because if the enemy had half a brain, he'd obviously aim for her.

With no choice, he turned around, trusting the bronze body's ability to defend him
and ran as fast as he could towards the front door. He knew the little assassin
couldn't keep up with his speed and would only have two choices: recklessly pursue
him or flee.

But to his surprise, he did nothing. He continued to stand there, as if he was

waiting for something. Gavin became alert and tried to accelerate, but sudden
dizziness hit him. He fell to the ground off balance, his limbs going numb and his
vision blurring.

In a last desperate effort, he tried to use the mana to amplify his voice and call
for help, but it was in vain. The poison in his body not only made his body numb,
it also uncontrolled his mana flow.

No matter how much he focused, he couldn't control his mana. His bronze body
ability disappeared and the acid returned to corrode his flesh. He gritted his
teeth and tried desperately to look for a way out of this situation.

'When did he poison me?' Gavin thought, looking for any clues that might help him.
It was then that he saw half-opened leather bags by the windows. They were pouring
out a white powder that immediately evaporates on contact with the air.

They were melting into a colorless mist, which explained why he hadn't detected it
sooner. Even though the fog had mana, it was dispersing through the air.

"Whew, you finally fell. I was starting to think it wouldn't work." A boy's voice
was heard behind him.

Despite the numbness caused by the poison, Gavin felt as if his body stiffened for
a moment. He recognized that voice. It was the voice of someone he wanted to hunt
down and kill with his bare hands.

"A..aa..at." The captain tried to scream his name with all his might, but he
couldn't.

"Did you have fun? Torturing my mother while she was helpless? Using her body like
a doll with the strings cut? Answer me, did you have fun?" Athos said madly. The
captain was not the only person who had spent the last few days without sleep.

Originally, Athos wanted to better prepare himself before attacking the captain,
but he was unable to hold back. The idea that the man who had captured his mother,
who had taken her from him, was alive was agonizing for him. He'd only slept for 8
hours tops this entire week, having nightmares every time he closed his eyes.

Sleep deprivation, grief over the loss of his mother, and the intense hatred that
burned through his mind every time he thought of the culprits, brought him to the
brink of a breakdown. He had lived a calm and peaceful life until now, this whole
sudden ordeal was putting him on the brink of insanity.

Athos made minimal preparations and attacked as soon as he had the chance. He acted
recklessly and immaturely, taking unnecessary risks on a plan with more holes than
a sieve, but by sheer luck, he managed to come out on top.

Athos crouched in front of Gavin's face with a maddened look and said, "Captain, do
you remember what you did to her? How many times did she scream? I hope you
remember captain, because I'm going to do even worse to you." And..." Athos looked
at someone behind the captain. "With whom you love."

Gavin's eyes widened. He tried to attack Athos with everything he had, but Athos
just laughed at him.

"It's useless, captain. We'll have plenty of time to talk, but for now, sleep." The
poison in his body blurred his vision and before long, he passed out.

"I'll love to do that." Athos muttered to himself, as he looked at the two bodies
on the ground. He hurried on, quickly scooping up what was left of the mana powder
uncontrollable. It was a precious item now that Athos' resources were scarce, but
more importantly-

"It's a family recipe. Ironic, isn't it captain? You've been captured by the secret
family poison you destroyed." Athos said, while laughing wryly. He'd felt broken
inside ever since he'd seen his mother killed and used as a puppet. Being able to
spit the venom back was intoxicating.

"But I have to admit, this thing is terrifying. How did my father come up with the
idea to mix a paralyzing poison with a corrupted magic root and turn it to dust?"
Athos wondered, looking at what was left inside the bags.

"Now, enough rambling, I have to get these two and get out of here before anyone
sees me." Athos talking to himself, taking the bodies to a nearby sewer trapdoor.

"I'll bring your wife too, so you can watch while I play with the person you love."
Athos spoke to the unconscious captain, as if waiting for an answer.

"I'll also leave a present behind, that should distract the guards for a while."
Athos said with a mischievous smile.

Chapter 21

The next day, people woke up to two shocking news. A new fire had started in the
house of the captain of the city guard and he was missing, as was his wife.

A full-scale investigation was carried out, mobilizing almost every force in the
city, from the barracks, the adventurers' guild, and even the baron's guard.
Investigations showed that the culprit had used the sewers to move around.
Investigations were made throughout the sewer, but the captain's whereabouts
remained unknown. The only thing they found was some smuggling bases from favela
gangs.

******

Drip, drip.

Gavin slowly regained consciousness. His vision was blurry and his senses dulled.

"Where I am?" He muttered slowly, finding it difficult to speak. Her body was still
numb and her mind was confused. Gavin tried to move but felt his body restrained by
something.

He looked down and even though his vision blurred, he saw his body bound in chains.
He was sitting on a wooden chair with his limbs chained together. Gavin panicked
and started swaying wildly trying to free himself, but he was stuck tight.

The only thing he was able to move was his head, but he couldn't see anything
because of the darkness. He also tried to circulate mana, but it flowed wildly
through his body.

"Are you awake yet? You aren't the captain of the guard for no reason. Wait a
minute, I'll give you some attention." A surprised voice came from somewhere.

As his vision adjusted and adapted to the dark environment, Gavin was able to see
his surroundings.

He looked like he was in a natural cave or something built by subterranean

monsters. He could see narrow tunnels in the ceiling, walls, and floor, an obvious
creation of monsters, due to the total lack of order.

The place was approximately 10 meters wide and 2 meters high, with random items
littering the floor. They were mostly miscellaneous items like clothes, tools,
weapons, food, and jars with unknown contents.

A child in his early teens was sitting with his back to him, brewing some kind of
potion. He looked concentrated as he mixed unknown liquids in a flask of water. A
flame floated beneath the vial, fueled only by magic.

"You shit! What did you do to me? Where's my wife?" Gavin screamed, trying to jump
at Athos, but all he could do was fall flat on his face. Athos didn't bother to
turn around and continued to concentrate on his work.

"...blergh!" Gavin choked on the dirt and had trouble breathing, but Athos just
smiled at him. For the next ten minutes, Athos ignored Gavin's grumbles and curses
as he enjoyed every second he was choking.

After Athos finished his potion, he turned around and enjoyed it for a few more
moments while he suffered. Athos only lifted Gavin when seeing him suffer from his
face on the floor lost its fun.

"I'll pick you up, but you'd better not fall again, otherwise I'll interrogate you
face down. " Athos said, amused by the captain's irritated face.

"When I get loose, I'm going to smash your face, until it's like your mother cogh's
bitch!" Gavin tried to threaten him, but a punch to the neck shut him up. Gavin
gasped mid-speech as Athos pulled his face closer.
"Captain, I'm not a patient person, so you better not test me." Gavin was forced to
look him in the eye and all he saw was intense, barely contained hatred. Athos
looked like he would jump down his throat and kill him at any moment, but he was
able to stop himself.

"Cough...cough...where is my wife? What did you do to her?" Gavin asked after

coughing.

Athos just smiled at him as he walked away and picked up one of the jars in the
corner of the room. He placed it in front of him and opened it without saying
anything.

Gavin felt a chill as he looked at the smile on Athos' face. His expression was
that of a demon, amused at seeing her suffering. The same expression he wore when
he tortured Agatha.

Gavin looked at the contents of the jar, even though he knew he shouldn't, and felt
his mind freeze at what he saw. There was a severed hand inside, floating in an
unknown yellow liquid. Gavin recognized the ring on their hand. It was the wedding
ring he had given her.

"You motherfucker!!! I'm going to kill you!!! I swear I'm going to kill you!!!"
Gavin started screaming with all his might. He released the mana contained in the
core, not caring about the damage it would do to himself.

His muscles swelled but immediately began to tear. blood ran from his nose as he
cried blood and tears at the same time. The chains creaked to hold him, while Gavin
roared like a rabid animal.

"Hey captain, do you want to see what's in the other jars?" Athos asked the
captain, a crooked smile on his face. He was delighted to see the mixture of hate
and despair in Gavin's expression.

Athos took the jars one by one and spread the contents at Gavin's feet. Feet,
ankles, thighs, pelvis, forearm, shoulders, and organs were randomly scattered on
the floor. It was like a macabre puzzle, created by a psychopath.

Gavin watched in desperation as Athos brought the last jug to him. He had already
bruised his throat from the uncontrolled mana, but he kept cursing anyway.

"Captain, play a game with me. If you can guess what's in that jar, I'll let you
go." Athos said playfully.

"I'll kill you… I swear it." Gavin exclaimed, spitting blood in Athos' face.

"Wrong answer! The correct answer is..." Athos said as if he were putting on a
show. He kicked the jar and it shattered onto the floor, spilling the yellow liquid
and the last piece of the puzzle.

A completely bandaged and bloodstained object rolled across the floor. As he

rolled, the cloth slowly unfurled, until it came to rest at Gavin's feet. It was a
human head. He couldn't see her face because it was facing the floor, but the hair
color and even the size were the same as he remembered.

"Honey…I'm sorry." He cried, looking sadly at the head at his feet.

"Wow, you got it wrong twice! You sure as hell didn't become the captain because of
intelligence." Athos scoffed at him as if disappointed.
"You shit…" Gavin glared at Athos until he understood what he'd said. "What do you
mean I messed up?"

"That's exactly what you heard captain, you got it wrong. The correct answer is..."
Athos kicked his head, revealing his face to the captain. "Some nun!"

"More specifically, the nun who tried to arrest me when I woke up in church."

"Who?" Gavin took time to remember who she was, but he failed. "It doesn't matter.
More importantly, where is my wife??"

"She's safe, captain." Athos entered one of the narrow passages and brought up a
fully gagged body. She was sleeping, even though Athos moved her roughly.

"What did you do to her? Is she okay?" Hope returned to the captain's eyes as he
realized she was breathing.

"Of course she's fine, I don't hurt anyone who hasn't done anything to me. After
all, even though she is your wife, I, in all my benevolence, judged that she didn't
deserve to go through the pain of being dismembered and wore a poison to keep her
asleep and allow her to die a painless death.

You may disagree with my decision, but please allow this poor woman to die a
painless death." Athos made a miserable face for exactly 3 seconds, before bursting
out laughing.

"Did you dismember someone just for that? For a joke?" Gavin was in disbelief at
Athos' cruelty. He felt that he was in the lair not of a monster, but a demon.

"Yeah, wasn't it hilarious? At least for me, it was." Athos mocked him. "Captain,
how about we play a new game? One with your wife's life as the prize."

Chapter 22

Gavin was furious at the ridiculous proposal. "A game? You think I'm going to bet
my wife's life on a fucking game??"

Compared to him, Athos was much calmer. So far everything has been as he thought.
The captain was already severely injured and emotionally shaken, without Athos
torturing him.

Athos wanted him to suffer, not only physically, but psychologically as well.

"Yes, I think you will, captain. Because if you don't play with me, I'll kill your
wife right now." Athos did not wait for his answer and drew his sword. He impaled
the sword through her stomach to the hilt.

"ARGHHHHHHHH!" She woke with shock and pain, screaming at the top of her lungs. She
writhed in pain on the floor, not understanding what was happening.

"No! What did you do, you bastard? You said you didn't hurt anyone outside of your
revenge!" Gavin squirmed in the chains, watching helplessly as she suffered.

"Did I forget to say? I'm a hypocrite." Athos said with a shrug as he poked at the
hilt of his sword. He laughed every time she moaned in pain.

"Captain, I have healing potions that can save her, you know? If you play with me,
I can save her." Athos said, knowing the captain would be unable to refuse him.

The captain ground his teeth and nodded. "Please save her. I'll play with you."

"Great! I thought you'd be a little more stubborn. I'm glad you're opening up to me
just like your wife opened up." Athos laughed at his joke, as he removed the sword
from her stomach. He took hold of the sword's hilt and pulled it all out at once,
making the wound spurt blood.

The captain's wife began to spasm, while blood was foaming at the mouth. Athos
didn't mind this, picking up healing potions of different ranks and randomly
pouring them over the wounds.

The wounds began to heal, but it was done irregularly. The cut skin regenerated
first, closing the wound, but the hole in her stomach remained open, causing
internal bleeding.

Acid and bile leaked out of the stomach and without having any outlet, accumulated
inside the body and spread throughout the body through the bloodstream. Athos had
not done this on purpose, but unintentionally, he sentenced her to a slow and
painful death.

"Did you heal her?" Not knowing any of this, Gavin asked worried about his wife's
condition. He was relieved to see how quickly the wound had closed and hoped she
could live another day.

"Now that she's healed, shall we start our game?" Said Athos, crushing his hopes.

Athos knew she was not cured, but he said nothing. That would be the icing on the
cake, the final blow to break the captain.

"The game is simple. I ask a question and you answer, then you ask a question and I
answer. You must be full of questions, right? It's your chance to get the answers
you want." Athos smiled brightly at him.

"What's the trick?" Gavin didn't buy that smile, looking suspicious.

"You're very suspicious, you know? It's very simple. Every time I feel like you're
lying, I'm going to dismember your wife." Athos's smile went from brilliant to
devilish in an instant. He pointed at the shredded nun on the floor, to emphasize
his point.

"You crazy bastard-" Gavin started to curse, but Athos interrupted. "Understand one
thing, captain. You will die here. Regardless of what you do or say, I will kill
you.

But your wife may still survive. I don't give a damn if she dies or not, my
business is with you. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you
cooperate with me, she can live." Athos said seriously, as he looked into the
captain's eyes. His face became an emotionless stone mask, no trace of his
brilliant or devilish smile.

"..." Gavin closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He opened his eyes a while
later, determined to at least save his wife from this horrible situation.

"Glad you made up your mind." Athos nodded, before returning to his playful
expression. "As the guy holding the sword, I start. Captain, who are the guards
that carried my mother to the guillotine?"

"Mark and Leonel. They both live in the barracks dormitory." Gavin already imagined
what Athos wanted when he suggested that game. He was willing to sell his friends
if it could save his wife.

The shock and dread of seeing his wife's limbs in a jar were still fresh in his
mind. Mainly because the nun's pieces were still at her feet.

Athos nodded, saving the information. "Your time."

"Where are we? I know we're underground, but I've never seen this place in town."

"We are below the sewers. I found this place by accident, to be honest. There are
monsters called rock worms and they created these tunnels. They feed on the slimes
that live in the sewers and use their abilities towards the earth to erase their
tracks, so it's very difficult to detect them."

"I understood." That was all Gavin could say, his expression grim. This place only
existed because of your neglect to patrol the sewers.

"My turn. How is the baron's security?"

"The baron's guard is made up of former e~d-class adventurers and their leader is a
c-class, comparable to me in combat."

"That won't be a problem." Athos said with scorn.

"-But the strongest is that mage named Ricley. I never saw him fighting seriously.
but when he was hired by the baron, the leader of the personal guard challenged him
and Ricley mopped the floor with it, with no elemental magic. After that, no one
dared to challenge him again."

"...this could be a problem," Athos said with a troubled expression.

"My turn, brat. Did you burn the church down?" Gavin asked with a stern expression.

"Yes, it was me. I needed a distraction." Athos shrugged, treating the matter as
irrelevant.

They continued with the questions and answers for a while, Gavin never daring to
lie. Athos asked about the guards, the church, and anything else he thought he
might need.

After approximately 1 hour, Athos finally had all his questions answered. He now
knew the guards' patrol route, the secret deals with favela gangs, the baron's
corruption, and even the church's child trafficking deals.

"Man, the whole town sucks! Is everyone involved in some crime?" Athos asked, half
puzzled and half angry. He cared about the townspeople as much as he cared about a
rock in the middle of the road, but the idea that every influential person in town
was involved in some crime irritated him.

"What do you expect from a small backwater town, halfway across the border with a
country of demihumans, two weeks away from any other town? Small towns like ours
are ruled by crime." Gavin lifted one corner of his lips in disgust.

"Well, our little game is over, captain. It was fun while it lasted, your honesty
surprised me." Athos smiled at him, taking a toolbox from the corner of the room.
There were pliers, blades, hammers, needles, etc...

"Are you going to let my wife live as you promised?" Gavin asked anxiously.

"I promise. Now is the time for OUR fun." Athos smiled as Gavin straightened his
posture, bracing himself for whatever Athos might do.

Chapter 23

"Do your worst, brat. I was a prison interrogator for over 10 years. I've seen
things and done things you can't even imagine." Gavin mocked him. In his mind,
there was nothing a child could do that he hadn't already done. No matter how cruel
Athos had been up until now, he was still an inexperienced child.

"Captain, I think you're a little mistaken about me. My father taught me how to
dissect monsters and how to find nerves and sensitive areas in the body. My mother
taught me the exact points to attack, to do the most damage possible. And I
practiced my skills on that nun at your feet. I'm sure I can surprise you."

Athos walked around the captain as he spoke. Gavin expected Athos to attack his
back, but to his surprise, all he heard was a click. The chains came free all at
once, falling to the ground with a screeching sound.

Gavin was startled for a moment but recovered soon after. He jumped out of his
chair and spun around still in the air, trying to crush Athos' head with a punch.
Or at least that's what he tried.

In reality, his muscles were in tatters and his calf couldn't take the sudden
strain, tearing at the muscles. Gavin dropped midway through the spin, adding even
more ridiculousness to his situation.

"Arghh!!" Gavin screamed in pain as he grabbed his calf. He knew he wasn't well,
but the damage to his body was much more severe than he'd expected.

"I repeat again: you're not very smart, are you? Trying to move with your body in
that state is really stupid." Athos laughed at him as he stomped on his injured
calf.

"Urk!" Gavin groaned in pain and tried to defend himself, but he was too hurt for
that. Athos took the potion he was brewing when Gavin woke up and forced him to
drink it.

"Blergg!' Gavin tried to vomit, but Athos clamped his mouth shut. With no other
choice, Gavin was forced to swallow the unfamiliar contents or choke. He felt
awkward immediately.

His senses were heightened, but his motor skills failed. He could feel everything
around him, but his body seemed unable to respond.

"What did you do to me?" Gavin spoke, starting to get scared. He might have
experience as a torturer and was confident not to give in during torture, but doing
it drugged was another story.
"This is a drug sold in the slums, able to better the sensations of the body for a
short period of time and dark snake venom. Did you know that dark snakes poison
their prey and devour them alive? Your victims agonize for weeks." Athos smiled
cruelly as he explained.

"I mixed the two together and created a poison capable of paralyzing, while
enhancing the body's sensations. Original recipe. I tested it on that nun and she
begged to die in less than 15 minutes. How long do you think it lasts?" Athos
pointed to the pieces of the nun behind the captain while putting on an hourglass.

Athos stopped stalling and began the torture. He took a few needles from the
toolbox, before reaching for Gavin's right hand. He used his skill to heat the
needles and inserted them between the flesh and the nail and pushed down to the
first knuckle of the finger. The heat cauterized the wound preventing the blood
from leaking out.

Gavin shuddered through clenched teeth, fighting not to scream. The sensation was
three times more painful than usual and explained why that nun was begging to die.

After the needle had penetrated all the flesh, Athos plucked it up as if it were a
lever, lifting the needle. He repeated the process on every fingernail, while Gavin
shook with pain and anger each time.

"Huf, huf, you're going to have to do worse than that." Gavin said in defiance.

Athos didn't answer, instead, he took a hammer and nails this time. He placed
Gavin's palms against the floor before driving a nail into the tip of his nailless
finger. He lifted the hammer and drove the nail through the bone in one fell swoop.

Puck!

"AARGHHH!!" Gavin couldn't resist this time, screaming and writhing in pain. Athos
didn't give him time to think and continued hammering his other fingers. The wounds
were cauterized the moment they were opened, stopping the bleeding and prolonging
her pain.

After hammering, Athos grabbed both of Gavin's hands and pulled, ripping his
fingers and causing blood to spurt everywhere. Athos took a knife and heated it,
rubbing the boiling blade over the wounds to close them.

As Gavin struggled with the pain in his hands, Athos grabbed a pair of pliers and
held his feet. He pinched one of his fingers and twisted it violently.

"AAHHH!"

Athos continued, enjoying the screams of pain. He put the pliers on his ankle and
squeezed, crushing him.

The torture continued for a while, with Athos slowly ripping and crushing pieces of
the captain. Gavin tried to hold back, but as the torture continued and the pain
only got worse, he started screaming more and more.

The more Gavin screamed, the more pain he showed, the more violent Athos became. A
feeling of satisfaction filled her mind every time she heard Gavin scream. The
helpless feeling he'd felt when he'd watched his mother die and had tormented him
ever since faded, replaced by a bloodthirsty euphoria that only increased with
Gavin's screams.

His vision began to redden and Athos dropped the tools, using his bare hands to
knock. He punched the face, chest, belly and any part of the captain he could see.
He broke his ribs and all his teeth.

Gavin couldn't scream as he drowned in his own blood.

Athos broke his nose against his face and pressed his fingers against the captain's
eyes until he heard the eyes pop. He kept hitting until his fists bled, until he
felt his knuckles crack.

When Athos finally regained control, Gavin's body was completely crushed into a
paste of flesh. The arms were missing from the elbow down, the legs were completely
broken, the chest was completely crushed and the head was open like a watermelon.

"Hunf...hunf...shit, I lost control. I forgot to tell him about his wife to break
him mentally, not just physically." Athos felt a little disappointed in himself as
he panted heavily for air. He looked down at his aching wrists and started to
laugh.

"Mom, the first motherfucker who hurt you is already dead. I'll kill the others
soon, ok? But for now, let me get some rest..." Athos said, letting exhaustion take
over him and fell asleep.

He hadn't slept well in days, thinking about how to kill the captain and now that
he did, all the accumulated tension was gone, causing him to pass out. For the
first time since the fire, Athos was able to sleep peacefully without the memories
of the execution haunting his dreams.

******

Athos woke up 14 hours later when the thick smell of blood became too much even for
him. He felt refreshed, the flame of hatred that had burned his mind and made him
out of control temporarily faded, allowing him to think clearly again.

He felt light and laughed like an idiot every time he looked at Gavin's meat paste.

"I think I should lure a slime over here and clean up this mess. A mop won't do
it." Athos laughed at his own joke as he got up to eat something.

'I should also take a shower and change my clothes. I stink worse than corpses.'
That's what Athos thought, as he took a herb of water and directed the world energy
that his body naturally absorbed, towards the herb.

The herb absorbed the world's energy and began to produce water, which Athos
accumulated in a pot.

This was one of the tricks Athos learned, testing his innate ability to absorb
energy. Normally, the herb couldn't absorb Athos' energy because it would be poison
for it, but Athos could use the pure world energy getting special effects depending
on the ingredient used.

The effects were simple, but they helped in the daily life of someone like Athos,
who couldn't show himself without being hunted.

Chapter 24
After cleaning himself and changing clothes, Athos left and headed towards the
slums. He needed to replenish his stash of drugs and supplies, but more
importantly, he needed a break to think.

'I was an idiot yesterday. I just attacked without thinking. If the captain's wife
hadn't been there, I would have died. If the captain hadn't just exhausted, I would
have died. If the captain had ignored the woman and focused on me, I would have
died.' Athos goes on to list everything that could have gone wrong while walking
through the slums.

The situation looked tense, with armed bandits all over the place, but no one
seemed to be after him. They were focused on preventing guards from entering the
favelas. In less than 5 minutes that Athos entered the favela, he had already
encountered more than 3 skirmishes between guards and bandits.

Unbeknownst to Athos, a war had broken out between the city guards and the slum
gangs. The guards were not silent about the captain's kidnapping and continued to
investigate the sewers.

They followed the tracks and found that they led to the favelas. In fact, they had
lost track of Athos after entering his own hideout and had stumbled across his
tracks as he headed towards the slums.

After that, it was easy to imagine what happened. Guards raided the favelas in an
attempt to find the captain and the gangs responded aggressively, impeding what
they considered an invasion of their territory.

Small fights broke out throughout the favela while Athos was torturing the captain.
The situation had not yet calmed down and all the forces in the city were tense,
fearing a war throughout the city.

Most businesses in the favelas were closed for fear of becoming involved in the
conflict. The only stores that were still open were the stores that were away from
the slums, therefore, away from the danger zone.

The bounty on Athos' head was still active, but there was no one to care about him,
with the city on the brink of possible war. Something really convenient for him.

Athos heard all this from the conversations of favela residents.

'Hilarious. People are killing each other over that garbage and I didn't even have
to do anything.' Athos had to work hard not to laugh at the townspeople as he
bought a meat skewer at one of the few stalls still functioning in the slums.

"A skewer, old man." Athos said.

"..." The elderly man didn't answer and just handed over the skewer silently after
receiving the money.

Athos ate the skewer while walking through the favela. 'Getting drugs is going to
be hard that way. Security will be tight around drugs and contraband. What should I
do?' Athos agonized over what to do.

"Could you make a donation to someone in need, young man?" A homeless man asked
Athos in a hoarse voice as he passed.

"Sorry, no money, man." Athos replied quickly, without looking back.

"You're not kind at all, you know? I expected more from Robert's son Athos." The
homeless man said, his voice changing to a more jovial one as he scolded Athos.

Athos froze and turned stiffly, like a poorly oiled machine. He dropped the skewer
to the ground and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, preparing to strike at
any moment.

He looked at the homeless man in front of him using mana vision and saw the
strongest mana core he had ever seen. The core had three layers, getting brighter
the closer to the center.

"Who are you?" Athos asked cautiously. He knew he didn't stand a chance against the
stranger, but he didn't let his guard down anyway.

"No need to be so cautious. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't talk to you like
that, would I?" The unknown man said, indifferent to the murderous look Athos was
giving him.

"How do you know me?" Athos changed his question, realizing that the stranger had
changed the subject.

"I'd love to talk to you here, but I'm kind of a shy guy. Mind if we go somewhere
else?" The stranger didn't wait for Athos to answer and got up, walking towards the
alley. He was wearing a ragged overcoat and walking bent over, leaning on a wooden
cane.

"I met your father when I moved to this town, Athos. Robert was a brilliant man
when it came to alchemy and we became fast friends. He always talked about you when
he was drunk. He always boasted of what a genius son he had. It's a shame what
happened to him and his mother." The stranger said, with a bit of longing and
regret in his voice.

"I was out of town when it all happened, but now that I'm back, I've decided to
help what's left of his family. You, Athos." The stranger spoke, showing unexpected
kindness to Athos.

"Athos?" He turned around, surprised by his silence, but there was no one there.

Athos hadn't followed him from the start, running the moment the stranger turned
his back.

"You little shit..." The stranger felt a vein pop in his forehead, while an icy
aura froze the puddles of water around him.

*****

Athos fled, but could not go far. Less than 5 minutes later, the stranger had
caught up with him.

"You've gone far boy, but it's the end of the line." The stranger said annoyed. He
has cornered Athos in a dead end.

"Man, I don't know you. Why should I follow you?" Athos asked, trying to find a way
out of this situation.

'How did he find me so fast?' That's what he thought.

"You would have known if you'd listened to me! I just want to help you, but I can't
give you details in public. Can we go somewhere more private, please?" he asked, as
he stepped to the side, making sure Athos was always in sight, just in case.

"Can you at least tell me your name?" Athos asked, still wary.

"Sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Khali hill. Robert's friend." Khali gave him
a small bow.

Athos sighed in defeat and followed the man. They walked in silence for a while,
Khali glancing back every now and then to make sure Athos didn't run away. They
walked to an abandoned house.

"Is that it? I expected more." Athos was disappointed when he entered and saw that
the house was completely empty.

"Don't be impatient, Athos. You'll like what you see." Khali said anxiously for his
reaction. He took a pendant from his neck and lifted it.

The pendant had an orange gem that began to glow the moment khali flowed mana into
it. Suddenly the ground began to sink and form a ladder of earth. He descended
without hesitation, but Athos felt a little cornered.

"Don't worry, it's safe. I created this place." Khali said, trying to reassure him.

Athos nodded wordlessly and followed. After Athos descended, Khali flowed mana into
the pendant once more and the tunnel closed behind him. He took a wand from his
pocket and created a glowing sphere to light the way.

They continued in silence as the tunnel got tighter and tighter. The stairs
disappeared, replaced by uneven ground, as if a monster had dug it up.

"Wait, this place is..." Athos muttered in surprise.

"It's the tunnels you use to hide in. I'm the one who created this place and I'm
the one who allowed you to find it. Or do you think you found this place by
accident?" Khali smiled smugly at him.

"Why did you only reveal yourself now?" Athos asked confused.

"Because if a stranger comes into your secret hideout to say hi, you'd find it
suspicious, wouldn't you?"

"Not that you've done much better." Athos said sarcastically.

"Kheum, it doesn't matter. The important thing is to talk about the future. And as
proof of my goodwill I brought you a gift." Khali said as they exited the tunnels
and entered a spacious area.

There wasn't much in the room except for torches on the walls and two men chained
to the walls. They were injured, but it didn't look like anything serious. Their
armor was broken, but Athos recognized them as the guards' uniforms.

"Are they?" Athos didn't need to think long to guess who they were. Suddenly, the
identity of the stranger became irrelevant, while a boiling anger took over his
mind.

"They're yours, do what you want." Khali said leaning against the wall as he
crossed his arms, looking forward to what would happen. He had seen what happened
to the captain and was curious if such a small child was really capable of such
brutality.
Chapter 25

Athos walked slowly towards the guards with the sword in his hands, the point
dragging against the ground and creating sparks. The sparks engulfed the sword,
turning into flames that covered the blade, shocking the khali and horrifying the
guards.

'Is he able to control fire without training? The fire element affinity and mana
control must be excellent.' Khali thought, changing his plans. Originally, he
planned to take Athos somewhere else and start life anew, but his talent was too
good to pass up.

He must be brought into the organization.

The guards on the other hand were in a panic. They were just patrolling, when
everything around them turned completely white and they felt intense cold, before
passing out. When they woke up, they were already trapped and unarmed, but at least
their captor didn't hurt them.

The boy on the other hand, looked furious and ready to kill them.

"Hey, you got the wrong guy! I swear I don't know you guys!" The 2nd guard or
lionel yelled at the Khali but never stopped looking at the flaming sword.

"No, I'm sure you're the right guy. You were the ones who carried the alchemist's
wife to execution, right?" Khali replied without looking away from his sword,
focused on analyzing Athos' skill level.

"Yes, it was us, but what does that have to do with-" The 1st guard or Mark tried
to counter-argument but realized the situation. "Shit. It's you."

"Right." Athos nodded, slowly running the flaming sword through Mark's arm. He put
the blade against his forearm and went down to his shoulder, burning the skin.

"What do you mean 'it's you', what the fuck are you talking about??" Leonel was a
little less intelligent and still didn't understand what was happening.

"It's the alchemist's son, the boy the captain was hunting." Mark said between
groans of pain as realization hit him. "It was you who kidnapped the captain."

"Right." Athos changed targets, now burning Leonel's ribs. He wasn't as tough as
Mark and he screamed in pain at the slightest touch of the sword.

"I asked the captain that and I'll ask you too. Do you remember what you did to
her? How many times did she scream?" Athos' eyes regained the glint of madness he'd
had when he'd tortured the captain.

"Boy, you're mixing things up. We took your mother to the stage, but she was
already dead. We didn't torture her the day before either. The captain did
everything himself, forbidding everyone to enter the prison." Mark tried to save
himself, putting all the blame on the captain.

"He's right! We have nothing to do with this. We are innocent!" Leonel screamed,
shivering every time the hot iron touched his skin.

"Do you want me to believe that? That you conveniently weren't in the place? That
you just did what you were told and it's not your fault?" Athos said sarcastically.
He looked directly at Mark, recognizing the one with a brain of the pair.

"When you say it like that, it sounds like a lie. But it's true boy. We didn't hurt
your mother." Mark looked into her eyes as he spoke, conveying his sincerity.

Athos looked into his eyes, looking for any hint of a lie or guilt, but found only
truth. He felt his will waver for a moment, the flame of hatred burning in his mind
fading, making Athos hesitate and his sword tremble.

He wouldn't hesitate to kill innocents if it were to complete his revenge, but

torturing people just for carrying his mother's corpse was beyond him.

"Boy, you don't have to do this. If you let us go, I swear my friend and I won't
talk about you. We can help you escape the city if you want." Mark sensed the
hesitation in him and hammered the iron while it was hot.

Mark wasn't the only one to notice the hesitation on Athos. khali noticed it too
and was glad of it. It gave him hope that, deep down, Athos wasn't just a raging
beast. That he still had a reason or at least a line he wasn't willing to cross.

But Athos's next action destroyed that thought. Athos decapitated both guards in a
single move, using the flaming sword to cauterize the cut the moment it was made,
preventing a single drop of blood from spilling.

Both heads rolled to the ends of the room as Athos checked his sword, making sure
it wasn't smeared with blood.

"Why did you do that? I thought you were undecided whether to kill them or not."
Khali asked in disbelief, unable to understand his thought process.

"I hesitated for a second and decided to show mercy to them. They're not to blame
and don't deserve to be tortured." Athos said coldly, as the hatred burning in his
mind calmed down.

"You call that mercy?" Khali sneered at Athos.

"I was merciful, not stupid. I couldn't let them go after they knew my identity, so
I gave them a quick and painless death. That was mercy." Athos explained his train
of thought, making Khali realize how disturbed Athos' mind was, but he found order
amidst the chaos that was his mind.

'He may have lost his cool the moment he saw the guards, but he didn't lose his
rationality. He still listened to what they had to say and killed them for a
reason, not for fun.' Khali felt relieved when he realized that fact. He could not
take Athos under his wing if he were just a mindless monster. Being a ruthless
killer is one thing, being a complete psychopath is another.

"I originally wanted to help you get out of town, start over somewhere else, but
I've changed my mind. I want you to be my apprentice, Athos." Khali said, freezing
the corpses with a wave of his hand.

"I refuse." Athos didn't think twice before saying;

"EH?" Khali thought he had misheard, but Athos's expression of disinterest proved
otherwise.
"You refuse? Do you understand that I'm offering you the chance to learn magic? To
use the great talent you possess and not let it go to waste in this small town?"
Khali spoke up, offended by the immediate refusal.

"I don't care about any of that. If I become your apprentice, I'll have to leave
the city, right? I won't be able to complete my revenge if that happens." Athos
said resolutely.

"Athos, I understand your desire for revenge, but this is not what your parents
would want for you." Khali calmed down as he understood the reason for Athos'
refusal.

"I don't do it just for them, I do it for myself. I would never forgive myself if I
let any of those motherfuckers live." Athos' mind relived the trauma, renewing his
hatred and making his eyes glow with elemental energy.

His eyes glowed crimson red, but Khali noticed a dark glint in the back of his
pupil. A flicker of darkness, something almost imperceptible was awakening.

"Haah…let's make a deal then." Khali placed his left hand on his shoulder in
solidarity, but covertly activated a magic ring with a symbol of light.

The ring glows faintly and the nearly awakening darkness is gone. 'The element of
darkness is too dangerous for someone with mental problems.' That's what he thought
when he sealed his affinity.

"What was this?" Athos questioned him, pulling away.

"An item that will help you think more clearly. You're more focused now, aren't
you?" Khali didn't lie, the ring sealed the darkness in him and kept her from
clouding his judgment.

Athos noticed that his mind felt clearer and the urge to kick Khali in the balls
and run away from that place had lessened.

"I appreciate it, but I'm still going after my revenge." Athos was polite but firm
in his refusal.

Chapter 26

Khali agonized over what to do for a while. He couldn't leave Athos alone, not only
because of his friendship with Robert but also because of the talent he saw in
Athos.

He wanted to train Athos personally and take him under his wing, but he couldn't
get involved in something as scandalous as the murder of a noble, no matter how low
his title.

His mission in this city was to monitor the movement of the demihuman empire for
the next 5 years; while avoiding the eyes of the order of magic, Eishin's church
and adventurer's guild. That meant staying as far away from Ricley and the priest
as possible.
"So how about instead of abandoning your revenge, you just postpone it?" Khali
spoke after a while.

"And let them live a day longer than necessary? No thanks." Athos dismissed the
possibility with a wave of his hand.

"But you know you won't be able to use the same tactics you used against the
captain, don't you? The baron has more than 50 men as guard, apart from the captain
of the personal guard and the wizard Ricley himself.

The priest may not have any guards, but since the church fire, people have been
holding a vigil around the church to prevent further attacks. He can also use light
magic or 'divine magic' as the church calls it, to cure himself of your poison and
kill you before you can get close to him. He also won't hesitate to kill people if
it's to save his own life." Khali spat on the ground at the mention of divine
magic.

"I can use acid against the priest to make healing difficult and against the baron
I... err..." Athos avoided mentioning the corrupted root powder as it was a family
secret, but he really didn't know what to do to attack the baron.

"You will die if you attack either of them. But if you agree to be my apprentice, I
can give you the power you need to exact revenge." Khali saw that Athos didn't have
a concrete plan and offered a solution.

"I will stay in this city for another 5 years. During that time, I will teach you
skills, spells and fighting techniques; everything you will need to take revenge on
your own." Khali tried to make the offer as attractive as possible to Athos.

"AND?" Athos waited for the bad news after Khali sweetened the deal.

"And after you finish your revenge, I want you to come with me to my organization,
the word keepers." Khali emphasized his organization's name, showing how proud he
was of it.

"The word keepers? My mother told me bedtime stories about them. They were a
charitable organization, bringing food and knowledge to those most in need. I don't
understand why a charitable organization needs talented warriors?" Athos did not
understand what he was getting at.

"You are only half right. We are an organization that helps the needy and we fight
for the people against injustice. The problem is that almost all organizations have
their share of the problem and they don't like it when someone exposes their
crimes.

On the surface, they supported us and encouraged our actions, but our members began
to be murdered and our bases continually destroyed, forcing us to hide to avoid
being exterminated." Khali looked at the ground sadly, as he clenched his fists
tightly until the knuckles turn white.

He was just a kid when it all happened, but he vividly remembered when it all
started. When assassins broke into his home and killed his father, when his mother
was forced to flee with him, how they had to live in poverty and squalor until the
organization was rebuilt.

"Are you okay?" Athos noticed the anguish in him and asked.

"It's all past now. The word keepers were almost destroyed, but we're still alive
and we've learned our lesson. We've become nomads, but we still maintain long-
distance contact with each other to coordinate our actions. We've started training
warriors and wizards to fortify ourselves and instead of bringing our enemies to
justice, we bring them to death."

He extended his hand to Athos before continuing. "And that's why we need people
like you, Athos. People with talent, who can reach great heights and understood our
pain. Someone who lost people they loved and found the strength to stand up and
fight. Someone who understands that corrupt organizations must be punished. Someone
like you, Athos. What do you say, will join the guardians of the word?"

"I refuse." Athos' answer didn't change, causing Khali to almost have a seizure.

"Why do you refuse? I thought you understood our cause and wanted revenge for the
injustice done to your mother!" Khali was too shocked to be angry.

"I'm not angry because I think what they did to my mother is unfair. On the
contrary, I believe that her execution is in accordance with the law. When people
get married, they accept to share everything, including their crimes and sins. It
is a fact that my father killed innocent people, accident or not, and by law my
mother should bear the consequences of that with him." Athos said calmly.

"Then why did you kill the captain?" The more he listened, the less Khali
understood. He was already reconsidering his offer of apprenticeship, judging that
Athos was too crazy to get his hands on something as dangerous as magic.

"Because I don't give a damn about the law. She was my mother and I'm going to kill
everyone who took her from me." Athos smiled cruelly, as if he could already taste
the blood of his enemies.

"Okay, I understand that you're crazy. But how are you going to get revenge? You
don't have the power to do that." Khali gave up trying to understand him.

"Let's make a different deal. Instead of me joining you, I'm going to work with
you." Athos said.

"Isn't that worse?" Khali tilted his head in confusion.

"From your point of view it might be. But I want to live a good life after my
revenge is over and joining you seems like something for a lifetime. I'd rather
work with you as an outside helper until I pay off my debt and then each one goes
his own way."

"And why do you think I would accept that deal?" Khali asked with a raised eyebrow.

"First, because I'm a badass. I'm a talent you can't pass up. Second, because it's
your dogma to bring knowledge to those who need it. Third, if you refuse to teach
me I could join an adventurer's guild or the order of magic and ask them to teach
me." Athos said confidently.

"The order won't give you freedom once discover your talent. You're down to being
their puppy until you die." Khali tried to scare him away, but it didn't work.

"What if I join you will it be different? I'll be forced to go places I don't want
to, to kill people I don't know or help people I don't care about." Athos said.

Khali weighed his options for a while and realized he didn't have much of a choice.
His organization was still recovering from the damage it took and desperately
needed help, borrowed or not.
"How long are you willing to work with us?" Khali held out his hand, showing that
he accepted the deal.

"Depends on how much you're willing to teach me." Athos smiled and shook his hand.

It was the moment when his apprenticeship of magic began.

Chapter 27

Khali wasted no time and proceeded to introduce the underground base where they
would spend the next 5 years together. The underground base was smaller than Athos
had expected, covering only the slums and a few small emergency escape tunnels.

The place Athos used as a base was just one of the emergency exits. There were few
rooms, most were made up of irregular tunnels like a labyrinth. They were built
this way to delay the enemy in case they are discovered.

Khali also explained why the tunnels have not been found so far. He had tamed rock
worms to create the tunnels and one of the worms' racial abilities was to mask
their caves.

They could secrete a liquid that not only hardened the tunnels they created,
preventing them from collapsing, but could also make magical detection difficult.

"You can take any chamber you want and use it as a bedroom, we'll start your
training as soon as you settle in." Khali informed him.

"I'd rather keep using the emergency tunnels as a base, if you don't mind.
Everything I have is already there and we can start our class right away." Athos
was in a hurry to start training. He didn't like the idea of spending the next 5
years trapped inside underground tunnels, but he needed to get stronger if he
wanted revenge.

Athos didn't want to admit it, but he knew Khali was right. He didn't have enough
power to kill any of his enemies.

"In that case, let's start our lessons then. I'll start by teaching you the basics
of mana manipulation." Khali began his lecture, but Athos interrupted him.

"You can skip that part. My mom already taught me how to manipulate mana, look."
Athos used mana vision to prove it.

"You can see the mana when you do that, can't you?" Khali just smiled at him,
ignoring his interruption.

"Yes I can. But what does that have to do with it?" Athos did not understand what
he was getting at.

"What you just did was temporarily turn your eyes into a magical organ, allowing
you to see the mana of other living beings. If you strengthen your sword instead,
you will temporarily turn it into a magic weapon."

"Is it possible to permanently turn an organ into a magic organ?" Athos asked,
trying to find a way to strengthen himself quickly.
"That's impossible. Our bodies can't handle large amounts of mana for a long time,
that's why our core has a finite amount of mana. As we train and strengthen our
bodies, they become able to support more energy and for a longer period, which
allows the core to absorb more energy and develop further."

"About that, I have a question. What happened to your core? It's unlike anything
I've ever seen." Athos asked something that was bothering him.

"Didn't your father teach you not to interrupt others?" Khali asked irritated by
the interruptions.

"No, he died before that." Athos replied with a shrug. Unlike Agatha, Robert's
death was accidental and Athos had locked any thoughts of him into a box in his
mind and thrown away the key.

"As we train, our cores accumulate more and more energy, until there comes a point
where the core can't hold any more energy and naturally forms a new layer to retain
even more mana. The magical community calls this the layer of life." Khali quickly
changed the subject, somewhat embarrassed by her callous question.

"When this happens, mana becomes thicker and spells and abilities are doubled in
power and life expectancy increases as well. Each core is unique and the amount of
mana each one can hold to form a layer of life varies person to person, but all
mages know that the more and more energy it takes to form the layer of life, the
stronger it is."

"How many layers are there? How long did it take you to form your first, just out
of curiosity?" Athos asked trying to use Khali as a reference.

"The maximum number of existing layers is still unknown, but the highest recorded
is from the Emperor of the ancient Makima empire, who reached 22 layers of life. It
is said that at his peak, the weakest of his spells could devastate entire cities.
And I It took me 12 years to form my first layer." Khali said.

"That's why you're special, Athos. Your body is capable of absorbing energy and
passively strengthening itself. If you train, you should be able to strengthen
yourself twice as fast as normal. But that's only half of what you're capable of."
Khali tried and failed to hide his envy.

He took out his wand before continuing his explanation. "You may not know this, but
we humans are disconnected from world energy and we need to use items like wands to
be able to access world energy and cast spells." He cast an ice spell as an
example, shooting a 2 meter long ice spear.

Afterwards, he tried to do the same without his wand, but all he managed to do was
accumulate a cool breeze in his palms.

"See? It's impossible to use magic without a wand, but you are an exception. You
were born naturally attuned to the world's energy and can cast magic without
needing a crutch like a wand. You have a trait called a mana body."

"Wait, I've seen the priest use divine magic without a wand. Is he like me too?"
Athos asked worriedly. If the priest were able to strengthen himself twice as fast
as he does, no matter how hard he trains, the distance between them would never
change.

"The church considers light magic superior to all other elements, pretending to the
masses that it is a miracle from God, so they don't like using items like wands or
anything other than light.

Instead, they wear rings or necklaces in order to use their spells. It's an idiotic
idea, as rings don't tune into the world's energy as well as a wand, but the very
idea that the light element is better than the other elements is idiotic."

Athos breathed a sigh of relief at this information.

"Now about using magic it's pretty simple, but I need to know your elemental
affinities first. I already know that you have a high affinity for fire, to the
point that you can partially control flames even without using magic, but I need
know if you have other affinities." Khali tried to sound kind, but what he really
wanted was to make sure the darkness was sealed.

'He's too insane to deal with the darkness. The last thing this town needs is a
psychopath capable of dealing with necromancy.' That's what he really thought.

He took a glass of water and placed an unknown magic leaf.

"What is it?" Athos prided himself on his knowledge of botany, but he had never
seen such a leaf.

"It's a magic sheet of assimilation. It will absorb your mana and dye the water
according to your affinities. Red for fire, blue for water, yellow for wind, orange
for earth, white for light and black for darkness. Now use it mana in the leaf."
Khali ordered and Athos promptly complied.

He flowed the mana to the leaf and it released a yellowish red liquid into the
water. In a matter of a few seconds the water was completely colored red, with a
few hints of yellow.

"A high affinity for fire and a medium affinity for wind. Two elements out of
three, well done Athos." Khali congratulated Athos.

'It would be three elements if I hadn't sealed the darkness.' He thought.

"Wait, two out of three? Wouldn't that be two out of six?" Athos asked, doubting
his teacher's ability to calculate.

"No, the maximum affinities one can have is three. The elements are opposite to
each other and work like a balance. The greater your affinity with one element, the
less your affinity with another will be."

"What about light and dark? Why don't I have an affinity for either of them?" Athos
asked.

"Most people don't have any affinity, you know? Having two is amazing enough. I
only have an affinity for water myself." Khali couldn't explain to Athos that he
had sealed his affinity with darkness, so he hid the fact that anyone with a mana
body had an affinity for three elements, no matter how small that affinity was.

Chapter 28

Athos was glad to hear this. He was eager to start training.

"When did we start training magic?" Athos asked impatiently.

One thing at a time, Athos. First I'll teach you the basics of magic, then I'll
teach you about non-elemental magic, something any mage can use regardless of
affinity, and only then will we practice elemental magic." Khali explained, cutting
off the anxious Athos.

"Magic is a difficult art to use and even more difficult to master. It is divided
into three stages: Perceiving and accumulating world energy, manipulating mana and
visualizing the spell. As I have already explained, human beings do not are able to
sense at world's energy, so we use tools like wands to access it, but you can do it
naturally.

After a little practice, you should also be able to manipulate the world's energy
as easily as you move mana through your body. And lastly, you must imagine the
spell you want to cast. The clearer the image of your spell, the faster you will
cast it. " Khali explained.

"Are you talking about this?" Athos drew world energy into the fist, strengthening
beyond its limits.

"That's almost it. You need to manipulate the mana outside your body to use spells.
Like this." Khali formed a sphere of pure mana in his palm as an example.

Athos tried to imitate him, finding it incredibly difficult. Inside the body, the
mana moved at will, but outside the body, just preventing the mana from dispersing
into the environment required Athos' full focus.

"Shit...fuck." Athos began to curse, sweating cold with the effort. He tried to
make a sphere, but the slightest distraction warped it or dispersed into the air,
forcing him to start over from scratch.

"Good try." Khali laughed at his efforts, popping Athos' mana sphere with one
finger.

"Why did you do that? I was almost getting!" Athos shouted indignantly.

"Why should you wait for me to finish talking before you start practicing. You
would have avoided making silly mistakes like this and not wasted mana." Khali
scolded him.

"What you were doing was trying to use your mana as a cocoon and keep the world
energy inside. The problem is that any distraction warps the sphere and leaks the
world energy. Also, pure world mana wouldn't do any damage to enemies , rendering
your spell useless.

What you should have done instead was mix your mana with the world energy until it
becomes a single energy, that way you can control it as your own mana." Khali
explained.

"There's one thing I still don't understand. I'm already able to control fire, how
is that different from magic?" Athos slammed the sword to generate sparks and feed
it with mana until the sword ignites.

"What you're doing is using non-elemental mana to control the flames, it's not real
magic. It's the same thing as me just controlling water. To use real elemental
magic, you need to separate the world energy and use just the element you want to
cast your spells. Controlling fire using pure mana is incredibly inefficient in
terms of energy, as you have to expend six times more energy than normal fire
magic."

"Oh." Athos exclaimed in surprise and immediately began to practice as instructed.

"I have a task for you. Over the next week, you will practice your mana
manipulation and visualization. Once you learn to control mana externally, we will
practice simple non-elemental spells. Then I will teach you elemental magic and how
to create your own spells. Sorry Athos, but we don't have any elements in common,
so it's impossible for me to teach you my spells." Khali felt a little bad that he
couldn't teach Athos elemental magic.

"OK." Athos didn't pay much attention to her excuses, totally focused on the task
at hand. At first, he couldn't mix his mana with the world's energy, wasting
energy, but as he practiced, it became easier and easier to control the energy.

He was still struggling to mold mana, but he no longer had to worry about
scattering.

"I'll leave you to practice in peace. Let me know if you need anything." khali left
the chamber and let Athos practice uninterrupted.

*****

2 years later.

Time passed quickly while Athos was on his magic apprenticeship. Athos has
developed rapidly in the meantime. He learned new skills and how to cast and create
his own spells.

He learned only basic spells of both elements, but he did not neglect his physical
training. Athos devoted himself to improving his skill with the sword and shield,
as well as his skill as an alchemist. He constantly trained against Khali and
constantly took a beating.

Whether physical or magical combat, Athos took a beating no matter what he did.
Even so, the experience gained from fighting a seasoned combatant like Khali was
very useful to Athos, who improved by leaps and bounds with each training session.

Their relationship also developed a lot during this time. The conviviality and
isolation naturally broke the distrust that existed between them, transforming
their relationship from teacher and student into good friends in a short time.

Although the situation Athos had improved, the same could not be said for the city.
The conflict between the guards and the gangs only got worse over time, evolving
from small skirmishes to full-scale fights. The guards still believed that the
captain had been captured and as time passed, they became increasingly impatient
and violent in their attacks.

The gangs didn't know the captain's whereabouts, but no matter how many times they
declared they weren't with him, the guards didn't listen, thinking of it only as a
ruse.

The gangs were angered by the constant attacks and responded with violent attacks
and ambushes against any guards they saw. The number of deaths rose rapidly,
denigrating the city's public safety.

The gangs went further in their retaliation against the city, attacking peddlers
and any merchant caravans that tried to enter the city. The situation in the city
only got worse from there, with the prices of goods increasing because of the
stagnant market, hunger was once again a problem in the city. The number of
homeless people only increased and countless people turned to crime as a way to
survive, increasing the power and influence of gangs over the entire city.

The city was isolated and the guild was forced to intervene for the good of the
city. Quests about hunting bandits and escorting caravans were continually posted
on the quest board, all funded by the baron in an attempt to regain control of the
city. As things stood, he felt that he would soon be forced to cede authority to
the bandits.

Countless attacks and assassination attempts were committed on the Baron's life,
but the wizard and bodyguard Ricley stopped them all. He didn't care about the
state of the city, no matter how many times the baron begged him to root out the
bandits. He always acted as minimum as possible, just doing his duty as a bodyguard
and nothing more.

During this period, the church became a neutral zone in the city. It doesn't matter
if they were bandits, guards or adventurers; no one dared to interfere with the
church. Without Robert's alchemy shop, the priest and his nuns were the only ones
capable of healing in the entire city, further consolidating its position in the
city.

The priest, drunk on his newfound authority, became increasingly arrogant, even
going so far as to openly charge "donations" in exchange for healing.

In less than two years, the frontier city of Faltra had turned into a lawless zone,
where the strong fought for power and the weak fought hunger.

Chapter 29

Outside the city of Faltra.

Khali and Athos met outside the city to perform Athos' first combat test.

"How are you feeling, Athos? Are you nervous?" Khali asked rhetorically, already
knowing the answer. He was wearing a blue hooded cloak and carried only a wand at
his waist.

"It's not my first time killing." Athos responded, trying to sound confident, but
he was a nervous wreck inside. Unlike Khali's plain appearance, he was wearing a
hunter suit made of monster hide.

He carried an iron sword and a reinforced wooden shield on his back. Athos had
retired the short sword because of the ongoing damage he received in training. He
was 12 years old now and had left his thin frame behind.

His body had already built up muscle from the constant diet and training regimen,
maintaining a good balance between muscle and flexibility. His face still had
childish features, but there were already hints of facial hair starting to grow.

"No need to be nervous. Let's go over the mission to make sure you haven't
forgotten anything." Khali spoke seriously.
"The gangs have blocked off the city, preventing any caravans from entering the
city. The baron is desperate and has sent a caravan with a squad of guards to
nearby villages to collect resources from nearby villages." Athos said.

"The problem is that the gangs know this and plan to attack the caravan after they
leave the last village and are heading back to the city. Our mission is to wait for
the convoy to be attacked and one of the groups annihilated, then attack the victor
and take the resources to us, putting all the blame for the attack on the gangs.
Afterwards, we will secretly return everything that was taken back to the villages
and the baron will not be able to bother them until the next harvest." Athos said,
still skeptical about the whole plan.

He didn't contest the plan just because it was a mission his teacher gave him.
Athos didn't care for any of those villagers, but he couldn't pass up the chance to
test his power against anyone other than Khali.

His teacher was a monster in his eyes and he wanted to know how strong he was
compared to others. Fighting this group of enemies would be good practice when he
faced the baron's personal guard.

"How many guards are expected in the caravan and their power level?" Athos asked,
curious about the enemy he would face.

"20 guards have been dispatched and a platoon leader." Khali responded instantly.
"What about the bad guys? Did you investigate them?"

"A little over 40 bandits. They have more than twice the number of guards, but
they're undisciplined and unorganized and poorly trained, so there's not much
difference in the overall strength of the two groups." Athos yawned as he
reminisced.

"That's where you're wrong, Athos. I saw 3 guards with mana capacity guarding the
caravan. The difference between a mana user and an ordinary person is bigger than
you think. The guards will feel cornered because of the numbers. , but I'm sure
they will win." Khali declared confidently.

They had bet on who would win the fight and Khali was confident in the guards'
chances. He bet an enchanted weapon with Athos that the guards would win, while
Athos bet he would clean the rock worms' coconut for 1 month if the bandits lost.

"3 mana users can overcome the bandits' numerical advantage." Athos said in a
bitter tone.

"It's too late to give up. You were the one who wanted to bet, you can't run away
now." Khali boasted, but Athos smiled cruelly before continuing.

"It's a shame that bandits have 5 mana users in their group. 2 of them are also
archers, can do a lot of damage from a safe distance, while guards have no way to
attack from a distance and need to stay in formation to protect the caravans." Now
it was Athos' turn to brag.

"Are you kidding me? How did the gangs get enough manpower to send 5 mana users for
a single raid?" Khali asked in disbelief and regret. If what Athos said is true, he
can now say goodbye to his enchanted sword.

"Many adventurers left the guild and turned to crime in these 2 years. It may not
seem like it, but the gangs take good care of their own and if you can use mana,
they also take care of your family, so the bad guys are much stronger than appear."
Athos laughed in his face, almost feeling the enchanted sword in his hands.
"Hey Athos, what do you think about us forgetting about this bet? As your teacher,
I believe I shouldn't encourage this kind of behavior-" Khali started throwing up a
lot of nonsense to try to get away with it. An enchanted weapon was expensive, even
for him.

"It's too late to turn back, professor. The sword will be mine." Athos prevented
him from evading responsibility.

"Damn, you're greedy as a dragon. When will this caravan arrive? I want to freeze
some stuff to vent." Khali asked sullenly.

"It will still be a few more hours for them to get through here. Are you sure the
ambush will take place here? I still think we should hurry up and follow the
caravan from afar." Athos asked worried about the mission.

Khali, on the other hand, was completely relaxed. "Don't worry. They'll certainly
attack here. You've been spying on them and heard the location of the ambush,
haven't you?"

"About this, I want to ask you a favor. Can you leave the attack to me? If you get
involved it will be over in seconds, but this might be good practice for me." Athos
asked using the skill, puppy dog gaze.

A tiny stream of mana spread through his pupil, dilating beyond what should have
been possible. Athos still had many childish traits, further adding to the damage.

"I refuse." Khali looked with distaste at Athos. "And don't ever try to look cute
in front of me again, it's disgusting. You're more suited to those evil smiles and
murderous looks."

Athos just snorted in response, turning around as he crossed his arms. "Why don't
you let me do the attack alone? They'll be tired of the fight and I'll have the
advantage of the surprise attack. It's a guaranteed victory."

"No, it's only a guaranteed victory if I attack. You're still not strong enough to
deal with dozens of enemies at once. You've barely begun to learn elemental
spells." Khali chided him for being overconfident.

"Actually, I am. You're only considering my skill as a warrior and mage, but you
forgot that I'm also an alchemist. I came prepared." Athos pointed to his own belt
and khali's, both of which were filled with different potions created by Athos.

"Still, it's very dangerous. Your combat experience is very limited and you could
end up getting seriously injured or even killed because of a single moment of
carelessness." Khali insisted, worried for his safety. After spending two years
together, he became attached to Athos and now saw him as a little brother.

"That's why this is the perfect situation. I need that experience and I have you
here even if I'm careless. You know all the training in the world is useless
without real combat experience." Athos didn't give up either, determined to fight
that fight alone.

"Haah...ok, you won. I'll let you do this attack yourself, but if I see you can't
handle it I'll intervene, am I clear?" Khali looked into his eyes until he saw him
nod.

"Thanks brother." Athos smiled happily at him, before turning around. They were on
a hill a little farther from the supposed site of attack, but thanks to a magical
binocular-like tool, they had no trouble keeping an eye on the site.

Athos anxiously waited for his enemies to arrive.

Chapter 30

3 hours later.

"Professor, I can see them." Athos screamed, waking Khali. there was a small
caravan with three carriages approaching in the distance. The carriages moved in a
row, with horse-mounted guards escorting the carriage in formation and a mana user
at the front of each of the carriages.

"Have they arrived yet? They're early." Khali said looking at the position of the
sun.

"I still haven't seen the bandits. Will they make it in time?" Athos surveyed the
surroundings, but found no trace of bandits.

"No problem. I made sure the ambush took place here." Khali smiled in anticipation,
like a kid hoping his prank will work.

"What did you set up this time?" Athos asked suspiciously.

"Just watch it, you'll love it." Khali was suspenseful, refusing to speak up.

Athos sighed and gave up, knowing it was impossible to convince him when he was
like that.

He watched intently as the caravan approached. The caravan followed the road until
it reached a small clearing in the open. The guards looked around intently, but the
threat came from an unexpected place.

As the leading caravan moved forward, the ground began to crack under the weight
until it gave way completely.

"What is it?" The platoon leader at the front of the caravan exclaimed, quickly
jumping off his horse to save himself. Unfortunately for him, his subordinates were
not so lucky.

The carriage sank and with it, all the guards in formation around it.

"Ack, shit!" One of the guards yelled.

"Help, I need help!" Another guard screamed in pain, having the misfortune to fall
under the carriage. He survived by chance, but his right leg was completely crushed
by the weight of the carriage.

"We're under attack, we're under attack!" The platoon leader yelled at the top of
his lungs, snatching his shield and axe from his back. He became alert and looked
closely at his surroundings.

The two carriages trailing behind him came to a quick stop and the guards around
him dismounted from their horses and positioned themselves, ready for combat.
"..." 10 minutes passed, but no enemy appeared. The only sound they could hear was
their mate screaming in pain.

"Isn't anyone going to show up?" The platoon leader asked confused, starting to
think that this hole was just a random monster lair. He let his guard down and
ordered the guards to assess the damage to the carriage.

At the same time, Athos and Khali were cackling as they watched the guards search
for enemies that didn't exist.

"Pffttt, HAHAHA! You're a genius, professor. Look at their faces." Athos held his
stomach with laughter.

"I said you'd like it. I used the rock worm to dig a hole in the road and the
idiots went straight for it." Khali laughed at them when he spotted something. "And
look who just arrived?"

Athos turned in the direction Khali was looking and saw dozens of bandits. They had
already spotted the caravan stopped and were hesitating about what to do.

"Do you think they'll back off?" Athos asked.

"Of course not. They're going to send someone to investigate and as soon as they
find out there's no problem, they will attack with everything." Khali said and it
didn't take long for two hooded people to walk away from the bandits and approach
the guards.

They moved carefully, using the trees for cover to avoid being seen. They got as
close as they could, mixing their mana with their surroundings, showing that they
were both mana users.

"Do they have two assassins capable of using mana? The leader's head will roll
before they know what hit them." Athos joked.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready too?" Khali asked, seeing Athos just watch and do
nothing.

"Don't worry, I'll move as soon as the attack starts and both sides are too busy to
pay attention to me. For now, I'll just enjoy the show." Athos spoke, without
moving.

Khali nodded and watched silently as the assassins returned to their group, before
the bandits began their attack.

********

"Apparently, the caravan stopped because the first carriage fell into a hole dug by
a monster. There is no trace of a struggle in the area." One of the assassins sent
reported.

"So it's just a coincidence? Looks like Mr. Eishin smiled at us today. Our
informant warned us that the caravan left earlier than expected and we ran as fast
as we could here, but it looks like it wasn't necessary." The bandit leader laughed
heartily upon receiving the good news. She was wearing green and brown hunter
clothes and a long wooden bow on her back, with a short sword at her waist.

She was a former adventurer named Evylin, who had been turned into a debt slave,
for failing a quest. She was stripped of her title and all her possessions and sold
to a wealthy merchant who ran numerous shops in the merchant city of Shiima, a
large city two weeks' carriage from Faltra.

The turning point in her life was when the city's gangs attacked the slave carriage
she was in, killing all the merchants and freeing all the slaves. This had happened
at the beginning of the blockade, when merchants were still visiting the city.

The bandits had confused the carriages, their target was a carriage carrying
metals, but they confused it because the company symbols were similar. Even so, the
feeling of gratitude Evylin felt upon being rescued did not change, causing her and
all 18 other rescued slaves to swear allegiance to the bandits.

She had formed her own team with the rescued slaves and as the only mana user among
them, she naturally became their leader. She had built up her reputation within the
gang during these two years and when she learned that the baron was extorting
nearby villages and that the gang leader was planning to attack them, she promptly
volunteered for the attack.

She was born in one of the villages in the baron's territory and knew how difficult
life was there. She had left the village behind in search of a better life in the
city, but her family still lived in one of the villages. With winter approaching,
their family would die of hunger or cold if what little they had was taken from
them.

The other two gangs in the city also participated in the attack, sending their own
teams. They totaled exactly 43 members, 5 of them mana users. It was a great force
compared to the guards, but its leaders wanted to be sure of victory. This was the
gangs' first joint operation and as the person appointed to lead the mission, she
had to ensure it was a success at all costs.

The gangs had wanted to take over the city for a long time, but the baron was an
obstacle in their way. They attempted numerous assassination attempts, but were
never successful. The mage who protected the baron stopped them every time.

As a last resort, the leaders got together and decided to put their differences
aside and unite into a single criminal organization. This was their first joint
mission, a way to test whether they would be able to work together or not.

Evylin took a deep breath to hide his nervousness and began shouting orders: "All
of you, stay alert! We will follow the previously agreed plan and split into two
groups and attack them separately. The first group consisting of the heavyweights
will attack from front and get the guards' attention The second group is smaller
and is made up of fast attackers and will quickly attack you from behind when they
are distracted.

I and my archer friend here, will cover for you and kill the guards from a
distance, while the assassins will sneak around and wait for the opportunity to
kill the enemy's mana users." Evylin spoke, before looking at an armored bandit
with plate armor.

"Dave, you're the only mana user who's going to be on the front lines. You're going
to command all 24 men in the first group while I'm gone. Any problem?"

"No problems." Dave nodded, tapping his gauntlet against his chest, showing he was
ready.

"Good, let's start the attack." Evylin smiled determinedly and started to run to
her position.
Chapter 31

She and the other archer climbed into the trees, jumping between the branches to
move. They positioned themselves in a spot with a good line of sight to the caravan
and watched as the first group made its way towards the bandits.

"What? Attention, the enemies have arrived! Return to your formations, now!" The
first to notice the attack was obviously the platoon leader, who quickly ordered
his soldiers to prepare.

He was surprised at the moment of the enemy attack, but he didn't have much time to
think.

"What do you mean, an attack? Wasn't it a hole made by monsters?" One of the
soldiers asked confused by the contradictory orders.

The guards had already let their guard down, so they were slow to respond. The
bandits, on the other hand, used the cover of the trees until they reached the
clearing where they shouted at the top of their lungs to draw the guards' full
attention to them.

"Attack!" Random Bandit1.

"Kill them all!" Random Bandit2.

The platoon leader quickly assessed the number of enemies and realized they were
outnumbered, but he didn't feel cornered. His platoon had 3 mana users with him
included, so victory would be a matter of time, he quickly looked between the
enemies looking for the leader and saw a man covered in plate armor and the only
mana user among the bandits.

Dave advanced first and in an instant was in front of the nearest guard. He
attacked with the mace in his right hand using the critical strike skill.

The mana concentrated in the center of the mace during the swing and exploded out
of the weapon on impact, generating a concentrated shock wave. The guard didn't
react in time and the mace hit his helmet squarely.

The helmet cracked on impact and his skull was crushed in an instant. Blood leaked
from every orifice in her face, while her eyes bulged out of their sockets from the
pressure of her crushed brain.

"ROARR!!!!"Dave concentrated his mana in his throat before roaring, using a second
skill, intimidating roar.

The mana was released along with the voice, spreading his aura further than should
be possible and paralyzing anyone weaker within the roar's area of effect.

A second roar was heard, but this one came from behind the guards. The squad leader
activated the same ability, the overwhelming auras colliding with each other and
canceling out.

The platoon leader leapt over the guards, raising the ax above his head with both
hands, and landed on top of Dave, trying to split him in half.
Dave defended himself by raising his shield in his left hand and using a shield
strike.

The sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the clearing as the weapons
collided. The platoon leader used all his weight on the blow, forcing Dave to drop
to one knee, but the knockback effect of the skill sent him flying back.

"Why are you just looking? Attack!" Dave yelled, snapping his men out of their
stupor.

The bandits and guards had stopped to watch the fight. The platoon leader was about
to shout orders as well, but a wind being cut sound was heard.

An arrow quickly flew towards his head. He jerked his head to the side hastily to
dodge, but a second arrow hit him in the left shoulder before exploding in a shower
of fragments and blood.

The arrow was imbued with the weapon break skill. The skill concentrated the user's
mana with the metal's natural mana and blasted it all in a single attack,
increasing the destructive power multiple times. The flaw of the skill was that the
weapon used was destroyed after the attack and the high cost of mana required to
use it.

Most warriors would hesitate to use the skill, but it was a perfect skill for
archers who could use disposable arrows.

"Watch out for the archers, keep your shields ready!" The platoon leader held back
a cry of pain, feeling a tremendous pain in his left shoulder. The bone fragments
mixed with the arrow fragments in a bloody mess. He couldn't move his left arm, no
matter how hard he tried.

Fighting between the two groups started around them, but neither group dared to
attack them, as if an invisible barrier was around them.

The fight around them became a mess in an instant, with screams, blood, and guns
all over the place. The platoon leader expected at least one of his mana-capable
subordinates to show up to help him, but a quick look around the battlefield proved
that they were both busy.

Three bandits formed a triangle formation around each of them, keeping them busy
while a hooded assassin attacked from behind whenever they got distracted by the
simultaneous attacks.

Bloody wounds began to rapidly accumulate through their bodies as they desperately
fought for their lives.

"George, team up with me!" One of them screamed desperately using a shield skill to
push back one of the bandits, temporarily breaking the formation. The assassin
didn't let the opportunity pass, taking advantage of the gap to plunge a poisoned
dagger between his ribs, piercing between the gaps in the side of the armor.

The guard tasted iron in his mouth, but he never stopped running. Until the sound
of wind being cut was heard again. An arrow flew swiftly while he was distracted,
digging into his neck and exploding in a shower of blood, sending the guard's head
flying.

"Frank!" George screamed as he watched his friend die, fighting fiercely without
regard for his own safety, but the situation only worsened for him. A second
assassin joined the fight, doubling the damage he took. A dagger plunged into his
thigh, a second into his stomach, and a third into his lung.

Blood spurted from the wounds, but George was determined not to die alone. He
gripped the hilt that held the dagger in his stomach tightly and used his other
hand to stab the sword through the assassin's chest.

He used the sword's weapon break as a form of mockery, causing the sword to shatter
inside the assassin's body and half of his torso to explode in a shower of viscera
and blood.

George dropped to his knees on the floor, losing all strength. He fell to the side
shortly thereafter, drowning in his own blood.

"You motherfuckers...!" The platoon leader cursed watching his subordinates die.
The course of the battle quickly changed from there. For every bandit that was
killed, two more guards died as well. Sporadic arrows also blew off the guards'
heads, adding to casualties. Soldiers who had any leeway tried to flee, only for
enemy reinforcements appeared from behind, cutting off the escape route.

"You shouldn't get distracted in the middle of a fight!!" Dave yelled, striking at
the mace in a vertical attack. The platoon leader took a hasty step back as the
spiked point of the mace scratches his helmet.

Dave took a step forward and brought the mace down using the critical strike. The
platoon leader raised his ax in a desperate measure to protect himself, but only
avoided a mortal blow. The mace slammed into the ax and continued on with almost no
resistance, crushing his right arm and ripping it from his body.

The leader felt blood spurt like a fountain from the stump of his arm, but he used
the last of his strength to fight back. He lunged forward, headbutting with all his
might.

Dave was thrown backward on impact, falling to the ground with a dent in his
helmet, but he did not sustain any serious damage.

'We did it! We've won!" Evylin yelled after blasting the skull of the last guard
alive, raising her fist in the air in triumph.

She felt that this would be the first of many victories for her new, united
organization and felt a pang of happiness in her heart.

"Eh?" Evylin muttered in confusion and looked down, discovering that the sting she
felt was a red-hot blade piercing through her heart.

Chapter 32

Evylin exclaimed in confusion and tried to touch the blade, but Athos didn't give
her time to think and twisted the blade before pulling out the sword, shattering
the heart and killing her instantly.

"Fuck! Enemy attack!" The second archer cursed loudly as he jumped back and walked
away from the unknown enemy quickly, fitting an arrow to his bow and preparing to
shoot while still in the air.
Athos hurled his shield at the fleeing archer, trying to stop the enemy from
fleeing and reuniting with his companions. The archer crossed his arms still in the
air in front of his body, to try to defend themselves. The shield would have
crushed his wrists, but at least he would have come out alive.

And that might have worked if Athos hadn't created a blade of wind in the shield,
turning it into a circular saw.

The shield spun quickly and sliced off both of his hands, before continuing and
decapitate him. The shield slammed against the tree and Athos turned the blade of
wind into a small blast of wind, throwing the shield back at him.

Athos caught the shield in midair, locking it into the armguard. "Two less mana
users, two to go." Athos jumped from the tree Evylin was on and charged towards the
remaining bandits.

Meanwhile, Dave was shouting orders in the middle of the clearing to his
subordinates to stay alert, after they heard the Ranger's warning. The archer's
screams were suddenly cut off, indicating that the archer had likely been killed.

"Stay away from the trees! Use the carriages for cover!" Dave ordered and his
subordinates retreated to the carriages.

Suddenly, leather bags were flung over the forest canopy and fell between them. The
bags split open as they fell to the ground, releasing dust that quickly turned to
black smoke, darkening the clearing.

"Careful with that smoke, it could be poison! cover your faces with cloths!" Dave
tore off a piece of his shirt and used it to cover his face, his subordinates
quickly copied him.

Thick smoke burned the eyes, forcing the bandits to keep them closed. Panic and
unease began to spread among the bandits as soon as they heard the first scream.

"Ackk! my leg-" The scream was suddenly cut off and only the sound of flesh being
cut was heard.

Athos had entered the smoke and was moving hidden among the bandits. He attacked
the farthest bandit in the group and slashed his ankles, before jumping on top of
him and impaling him.

He kept sneaking around, while slashing at the thugs' knees or heels. He was not
immune to smoke and also kept his eyes closed, but he was able to locate himself
even without his eyesight.

Athos created a sensory-type ability for situations like this, called a sensory
field. Mana flowed to the extremes of the body, such as the skin and hair all over
the body, enhancing touch to a superhuman level, allowing him to feel the approach
of anything around him, whether magical or physical in nature.

Suddenly, Athos felt something approaching quickly from behind him, as he aimed at
his skull, trying to crush it like a watermelon. Athos turned with superhuman
reaction time and raised his shield.

The impact was absurdly heavy and made the joints in his left arm crack, but Athos
used his weight to his advantage. He stepped to the side, sliding the mace across
the shield, and made a follow-up attack almost instantly, trying to slash Dave's
throat, aiming at the helmet slit.
Dave bent his head back to dodge it, but Athos' attack wasn't over yet. He used the
mana blade skill, causing a blade of pure energy to come out of the sword and
increase the attack's range, slashing the right side of Dave's helmet.

Dave backed away a few feet, surprised that his surprise attack was immediately
countered. He had used mana vision to find Athos in the smoke and his eyesight was
now impaired and he found it difficult to keep his eyes open.

Athos threw the broken shield to the ground and turned, still with his eyes closed,
in the direction he felt the enemy and steadied his stance. He ignored the people
around him, focused only on the mana user in front of him and the one he felt sneak
up behind him. He had used the smoke not only to cover his movements, but also to
separate the mana users from the rest of the bandits.

He knew that once the mana users died, the rest would be easy. Athos focused all
his attention on the enemies in front of him and behind him, noticing even the
smallest movements. He focused beyond what should be humanly possible, but his
second cold-minded ability made it possible.

Mana flowed throughout his brain and sped up his thoughts, his mind became focused
and the veins in his head bulged, his brain-frying from the overworked.

Athos felt the world around him slow down, but the skill came at a high price. The
mana cost was incredibly expensive and the skill couldn't be used for long, or it
risked frying its own brain and becoming a vegetable.

along with the sensory field, these abilities were his trump cards and had
incredible synergy. After two years of training, Athos was able to divide his focus
and maintain three skills at the same time without compromising his performance.

He had used a superior physical booster potion to conserve mana and focus, keeping
an ability free for when he needed it.

Dave and the assassin moved at the same time to attack him. Both were using mana
vision to locate Athos. He responded by throwing three bottles of viscous acid at
Dave and turned to the assassin, confident the acid would do enough damage to kill
him.

"AAAHHH!" Dave screamed in pain, feeling the metal sizzle and melt against his
skin.

The assassin attacked using the multiple cut skill. Mana flowed from one dagger to
another as he attacked, increasing the amount of mana spent and attack speed with
each strike.

Athos only defended, the multiple slashes pressing him defensively as he backed
away waiting for an opening. Small scratches continued to accumulate on his armor
until Athos created an opportunity.

Athos pretended to stumble to attract the assassin and the enemy took the bait. The
assassin aimed the dagger at his liver, but Athos grabbed his wrist and cut the
assassin's arm at the elbow. The assassin used his remaining arm to try to cut his
throat, but Athos took a step back, escaping the dagger's reach and slashing his
remaining arm in one fluid motion.

Athos swung around so as not to lose momentum and decapitated the assassin in a
circular cut. He focused his will around him and realized that more than half of
the bandits had fled while he was busy fighting. The other half had gathered in a
group, standing with their backs to each other and covering their blind spots.

Dave was thrashing around on the floor. The acid had corroded his helmet and chest,
sticking the metal to the flesh. It was only a matter of time before the corrosion
killed him.

'The professor must deal with anyone who runs away, so I just have to focus on
killing the bandits that are left here.' That's what Athos thought before he
started the killing.

He shot wind blade after wind blade through his sword cutting the bandits' bodies
to pieces. arms, heads and torsos flew sporadically within the smokescreen. When he
finished, only shredded corpses remained around him.

Athos emerged from the smoke and found Khali waiting for him outside.

"It's over?" Khali had a huge smile on his face, seeing Athos' brilliant
performance.

'He has grown at an absurd rate in these two years. He could end up reaching a
layer of life in another 4 years of training at this rate.' It was Khali's honest
assessment.

"It was easy, I could have done it with my eyes closed..." Athos teased him as
exhaustion hit him. A terrible headache hit, him making him lose consciousness.
blood trickled from his nose, showing that he had overstepped his bounds.

Khali caught him before he could fall to the ground and laid him down gently. "You
did very well, Athos. Sleep well, you deserve it."

Chapter 33

Suddenly, the world darkened, the shadows began to tremble and slowly move towards
Athos' body.

Khali activated the light sealing ring and the world returned to normal. "It's
getting more and more frequent. Soon that ring won't hold you anymore." Khali said
with a weary sigh.

******

After Athos passed out, Khali gathered the resource of the three carriages and
spent the rest of the day returning the stolen resources to the villages. He kept
his identity hidden and identified himself only as an anonymous helper refusing to
answer any questions asked by residents.

The village chief was extremely grateful for the unexpected help and stopped the
villagers from asking any questions once he realized that his savior preferred to
remain anonymous.

The chief was already desperate with lack of food and with winter approaching, they
would have starved to death if the cold hadn't killed them first. Khali made an
agreement with the chief of each village to keep a description of the funds
received, and the chief readily agreed.
None of the chiefs were stupid and they knew that if they turned out to still have
resources, the baron would demand that it be handed over. The chiefs and villagers
reached an agreement and decided to hide the funds received, as well as part of the
harvest for the next few years. The baron had never demanded more than they could
give, so they were not in the habit of hiding their harvest.

Compared to the villages, the situation in the city was worse than ever. The Baron
noticed the delay in the caravan and ordered them to investigate, discovering the
corpses of the guards and the bodies of the bandits. Khali had left all the
evidence for the baron to find, leaving very little to the investigators'
imaginations.

The Baron ground his teeth in anger when he received the news, but there was not
much he could do. The gangs have grown too big to be controlled.

"You really can't destroy them?" The Baron spoke in his office, without lifting his
head from the report.

"It's not my job to solve your Dravus problems, just keep you alive." Ricley said
sitting on the sofa in the office with his feet on the table. He was eating candy
without worrying about appearances. Just like Khali and Athos, Ricley and Dravus'
relationship also developed. Ricley watched closely as the Baron made failure after
failure and lost what little respect he had for him.

He's lost his respectful tone, but Dravus can't do anything about it. The only
reason the baron was still alive was because of him.

What Dravus didn't know is that Ricley secretly rooted for the bandits' victory,
praying that they would destroy the city enough for the baron to lose his title and
his mission to end.

The situation wasn't just bad for the baron. The complete destruction of the strike
team destroyed the trusting relationship that formed between the gangs and the
criminal organization fell apart before it was formed. They all knew that the
baron's forces didn't have the ability to destroy his strike force, so it had to be
an inside job.

Mistrust spread among them and each gang returned to their own territory within the
city, blocking the streets and dividing the city into 4 parts.

The area where the baron and the rich merchants lived and built their shops, became
the "noble" area of the city. The guards' barracks were also located in this area,
providing security and stability to the "noble" area.

The former favelas became the territory of the Dedo Podre gang, responsible for
drug trafficking in the city. Athos robbed them constantly, causing them great loss
of money.

The commercial district where the workshops and shops of the smaller merchants were
located became the territory of the red gold gang. They were responsible for the
city's smuggling and traded with the black market from other cities.

The residential area has become the territory of the most violent of gangs, the
yellow dagger. They were ex-mercenaries who worked in the strongholds beyond the
city, on the front lines against the demihuman empire. After a violent battle, most
of the members were killed and the gang almost annihilated, so they decided to move
to the city 3 years ago.
It was the gang that Evylin worked for, as well as those responsible for the city
blockade and the proposed alliance. They planned to unite all the gangs in an
alliance and then take control from the inside, but now, all their plans have been
ruined.

The church and its surroundings were the only places that remained neutral in this
situation. The baron tried countless times to bring the priest to his side, but the
priest refused each time. The gangs could not allow the only form of healing in the
entire city to be in the hands of the baron and every time the baron went to church
to negotiate, the priest would wake up the next morning with the head of one of the
nuns at the head of his bed.

******

Athos woke up 16 hours later, on the same hill as before. He was having an absurd
headache. Athos tried to get up, but a sudden dizziness hit him, causing him to
fall to the ground vomiting.

"Blerghh! This is worse than a hangover." Athos said. He'd stolen booze once just
to try it out, discovering he had absolutely no resistance to alcohol.

"Good morning, Athos. You're not the first face I'd like to see when I wake up
either, but don't you think it's a little too much?" Khali asked irritably, his
shirt stained with vomit.

"I was just happy to see you." Athos smiled weakly before sitting in a lotus
position and taking a deep breath, regenerating his mana quickly and circulating it
through his body, increasing his recovery speed.

After 5 minutes, the headache was gone and Athos returned to peak state.

"Have you improved yet? I'll never stop envying that skill." Khali had gone out to
clean up the vomit, but returned before Athos opened his eyes. Despite his words,
there was no trace of envy in his voice, just pride.

"How did I do on my first mission?" Athos asked puffing out his chest, expecting
praise.

"You did well, Athos. You let some of them get away, but this mission was way above
your level and minor mistakes were to be expected." Khali patted him on the head,
congratulating him.

"I appreciate it professor, but I'd rather you pay your bet than get patted on the
head, if you don't mind." Athos reached for the sword he saw leaning against a
nearby rock with a greedy grin.

"Haah, take it." Khali snorted at Athos and gave permission. Athos jumped on the
sword and drew it from its scabbard, admiring the weapon.

It was a 1 meter long, double-edged sword with a silver blade. Yellow and black
runes gleamed on the blade as Athos flowed mana through it. The guard had silver
details and the handle was padded with leather.

"She's amazing. What does she do?" That was all Athos said.

"Sure it is, it was meant to be MINE after all." Khali complained before
explaining. "The sword has wind and darkness enchantments. The first makes the
sword vibrate at high speed, enhancing the sword's edge, and the second shoots an
aura of darkness when you swing it. The aura of darkness causes a random curse on
the enemy."

"It's really amazing." Athos started testing immediately, shooting wave after wave
of darkness across the clearing. He was so happy with the new weapon that he only
stopped firing when he ran out of mana and everything around him was dead.

He turned and saw Khali's reproachful gaze and shrugged. "The spirits will fix it,
so no problem."

Anyway, I have news for you. I originally wanted to wait for you to be 14 before
doing this, but your performance has convinced me that you're ready." Khali began
his speech in a serious voice.

Sensing the seriousness in his voice, Athos stopped playing and concentrated on
him.

"I believe it's about time you had your own familiar."

Chapter 34

"Really?" Athos gaped at the sudden good news. He dropped his new sword and jumped
to embrace Khali.

"You are the best, teacher!" Athos hugged him as tightly as he could.

"Okay, okay, now let go of me before you break my spine." Despite his seemingly
hasty decision, Khali had a reason to hurry.

"If you continue at this rate, Athos may awaken the darkness while I am gone. He
needs something or someone to keep him in check. A pet monster can help you regain
some of the humanity he lost. It was Khali's thought.

Khali noticed that Athos was indifferent to people and wouldn't even blink when he
saw a massacre, but he cared for him as if they were family, to the point of making
potions to take care of his health, even without him asking.

"When can we go?" Athos had released him before he knew it and was pulling him by
the arm towards the forest.

"We can go as soon as I teach you the binding spell to form a pact with a monster
and make it your familiar." Khali smiled at his excitement. Athos nodded, and sat
on a nearby rock, waiting for instructions.

Khali was used to his attitude, so he didn't mind. "The binding spell is a non-
elemental spell used to link two living beings. The spell creates a bond between
two beings, forcing the weakest into submission. When used, both beings temporarily
lose their mana signature, and the one with the greater amount of mana and the
strongest willpower prevails. You are still young, so I recommend a docile
monster."

The spell was as simple as it was cruel. After incapacitating a monster, Athos
would send a stream of mana mixed with world energy into the monster's core, and it
would naturally release mana as a form of defense to try to drive it back. Both
users' mana would mix with the world's energy, until their energy signatures became
one, forming a link between the two cores.

After that, it would be a tug of war of willpower between him and the monster. The
more mana he had in the core, the more similar to his original energy signature the
link would be and the more willpower he could exert.

When one of them ran out of mana, or lost the will to fight, the core would
disintegrate and the life force would be absorbed by the victor and could be
summoned at will.

"The monster's body is absorbed and transforms into a form of energy other than
mana, called life force. Our life force is what forms the layer of life and our
energy signature, forming our core. It is also the life force that defines how long
each person can live. That's why our life expectancy increases with each layer of
life formed." Khali finished his explanation.

"Then it must be easy to subdue a monster." Athos said excitedly.

"It's not as simple as it sounds. Monsters may not be very smart, but their
willpower and survival instinct is extraordinary. Many mages and monster tamers
have tried to arrogantly tame monsters, only to become their puppets.

You must seriously injure the monster or make it tired before using the binding
spell. All the willpower in the world is useless without mana and all the mana in
the world is useless without the will to guide it." Khali warned him seriously,
fearing that Athos might make an irreversible mistake.

"Is it possible to free yourself from the binding spell?" Athos began to find the
idea of having a family member less and less attractive.

"The only way to free someone enslaved by the binding spell is to kill the
dominant. Because of this, in some countries this spell is also called a slave
spell." Khali said seriously, before smiling and comforting him. "But don't worry,
even if you fail, I'll kill the monster and set you free."

"Is it possible to use this spell on other people?" Athos asked, curious to know
the spell's limits.

"It's impossible to use the spell on beings of the same species as you." Khali cut
him off when he noticed an evil glint in Athos' eyes.

"How many familiars can I create using this spell?" Athos asked.

"Um...I think I get it. But if they don't have a core, aren't they kind of
useless?" Athos asked confused by the usefulness of a familiar.

"Think of a familiar as a second body that serves you. They don't have a mana core
of their own, but they can draw mana from your core to use racial abilities that
would be impossible for humans to use."

Athos spent some time thinking about the details he heard and what kind of monster
he wanted.

"A suggestion, Athos. You are a warrior and a mage, not a tamer, so you need to
constantly use mana to fight. When you choose a monster, choose for its utility,
not its strength." Khali said.

"Professor, how did you choose your monsters?"

"I only have an affinity for water, so I chose monsters with abilities I might
need, like rock worms that are able to create underground tunnels." Khali summoned
three monsters, one for each layer of his core. Three lights of different colors
were summoned and took the form of a rock worm, a night owl and a brown jackal.

The rock worm was eight feet long and brown-skinned, with a circular mouth with
three rows of teeth at either end. The night owl was 35 centimeters tall with white
feathers with black spots on the tips. The brown jackal was the only one Athos
didn't understand why he was there. It was such an ordinary monster that he didn't
even bother to take a second look.

"The rock worm you already know, but this is your first time with the night owl and
the brown jackal. The night owl has an affinity for light and can make things
invisible. The jackal is just an ordinary monster, but it has an excellent sense of
smell and sense of danger.

"Think carefully before turning a monster into a familiar, because once the bond is
formed, it can only be undone with your death. Even if the familiar dies, it will
still regenerate after a while." Khali warned him. After explaining the spell's
effects and dangers, he began teaching how to cast it.

"Okay, I understand everything I need to know about the spell. I'll postpone the
decision until tomorrow. For now, I'll stop by the guild and get a bestiary on the
monsters around town. There must be some useful monsters for me in this forest."
Athos got up and started walking towards the city.

"Very well, there is no reason to rush the decision." Khali agreed with him.

******

Athos spent the entire next day studying the bestiary he had obtained from the
guild. It got to the point where he missed daily training, something he hadn't done
in two years of training. Unfortunately for him, the monsters around him were all
damage dealers, there was almost no diversity in the species.

"If I continue at this rate, I'll be forced to hunt an aurora frog. It's one of the
few monsters that doesn't rely on physical attack and can alternate between
secreting paralyzing poison, acid, or healing liquid, similar to a potion. It can
help me with my alchemy. What do you think, captain?" Athos muttered in his room,
inside the underground base.

He had reconstructed his face before stuffing it, keeping it as a trophy.

"What did you say? Do you want company? I'm sorry, but it's going to be a while
before I bring the others. Be patient, okay?" Athos laughed as he chatted with his
stuffed head.

Chapter 35

"Sorry captain, but I want to capture a familiar today, so I have to go." Athos
said goodbye to the captain's head and left the room, heading for Khali's room.

Athos tried to greet him, but Khali motioned for him to be silent without turning
from the study table. A black cube was on the table projecting a hologram of an
elderly lady. She appeared to be in her 60s and wore a red cloak over a uniform
Athos did not recognize.

"How is the border situation?" the lady asked in a husky voice.

"No changes from other years. Small raids on strongholds before winter, but only
weaklings who were driven out of cities for being weak, sick, or just to decrease
the number of mouths to feed." Khali reported.

"And the situation in the city?" The lady wrote down everything he said before
asking.

"From bad to worse. The baron is an incompetent and has lost control of most of the
city to the gangs. People are dying in the midst of the conflict and nobody does
anything. As a member of the Guardians of the Word, I believe we should-" Khali
started the speech he had prepared earlier, but the lady interrupted him.

"It's not your job to give your opinion, Mr. Hill, it's to report and answer any
questions I ask. Are we clear?" The woman spoke in an icy tone.

"Yes ma'am. Any more questions?" Khali clenched his fists under the table.

"How is your young apprentice? Has he already learned the basics of non-elemental
magic? You know that if after two years he still hasn't learned the basics, you
must kill him to keep our secrets, don't you?" the lady asked with a raised
eyebrow.

"No need to worry. He's no genius, but he's hardworking and has learned the
basics." Khali lied through his teeth.

"Well, update me if anything unexpected happens." The lady didn't wait for an
answer and hung up.

"It's good to see you too, Mom." Khali muttered to himself, before punching the
wall.

"Are you okay?" Athos asked worriedly when he saw the expression on his face.

"I'm fine, Athos." Khali forced a smile not to worry him. "If you came here, that
means you've already made up your mind. So what's it going to be?"

"An aurora frog. It's useful for my alchemy and I've seen some of them in the river
that cuts through the forest." Athos said.

"What are we waiting for? Let's find these frogs."

******

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Athos swore aloud in frustration. It had been 6 hours since he
and Khali had left town and started looking for the aurora frogs. Far from finding
a frog, they hardly encountered any monsters in the forest. The only ones who saw
it were hungry monsters who hadn't found food to spend the winter.

"On second thought, winter doesn't start for a week, but the temperature has cooled
down. They're probably hibernating now." Khali said.

"You could have said that 5 hours ago and we wouldn't have wasted so much time for
nothing!" Athos growled back. He looked up angrily, as he saw something flying in
the sky.
"What is that?" Athos pointed to the horizon, where a shadow vaguely resembling a
dragon moved among the clouds.

Khali looked up at the sky and was shocked. He quickly picked up the binocular-like
item and looked. "What a fright. It's not a dragon, Athos. It's a pack of hive
hawks. They move in packs and fly in the form of strong monsters, to intimidate
enemies. There is only one female per pack and all males are their slaves.

They are a headache. They don't fear death, they coordinate their movements as if
they were a single being and don't ask me how, but they all know how to use wind
magic."

"Why do you know so much about them?" Athos asked curiously, never taking his eyes
off the pack.

"They were considered a pest where I come from. They have a habit of migrating in
winter, this pack would be a straggler. From the size of the dragon, it should be a
small group, but they'll probably stop in the woods in search of food." Khali said
shrugging his shoulders.

"Teacher, how long does it take your rock worm to dig a simple hiding place? I've
changed my mind about the familiar. I want one of those hawks." Athos smiled at
Khali with a plan in mind.

*****

The queen (female) of the hive hawks flew over the forest, ordering her slaves
(males) to hunt down any monsters they encountered. She had red feathers and a
crown of feathers on top of her head, measuring 60 centimeters in length; while the
males were smaller, measuring 40~45 centimeters.

His pack was hungry, tired and weakened, several of the males still having poorly
healing wounds. She had lost a territorial dispute with another female and many
males were taken. The only ones left were the ones she spawned or the ones that
were too weak and were rejected by the victor.

She ordered the males to hunt for food and small groups of hawks broke away from
the flock and scoured the forest. After a few minutes, they came back with corpses
of small monsters. They were thin and small, but they were better than nothing.

The males carried the corpses to the middle of the herd, where they were torn apart
by dozens of beaks. Suddenly, a rabbit with horn had its belly ripped open by a
hawk, revealing a leather pouch inside. The hawk sensed no danger from the pouch
and pecked curiously, making a small hole.

Tssssss!

BOOMMMMMM!

An explosion happened in the middle of the pack, sending feathers and blood
everywhere. The queen was startled by the sudden explosion and threw an emergency
wind barrier around her, but the explosion was faster. She was mostly unharmed and
only had a few burnt feathers, but she panicked, ordering her pack to gather around
her and look for any signs of enemies around.

The males searched their surroundings but found nothing but the small animals. Wary
of an unseen enemy, the female decided to flee the forest, ordering the remaining
males to fly again in the form of a dragon, noticeably smaller than when they
entered the forest.

Kaakaa!

Kaa!

They Males who were badly injured or had their wings destroyed, screamed towards
the queen further and further away as they crawled along the ground. The queen
ignored them, considering them useless.

Some time later the earth began to shake and a rock worm sprang out of the ground.
Khali left soon after, followed by Athos.

"Congratulations, your plan worked." Khali spoke, looking at the hive hawks still
crawling across the floor.

"I said I had a plan." Athos smiled smugly at him. "You said they have a hive mind.
Do you think that might mess up the binding spell?"

"It sure will. Choose one of them and I'll kill the rest." Khali said, a freezing
aura concentrated in his palm.

"I agree to kill them, but try to avoid damaging them, I want to preserve the
materials. I think I can make some interesting potions with their materials." said
Athos.

"Okay" Khali acknowledged his skill as an alchemist and asked no further questions.

Athos walked among the birds until he found one he liked. He wasn't hurt too much,
just his right wing was burned, but the vision of life showed he was down to half
his mana. He was one of the closest birds to the focus of the blast and had used
his mana on a wind barrier to survive.

He was also one of the largest among the males, measuring 38 centimeters in length.
"You can kill others, professor."

Khali snapped his fingers, making small icicles appear above the hawks and impale
them.

Athos approached the hawk and began to cast the binding spell. A thread of pure
mana came out of its core, absorbing world energy until it was the thickness of a
finger.

Afterwards, he began to move towards hawk, which only then registered his presence.

Kaa? Kaa!

The hawk began to scream, shooting a wind blade, but the binding spell was faster.
He hit the monster in the chest until he reached the core. He hit the monster in
the chest until he reached the core. The hawk screamed in pain, feeling the foreign
mana penetrate its body and release mana through its body trying to expel it,
forming the link.

Suddenly, Athos felt a severe headache. Thoughts that didn't belong to him crept
into his mind. They were the hawk's thoughts, but thanks to the link, Athos
understood what they meant.

OBEY THE QUEEN! PROTECT THE QUEEN! SERVE THE QUEEN!

Chapter 36

The monster's will was non-existent, but there was a foreign will that made Athos's
mind reel and his body tremble. The hive hawk didn't seem to have a will of its
own, or any instinct for self-preservation. He didn't have a mind of his own, he
was just controlled by another being.

Something no one knew about hive hawks
ability to mentally control the males.
to each other, the problem is that the
servitude in the hatchlings while they
minds before they fully form.
is that the female does not have the natural
The species has a two-way psychic connection
females use the link to implant thoughts of
are still in the eggs, destroying their

Their bodies were nothing but an empty shell, as the female gave orders and moved
them around like puppets.

Athos felt sick at the voice in his head and began to vomit. Although the hawk was
much weaker than he was, the queen's remaining will was much more powerful than
his, balancing the game. Despite magical superiority, Athos found himself slowly at
a disadvantage and hated it. His mind began to wander as he searched for anything
that might help him.

But the only thing he found was a dormant hatred, slowly staining all his thoughts.
The hate burned in his mind whenever he got distracted. The hate that influenced
every decision he made. It was hatred that gave Athos strength when he needed it.

Khali was only half right about Athos' mindset. It is true that Athos cared for
him, but he did not feel indifferent about the rest of the world. No, he hated
everything and everyone. His mind had collapsed these past two years. Athos had
constant nightmares and had been driven to the brink of suicide countless times,
but the hatred motivated him to continue.

But it made him wonder: What next? What would he do after completing his revenge?

He felt only an emptiness where his heart was at the thought of it. He was
tormented by this for a long time, until he came to a simple conclusion: If I never
stop hating, I will never feel empty.

It was the moment when he changed his life goal. He wouldn't stop at the baron and
the priest. He intended to keep killing, just so he wouldn't feel empty. It was the
moment when Athos Savage died and something took his place.

Athos felt a blow to his head and realized that he had lost his balance and had
fallen to the ground. 'How could I be so blind? If my willpower isn't enough, just
use the force of hate!' Athos began to laugh maniacally, while daydreaming about
how to torture his enemies.

He imagined himself in the middle of the town square, with the city on fire and
corpses piling up around him. In front of him were the disfigured bodies of the
priest and the baron as he held both their severed heads.

Athos' laughter grew louder, while the queen's remaining will was flooded with
bloodthirsty madness, thanks to the bond between the two.
KILL! DESTROY! BURN!

Athos took the advantage, using all his strength to attack the queen's residual
will, extinguishing it. The hive hawk froze suddenly, before falling to the ground
unconscious. His mind was already destroyed a long time ago and he offered no
resistance to Athos' will. Its core began to disintegrate, and its life force
flowed through the link, until it was absorbed and merged with his own. The hawk's
body crumbled to dust and was blown away by the wind, scattering through the
forest.

The forest was silent, the laughter stopped echoing, while the hatred again fell
asleep in his mind.

And Khali watched it all in embarrassment, watching Athos begin to vomit, fall to
the ground, and then get up with an evil laugh. "Is this boy schizophrenic by any
chance?"

Athos ignored him, focusing instead on his own core, but specifically, on the
foreign life force he felt. He could feel the familiar, but there was no noticeable
change in his body.

"Try to summon it, Athos. Focus on the familiar's life force and try to separate it
from your own." Khali instructed and Athos obeyed.

A beam of red light shot out of its body and took the form of the hive's hawk. It
flew over Athos a few times, before landing on its shoulder. The feeling of having
a familiar was strange, he had no memories and no will of his own, but he could
still reason and understand simple orders.

"It's the first time I've seen a hive hawk as a familiar, what does he do? Is he
still able to use magic?" Khali asked curiously.

'Show me what you can do.' Athos sent a mental order to the familiar. The familiar
obeyed and Athos felt it draining mana from its core. It was an unpleasant
sensation, but he didn't bother, realizing that he could cut off his mana flow at
any moment.

His point of view changed and he saw through the familiar's eyes. He ordered the
familiar to fly and was able to see the entire forest from above. "I can see
through the hawk's eyes. He seems to have a sensory sharing ability."

"That's a good skill, but it's weird that he can't use magic. The hawk's memories
disappeared after he became a familiar, so he may have forgotten how to use it. Use
a simple wind spell and order him to copy it." Khali said, instructing Athos.

Athos conjured a small bolt of lightning in his palm and asked mentally. 'Can you
use magic?'

The familiar did not copy the spell, but Athos sensed from the link between them
that he was trying to do something. Athos couldn't resist and suddenly, the spell
on his hand disappeared and reappeared on his wings.

"Which?" Khali asked in disbelief. He saw with the mana vision the spell was
absorbed by Athos before flowing into the familiar. "Do it again!"

Athos used a fireball spell this time and the familiar once again absorbed the
spell before shooting the fireball skyward.

"Can he absorb magic?" Athos asked, excited by the myriad possibilities.

"No, his ability is to transmit his spells. You can cast your spells from a safe
place and your familiar can shoot for you. That would explain why all hawks can
cast spells. The female would cast her spells safely and the males only would
transmit." Khali was shocked and jealous by the discovery.

'Reminder to myself: get a Hawk hive as a familiar once you reach the fourth layer'
Khali thought.

'As of today, your name is Falco. It is a pleasure to work with you. Athos mentally
spoke to the familiar, stroking its head.

"I really want to brag, but I'm mentally exhausted so I'm going to go back to the
hideout, clean myself, and sleep." Athos said yawning.

"Haa, let's go." Khali sighed, tired of being surprised.

******

3 years later.

Time passed quickly after that. During this time, the Yellow Dagger Gang destroyed
and assimilated the Rotten Finger Gang, taking control of half of the city. The red
gold gang bowed their heads to the baron, leveling the playing field. They received
unofficial permission from the baron to smuggle and the guards began to ignore
their actions as long as they didn't exaggerate and the deal between them didn't go
public.

Strange murders began to occur throughout the city. People first suspected that the
gangs were responsible for this, but casualties began to occur in both groups,
confusing investigators.

The baron received a penalty from the country because of the state of the city and
his noble title was demoted to baronet. Its territory was reduced and its only
current territory was the city of Faltra.

The wizard Ricley rejoiced at the news. The taxes the baron received declined and
he was no longer able to maintain the protection contract with the order of magic
without collapsing the city for good and he would soon be freed from his torment.

The darkness on Athos threatened to awaken countless times, to the point that Khali
made Athos use the ring constantly, with the excuse that it was to help control his
murderous urges. Athos knew he was useless at that point, but he used it anyway to
please Khali.

But none of that mattered to Athos and Khali, who were wearing the best clothes
they had. Khali had paused training since the day before, to ensure that Athos was
at his peak for today.

Chapter 37

"How do you feel, Athos? As of today you are an adult, congratulations." Khali
congratulated him, feeling emotional.
"Your mission in this city ends next week, so remind me, why are we dressing up so
much?" Compared to Khali, Athos was not at all excited.

Athos had just gotten out of the shower and was still wearing a towel in front of
the mirror. He had a birthday today, turning 15 and becoming an adult. He wasn't
used to cutting his hair, but his teacher insisted he cut it today, so he relented.

He created a blade of wind in his right hand and began to cut it. Athos began to
look at his body in the mirror as he did so, noticing the numerous changes he had
undergone. His previously lean but muscular body was now fully defined. Using
nutritional potions and similar alchemical items, he accelerated the body's
development.

His muscles were toned, his abs were a six-pack, and he'd recently reached 1.77
meters. His body was covered in small, barely healed scars or scrapes that he
didn't bother to treat.

His face wasn't delicate, but it wasn't manly either. He had a handsome face that
would be considered above average, but he had a cold, murderous look that kept
people from approaching. Her eyes were honey brown, while her hair was a darker
shade.

"Tell me, where are we going? I know you want to celebrate my birthday and I
promised you we would, but you don't have to be a mystery, you know?" Athos asked.

"You'll like it, I'm sure. You know my surprises are always good." Khali maintained
the suspense as he finished dressing.

Athos looked at him silently, before getting dressed as well.

They came out of hiding together and headed for the slums. The place had changed a
lot over time. Previously, the place looked like ruins, but now, Athos could see
countless shops open and people were no longer afraid to walk the streets.

"Ridiculous, isn't it? How the gang runs the city better than the baron himself."
Khali said in disgust.

"Speaking of the Baron, is that rumor that Ricley was discharged true?" Athos asked
curiously.

"Yes, that's true. He's leaving in two weeks. You'll probably get an easy revenge
without Ricley to get in the way." Khali spoke. The conversation died and they
walked in silence until they reached their destination.

"Well, we're here. Happy birthday Athos!" Khali smirked as he watched Athos'
reaction.

They were on one of the busiest streets in the favelas. Lamps with tinted glass
illuminated the streets with a red light. Women dressed provocatively in front of
brothels, trying to get the attention of passing customers.

'If a pet hasn't helped, maybe a woman will. I had to wait until today to put my
plan into practice, so I have to make sure everything goes well today.' It was his
plan.

"Professor..." Athos turned to Khali, unsure how to react. He had zero experience
with women, so this kind of situation was new to him.

"You've come of age, of course we have to celebrate, don't we?" Khali's wicked
smile widened, seeing the cold and cruel Athos bewildered. He grabbed him by the
shoulder, preventing him from running away. "Today is a special day, so don't worry
about money, I'll pay for everything. Just pick a place and have fun."

"You're not going to let me go until do this, are you? Let's get this over with."
Athos raised his arms in surrender and began to look around in a bit of
embarrassment.

"Not so fast. The first time is special, so you have to do it right. Did you
remember to bring the stamina potions?" Khali asked.

"And here I was wondering why you wanted these potions." Athos showed some orange
vials in his pocket. "I did."

"Fine! So let's-" Khali was cheering, when a woman called out to him.

"Kal! Is that really you? Have you come to visit me again?" a red-haired woman
asked, waving happily at Khali.

"Kal?" Athos repeated, looking at Khali.

"She confused me with someone else." It was the first excuse he thought of.

"Kal, have you come to visit me again? You usually come once a week, but it's only
been three days since the last time. Did you miss me?" the red-haired woman asked,
hugging Khali's arm between her breasts.

"Sorry my beautiful, but I can't today. I promise I'll be back later." He whispered
low to the woman clinging to him as he pulled away, but Athos had improved his
hearing and heard everything.

"I swear she mistook me for someone." Khali said after joining Athos and urging him
to leave the premises.

"Apparently someone is a frequent customer of the place. As an expert, do you have

any recommendations, professor?" Athos teased him, after one in five brothel women
stopped to wave at him.

Interestingly, all the women were redheads.

"We are not here to talk about me Athos, today is about you. Have you found one
that interests you?" Khali asked hastily, trying to change the subject.

"So-so." Athos spoke, looking to some distant place. Khali followed her gaze and
saw a brothel with a specific theme.

"Oh-ho. You really have good taste. I never imagined you to be a man who likes
older women." Khali spoke with an understanding nod. Just like Khali said, the
brothel Athos was looking at had a milfs theme.

"I...I don't..." Athos stuttered, swallowing hard.

"Come on, no need to be shy." Khali grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him to
the brothel.

"Hello to you two. It's rare to see two such handsome men around here, is this the
first time in our establishment?" a woman at the front of the store asked, leading
them inside.
"My boy turned 15 today, so I brought him here to become a man. I let him pick the
place and he couldn't stop drooling looking at your cleavage, so I thought you
might give him a special treat." Khali winked at the woman, laughing at Athos'
embarrassment.

"Khali!!" Athos cried out in embarrassment, red as a beet.

"You can leave sir, we will take good care of your son." She understood his
intentions and took Athos by the arm, her hand reaching dangerously close to the
war zone. She laughed when she noticed his nervousness and how much he struggled to
remain stoic. She turned to Khali and asked. "Now, about the kind of service your
son wants..."

"Like I said, today is a special day for him. I want him to have full service."
Khali smiled, placing a bag full of silver coins on the table. The woman's eyes
gleamed with greed, seeing the bag of money on the counter. It was more than the
brothel would make in an entire month.

She mentally thanked her friend who switched shifts with her, and allowed her to
win this VIP customer. "Girls, we have a VIP here! Come meet him and get the best
room!" The woman spoke loudly, drawing the others' attention.

"Ara, ara, who is this cute boy?" Random milf 1.

"What a handsome young man! Is this your first time here? I'll take good care of
you~." Random milf 2.

"Did you guys think he was cute? I thought he was pretty strong for someone so
young. He's pretty muscular." Random milf 3.

Athos quickly found himself surrounded by women as he was dragged into the best
room in the brothel. And Khali stood back and waved at him, as if watching his son
go on an excursion.

"Have a good time." was all he said, with a bright smile. 'Well, let's see if that
redhead is still free.' That's what he thought as he left the brothel.

Athos was dragged into the bedroom, before being thrown onto the bed.

"I got this client, so I'm going first, if you don't mind." The woman who brought
Athos said, as she climbed into his lap. "It's your first time, so leave it all to
me."

For the rest of the night, Athos was taught that life wasn't just about training
and revenge.

Chapter 38

2 weeks later. Athos was in the base's training area, sitting in a chair with his
eyes closed, fully equipped in black plate armor. In a few hours, the wizard Ricley
would be relieved of his bodyguard duty, greatly reducing the baron's security.

Athos was using his familiar to guard the baron's mansion all day. Security at the
mansion had been tight since the day before, but Athos knew this was just an
attempt to show strength.

The gangs were also ready to attack, just waiting for Ricley to leave town.
However, Athos had already made plans to ensure that only he reached the mansion.
If everything went according to plan; the priest and guards and gangs would be too
busy fighting for their lives to care about the baron.

It was still 3 pm and the Mago's departure was planned for 6 pm, but the tension in
Faltra was almost palpable. Every force in the city, visible or not, was sharpening
their weapons in preparation for the battle they knew was about to take place.

The population of the city realized the pre-war tension that surrounded the city
and most avoided opening shops or going out into the streets, preferring to lock
themselves inside their homes.

"How is the situation? Has there been any change?" Khali asked, approaching Athos.

"Nothing yet. The baron is still untouched inside the mansion like a cockroach
afraid of the light. All guards are prowling the mansion and no one is allowed to
enter. My familiar can't get close without being discovered, so I haven't been able
to see any details of the interior of the mansion." Athos replied without opening
his eyes, fearing he would miss any change.

"We are abandoning the base and leaving this town as of today. You remember our
plan, right? I delayed my departure for your revenge." Khali asked.

"I already know. You will leave town as soon as you confirm that Ricley has also
left. In the meantime, I will attack the baron's mansion and then the priest in the
church and we will meet in Rocha village where we will meet with his fellow
guardians. of word." Athos explained the plan.

"Correct. I've already emptied the base and destroyed any evidence of our stay
here. Are you still wearing the ring?" Khali asked worriedly. He knew he couldn't
put off awakening his affinity with the dark forever and planned to apologize to
Athos about it, after this revenge story was over.

Athos held out his left hand to him without saying anything. There were three rings
on his hand and one of them was the sealing ring. The other two were magic items
that Khali had gifted Athos (lost in betting).

'Athos is strong, but he often gets carried away by anger. I fear he might make a
mistake during the attack, and end up dying. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can
do to stop him.' Khali was worried about Athos' safety, but he couldn't get
involved. It would be difficult to cover up an ice mage by killing a local noble
and word keepers would likely kill him if he involved.

The only thing Khali could do was hope that Athos was as discreet as possible.
Unfortunately for him, Athos had planned to involve the entire city in his revenge.

*********

A few hours later, at the baron's mansion.

"Won't you stay for another week? No, at least a few more days? Winter has already
started, it would be dangerous if you were caught in a blizzard halfway." Baron
Dravus asked, pale as a ghost. He also sensed the tension in the city and knew that
the only thing keeping him alive was the presence of the mage.

"As I've been saying for the last few years, nothing would make me happier than
walking away from this fucking town and leaving you for dead." Ricley said,
oblivious to the disapproving looks of the mansion's housekeeping staff. Compared
to the depressed baron, Ricley had a bright smile.

It had been nearly six years since he had been trapped in this hell, and he would
finally be freed from his torment. He took all his belongings and stowed them in
the carriage, before climbing up and ordering the coachman to leave.

"One last thing, Dravus. I really hope the gang manages to break into the cabin you
call the mansion and kill you. They would be far better rulers than an incompetent
like you!" Ricley stuck his head out the carriage window and yelled at the top of
his lungs, speaking purposefully so any spy around could hear.

The baron gritted his teeth at his insolent attitude, but the carriage pulled away
before he could respond. The baron turned and walked back to the mansion, praying
to Eishin that he survives another day.

*******

"He left." Athos opened his eyes as he rose to his feet, fully ready for combat. He
used the link with his familiar to absorb it despite the distance and summon it
back to his side.

"You know what to do, Falco. Go." He ordered the familiar who promptly obeyed. It
flew up and grabbed a large bag full of small leather bags in the corner of the
room with its claws, before flying through one of the base passages towards the
surface.

"Are you sure he left?" Khali asked.

"Falco accompanied him until the carriage left town. I'm sure he left." Athos
confirmed. He picked up a second bag of leather bags and put her over his shoulder.

"This is your last chance to back off, after that there will be no turning back.
Are you sure you want to continue?" Khali asked for the last time, preparing to
flee. Athos had not informed him of the plan, no matter how much he asked. It was
something he wanted to do alone, no matter what.

"I made that decision years ago. You know that." Athos spoke resolutely. He turned
to Khali and hugged him. "I'll see you in the village, Professor."

"See you soon, Athos." Khali returned the hug, his voice trembling slightly with
emotion. He felt like he was watching a son go to war and there was nothing he
could do to stop it.

Athos broke free of the embrace and turned around, before running through the
tunnels. He had a mixed expression of hate and determination. He left the
underground base and headed towards the sewer, for the first part of his plan. As
expected, the sewers were swarming with people. The bandits attacked the guards
through the sewer as soon as the carriage left the lord's mansion, so the battle
was already underway.

'Now for the first part of the plan.' Athos thought as he drank a potion with a
translucent liquid. Athos had created this potion using the night owl's feathers,
creating an invisibility potion. The potion would only make his body invisible, but
his non-elemental spell, shared blessing, made the equipment invisible as well. The
spell used small threads of mana to share enhancement spells or potion effects to
other people or equipment, in exchange for the duration time being reduced.
He also mixed his mana with the environment to erase his presence, and activated
the second ring on his left hand making its core invisible even to magical senses.
The ability to erase presence was good, but it couldn't hide someone from the sight
of mana. The ring solved that problem.

He created a layer of world energy that enveloped the caster's body, preventing the
magical senses from detecting their core or reducing their core's power to an
untrained one, depending on the caster's intentions.

Thanks to these three effects, Athos was like a ghost on a battlefield. He moved
throughout the sewers and whenever he saw a skirmish or a group of guards or
bandits, he would drop a bag containing mana paralyzing powder, the secret recipe
his father had invented, and quickly flee the scene.

It was only a matter of time before all the people in the sewer were passed out.

Left behind, Khali watched as Athos walked away. He stayed in the same spot for
approximately 10 minutes, before shaking his head and sighing.

"It's no use staying here, I have to go-" Khali spoke, but a male voice came from
behind, interrupting him.

"So there was really someone hiding here?" That was all Khali heard, before the
entire tunnel collapsed.

Chapter 39

In the night sky, above the city of Faltra.

Falco flew over the city, the night sky obscuring its body. He carried a pouch in
his claws nearly twice his size. Normally, he would be unable to carry something
this heavy, but his master had fed him a strengthening potion, so it wasn't a
problem.

He looked down, surveying the city and looking for the locations his master had
previously ordered. Spotting his first target, he flew to stand above the spot and
used his beak to pick up one of the bags and throw them, causing them to burst
against the roofs or the ground. A colorless mist began to spread, before all hell
broke loose.

"Die!" Random crazed 1.

"Motherfucker!" Random crazed 2.

"Die all of you!" Random crazed 3.

In a matter of seconds, all the people who came into contact with the fog began to
turn red eyes, before furiously attacking anyone in front of them. People started
killing each other as Falco flew towards the next destination. He flew to all the
places where he saw a large number of people gathered and spread the fog, driving
people crazy.

Athos had created this alchemical powder using parts of a monster called a two-
faced monkey. He looked like a 1,50-meter white monkey when he was calm, but when
he was angry, his size doubled, as well as his physical strength and he would
attack anything he saw in front of him, even others of his kind. It was a weak
monster on its own, but a headache to deal with when grouped together.

In less than 30 minutes, pandemonium broke out in the city of Faltra. Parents
killed their children, children killed their brothers, while the crazed invaded the
homes of those still healthy and killed entire families. Flames began to rise
throughout the city as bodies piled up everywhere.

The crazed ones ignored the borders imposed by the gangs, while the bandits and
guards temporarily stopped their fight and tried desperately to stop their advance.
The only place that was not hit was the prime area of the city. Falco had
deliberately left this area untouched on his master's orders. Athos wanted the
pleasure of terrorizing the Baron.

The guard post was in the prime area and the guards reacted, blocking the streets
and barricading them, preventing the maddened from advancing. The situation was
temporarily brought under control, but that was not enough to calm the baron's
temper. Most of the city's wealthy merchants had gathered outside the gate, seeking
protection from the personal guard, but the baron forbade anyone to enter.

He watched in despair from the balcony of his mansion, watching the city burn and
hearing the screams of pain despite the distance from the conflict. He felt despair
and confusion fill his mind, fear causing his bladder to loosen and he almost
pissed himself in his pants. But the worst came later.

BOOOMMM!!!!

An explosion occurred at one of the blockages, sending guards and maddened into the
air. The windows of the surrounding houses were shattered by the shock wave, and
the earth shook as if an earthquake had struck.

Black smoke rose from the explosion site, while the sounds suddenly stopped.
Whether the baron, the guards or the merchants, they all watched in shock as their
first line of defense was shattered.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard through the smoke. Despite the curses,
screams of pain and sounds of destruction, the sound of footsteps echoed audibly
among the survivors. Two bright red lights appeared through the smoke, and soon a
silhouette became visible.

The figure came out of the smoke with slow steps, as if enjoying the show. He was
dressed in black plate armor, with red flames shooting out of the slits in the
armor every time he moved. In his left hand he carried a red shield with a circular
blade on the edge, and in his right hand a silvery sword, stained with so much
blood that the blade was almost unrecognizable.

He swung his sword in a simple motion, but it generated a gust of wind that swept
away all the smoke and debris from the place, making a clear path between him and
the mansion. Like prey in front of a predator, people could only shiver in silence
before the black knight for fear that the slightest sound would draw his attention
to themselves.

An awkward silence hung over the place, until one of the men in front of the gate
couldn't take the pressure any longer and started screaming.

"Open the gate and let me in!! Open this shit up!!" He began to scream desperately
as he clung to the gates.
As if the man's cry of despair was a sign, people snapped out of their stupor and
began to run wildly towards the gates, running over each other in an attempt to get
a second faster.

The black knight also began to walk slowly, each step he took echoing through the
place and only serving to increase the panic.

"Stop him!!! Don't let him near the gates!!!" The baron shouted orders to his
personal guards from the second-floor balcony, completely terrified. He ran inside
the mansion, going for his hidden trump card.

The personal guard leader who was next to him nodded. He jumped from the second
floor balcony and ordered his subordinates. "All guards, in their positions! We
can't allow him to approach the mansion!"

The guards hesitated for a moment, but still followed their orders. Archers climbed
onto the roof and positioned themselves, while guards armed with shields came out
of the gates, pushing people out of the way. They positioned themselves with shield
bearers in front and swordsmen and spearmen behind.

Their numbers added up to more than 50, but they didn't feel confident.

The merchants took their cue and ran inside the mansion, but the guards weren't
free to worry about them.

All their focus was on the knight who was slowly approaching them. As if sensing
that the guards' preparations were ready, he began to accelerate, his steps slowly
turning into a run, until he moved so fast that the guards had trouble keeping up
with his movements.

His footsteps left fiery footprints wherever he passed, as the captain measured the
growing distance between them.

50 meters-

The archers stretched their bowstrings to the limit, just waiting for their
superior's order.

40 meters-

The knight raised his shield in front of his body, ready to charge. The shield
caught fire, while a blade of wind formed on the edge of the shield's edge before
it began to spin at high speed, sucking the flames into a spiral of fire.

30 meters-

"Body of bronze!" The front-line guards yelled in unison, activating the skill in
preparation for impact.

20 meters-

"Shoot!" The captain shouted and the archers fired arrows at the knight with
different skills. Unfortunately for the guards, the spiral created by the fire
spiral generated a vacuum of wind that distorted the direction of the arrows,
leaving the knight unharmed.

10 meters-

"Maximum Drilling!" The personal guard leader activated the ability from behind the
first line, holding a bluish spear, ready to stab the knight as soon as he came
into range.

"Hold on tight!" The shield bearers gulped and clutched their shields tightly,
seeing what appeared to be a spiraling flame meteor approaching them.

1 meter-

"Meteor Charge!" The knight gave a guttural cry, activating an ability mixed with
magic. The flames and spiraling wind blade built up in the center of the shield,
causing an explosion upon impact.

An explosion happened just as the shields collided, sending half of the front line
flying in the shock wave, along with the spear-wielding guards behind them. Burnt
bodies were sent flying before crashing hard against the stone floor, as people
screamed in terror as their line of defense was run over without resistance.

The knight didn't stop immediately and walked a few more meters before turning to
see the trail of destruction behind him. He sneered at the fallen guards and the
terrified guards still standing.

"Weak. You are all weak-" The knight started to mock them, but a pillar of white
light descended from the sky, completely swallowing his figure.

Chapter 40

People were confused by the sudden appearance of the pillar of light, until they
heard a familiar voice.

"See, this is the power of God! This blasphemous knight is nothing before divine
grace!" The priest exclaimed to the people gathered in the baron's mansion, in a
magnanimous tone. He appeared on the second floor porch of the mansion with two
nuns on either side and the baron following close behind.

Unbeknownst to anyone in the city, the baron and the priest had struck a deal to
eliminate the city's gangs. Eishin's church had been neglecting the city for a long
time, but in the past few years, the amount received from donations from the
faithful has decreased, causing dissatisfaction at church headquarters.

This was caused by the great poverty of the population and the embezzlement of the
priest's money. The priest had received a notice from the church to collaborate
with the baron in the extermination of criminal gangs or he would be removed from
his position.

Desperate at the news, the priest secretly contacted the baron and together they
hatched a plan to exterminate the gangs the moment the wizard Ricley left town.
Ricley learned of the plan and also collaborated, insulting and mocking the Baron
as he said goodbye, increasing the gangs' confidence.

Unfortunately for them, Athos destroyed all of their plans, forcing the priest to
reveal himself, to avoid the complete annihilation of the personal guard. He
collaborated with the two nuns who worked for him and cast a spell together to
eliminate the knight in a single attack, just in case.
Despite his arrogant tone, he was actually terrified inside of the knight's
strength. He realized that the knight was not only a powerful warrior, but also a
skilled mage.

'This man was dangerous. If I hadn't killed him with a preemptive strike, there's
no way of knowing what would have happened-' The priest gasped in terror as the
pillar of light began to disappear.

When the magic ended, the pillar of light began to dim until it disappeared
completely, revealing the knight kneeling on his right knee and the shield raised
above his head. A second shield made of mana floated above the knight, completely
broken. Pieces of the energy shield fell away, before disappearing.

The knight rose, completely unharmed. He lifted his helmet, looking straight into
the priest's eyes. The helmet completely hid his face, but the priest could have
sworn he saw mockery and disdain coming from him.

He was furious and his pride hurt, but he didn't dare confront him, silently
casting the next spell.

Meanwhile, Athos was breathing deeply under his black helmet. So far everything had
gone according to plan. The chaos in the city kept the guard and the gangs too busy
dealing with the crazed to care what happened to the prime area. He used explosive
powder to break down the barricade and put fear into the minds of anyone who saw
him. He also used magic to make his entrance more dramatic.

But the priest's attack took him by surprise and he barely managed to react in
time. He made a magic barrier at the last second, but he couldn't visualize it
properly and wasted a lot of mana.

'The remaining mana is... about 60%. I should be able to block this attack 3 more
times before I run out of mana, if I can detect it beforehand.' Athos thought,
coming up with a plan to kill the priest. He began to gather a large amount of
world energy, while casting one of his strongest spells.

"He's a mage too! Stop him from casting a spell!" The priest shouted, thanks to the
mana vision he noticed the knight accumulating world energy.

"Quick stab!" The captain of the guard was the first to recover from the shock, as
he tried to stab Athos in the head from behind. When he saw Athos charging at him,
his years of combat experience warned him that his subordinate would be unable to
stop him and he would be killed, so he rolled to the left at the last second,
saving his own life.

The skin on his right arm was slightly burned, but nothing that could diminish his
combat prowess.

Athos sensed the attack and sidestepped half a step, the point of the spear
brushing his helmet. Athos used mana vision and saw where the mana was weakest on
the spear, before activating the sword enchantment and cutting the spear into two
pieces.

"Which?" the captain asked confused, looking stupidly at the spearhead. Athos took
advantage of his moment of confusion and punched him in the face with the shield,
before he could react. The blow hit him hard, the bladed edge going through the
helmet and leaving a deep gash on his face, sending his head back.

He was about to finish the captain but was forced to jump to the side. Arrows
slammed into the ground before exploding, cracking the stone floor. The guards had
recovered from their stupor and were slowly trying to surround him. They kept their
distance from each other, afraid of being run over again by another onslaught.

"Constant healing! Holy arrows!" The priest and the nuns with him had also
completed their spells. The first cast a white light on all guards that were still
alive around Athos, slowly healing their wounds. The second spell cast white arrows
around the priest. He didn't fire them right away, but waited for a moment of
distraction.

Thanks to the sensory field, Athos could feel his entire surroundings and realized
that he was slowly being cornered. The guards attacked him with different skills,
but Athos unleashed flames in all directions and the sudden heat kept the guards at
bay.

He activated the sword's second enchantment, causing it to release a black aura and
made a circular slash, taking advantage of the siege to inflict a curse on everyone
around him.

"Ack!" The guards were panicked, hit by blinding curses. The archers fired arrows
at him, but Athos seized the opportunity and charged where the siege was thinnest.

He swung his sword twice as he passed, cutting two guards deep. Athos was about to
cut a third, when he detected the arrows of light approaching and was forced to
defend himself. The archers' arrows came soon after, preventing him from killing
the guards while they were blinded.

"Disperse curse!" The priest shouted, making a light shine on all the guards and
restoring everyone's sight. 'He should have already finished casting that spell,
what is he waiting for?' That's what the priest thought when he saw the great
amount of energy that Athos had gathered.

"Tsk!" Athos clicked his tongue, being forced to fight hand to hand. He needed to
preserve mana for a big attack. The guards' attacks rained down on him, but Athos
activated the bronze body skill and defended almost everyone, confident in his own
defense.

Athos managed to attack from time to time, but with each attack he made, he
received twice as much. Cuts and scrapes quickly accumulated all over the armor, as
his vision slowly turned red, blood dripping from his forehead from a spear wound
that nearly went through his skull.

Athos was faster, stronger and better equipped than everyone here, but the numbers
outweighed him. To make matters worse, the priest stopped saving mana, casting
spell after spell at him. Suddenly, one of the guards jumped up and tried to crush
him with a heavy attack, forcing Athos to raise his shield to defend himself.

An arrow he didn't notice in time hit his left calf, knocking him off balance. The
heavy blow came soon after, forcing Athos to his knees. He gritted his teeth as he
felt the bones in his left arm crack from the impact, but he raised the sword in
his right hand and stabbed the guard in the stomach, causing him to vomit blood.

A spear pierced the guard's back and throughed him, hitting Athos in the right
shoulder. He was unable to detect the attack because of the guard and could not
react in time. The guard captain had recovered from the blow and borrowed a spear
from a subordinate and waited for an opportunity to exact revenge.

The captain kept pushing the spear, until the point hit a wall, trapping Athos and
the guard's body together.
"HAHAHAHAHA! You're late!" Despite his horrible situation, Athos began to laugh
maniacally.

"Stop him!" The priest hurriedly shouted, realizing the spell Athos had been
casting so far was about to explode everything around him. The priest threw a
shield of light hastily, when all the energy that Athos had accumulated suddenly
disappeared.

Kaa!

A beehive Hawk appeared in the sky above the mansion, along with a 10-meter spear
of fire that pierced through the mansion before exploding, destroying everything.

Chapter 41

Debris rained down as the mansion exploded to pieces and people inside were either
burned alive or crushed by the wreckage. The merchants who had broken into the
mansion were burned alive, while the archers on the roof were flung a block away
and slammed hard against the stone floor, dying instantly.

...one of them had the misfortune to fall into an iron railing, impaled to death.

But the one who had the worst fate was the priest. He cast a barrier of light to
protect himself, but barrier only protected him from the shock wave, not the heat.
The searing heat evaporated all the liquid from his body and charred his skin to
black.

He fell to the ground in the mansion's backyard gasping for air, his lungs burning
from the hot air. He agonized for some time, before dying of asphyxiation.

"How did this happen?" The captain stared stupidly at the burning mansion. He was
completely focused on Athos, so he didn't notice the familiar approaching the
manor. From their vantage point, a giant fire spear appeared from the sky seemingly
out of nowhere.

"You shouldn't look away in the middle of a fight." Athos spoke looking at the
captain. He activated his third magic ring, causing a dome of water to appear
around him and expand, flinging the guard's corpse and the captain away. The water
suddenly froze, creating a barrier of ice around him, and the captain froze in the
middle of the barrier.

Athos knew the barrier wouldn't last long, so he quickly drank a potion of superior
healing, while pulling the arrow from his calf and the spear from his shoulder. He
poured another potion over the shoulder wound to speed the healing, and grabbed the
sword as soon as he regained control of his right arm, piercing the immobilized
captain's chest until he reached the heart.

'My current mana is...15%. A few more basic spells and I'm dry.' Athos thought,
analyzing his own situation. He deactivated abilities such as Sensory Field and
Cold Mind to save mana, relying on his natural senses to fight.

To make matters worse, the guards were attacking with renewed fury. The baron had
sheltered his families inside the manor for security reasons and to ensure that
none of them escaped. However, the plan backfired and they ended up dying horribly.
"You bastard!!!"

"My son! You killed my son!!

The guards roared like wild beasts as they surrounded the ice barrier and attacked
from all sides. Individually, it would take some time to break the barrier, but the
constant attacks had undermined their integrity, and soon they would take revenge
on the bastard who killed their families.

"HAHAHA! The feeling of losing someone you love is excruciating, isn't it? But
don't worry, I'll make you join them right now!!" In response to the screams of
hate, Athos only scoffed. He steadied the cracked and dented shield in front of his
body and taunted the guards to attack him.

Consumed by fury and despair, the remaining guards didn't care about formations and
attacked as soon as they managed to break through the barrier.

One of the guards finally broke through the barrier enough to look inside, only to
be met by a sword at his throat. The blade pierced his neck until it came out the
other side. before twisting, destroying the neck, and leaving the head trapped by a
thread of meat.

The guard fell dead to the ground, while his colleagues were surprised by his
sudden death, Athos positioned himself in the middle of the dome and took advantage
of it. Whenever a hole was made in the dome it would attack, forcing the guards to
retreat or lose a limb.

Athos noticed that the cracks had spread all over the barrier and in a few more
attacks it would be completely destroyed, so he decided to run away. He began to
run with his shield raised, synchronizing his run with the guards' charge.

One last strike hit the barrier, causing it to shatter in a shower of fragments and
a white mist to spread. But before the guard who broke the barrier could rejoice, a
red shield came out of the white mist and hit him, throwing him away. Athos didn't
slow down and kept running, trying to flee the scene.

'The original plan was to use the fire spear against the guards and leave the baron
defenseless and kidnap him, but I'll have to be content with knowing the son of a
bitch is dead.' Athos thought, realizing that it was useless to continue the fight.

The furious guards tried to chase after him, but Athos swung his sword back as he
ran without turning, sending a wave of darkness. The guards already knew about this
attack and some were able to dodge it in time, but most were hit and suffered a
curse of dizziness.

They felt as if they had suddenly become drunk as the world around them spun. The
cursed guards fell to the ground and began to vomit, while the few unaffected ones
continued their pursuit.

"Great! Now, quick steps!" Athos drained every last drop of mana from his core and
activated a speed enhancing skill. Mana flowed from his joints to the sole of his
foot, increasing his speed of movement.

'I need to escape underground. The underground base is out of the question, but I
know the sewers like no one else, once down there I-' Athos started to formulate an
escape plan, but the link between him and Falco was suddenly severed, distracting
him.
He turned his head back to look, even as his instincts told him to run as fast as
he could, and saw the Falco falling from the sky, a jagged rock stuck in its
abdomen. In that moment of distraction that he had, a stone spear shot out of the
ground where he had just stepped, piercing through his metal boot and his right
foot.

The stone spear hit his heel, sending Athos crashing to the ground, his foot bent
at an unnatural angle.

"ARGGHHH!" Athos screamed in pain as he gripped his ankle, unable to stand. He

looked around but couldn't find the person responsible.

"I have to admit boy, you really caused a disaster. Since when do word keepers
cause genocides?" An unknown voice spoke before two more stone spears appeared and
impaled Athos.

The stone spears hit Athos from the front as he lay on the ground, lifting him five
feet off the ground. The spears were approximately two inches wide and pierced his
left lung and stomach, causing him to drown in his own blood. Athos felt his lungs
burn as he struggled to breathe.

A hole in the earth opened up and a man Athos knew came out of it. He was dressed
in a green robe with a hood in tatters. He had a youthful face, but he looked
incredibly strong, with an oppressive aura coming off his body. Ricley, who should
have left town, had suddenly appeared amidst the chaos. Hooded men appeared on the
roofs of the buildings, but Athos could not see them as he kept his head down.

He carried a wand in his left hand, while in his right hand, a dying body of a
blue-robed mage. The mage was dead.

"I assume you two know each other?" Ricley threw the dying wizard's body to the
ground in front of Athos.

Despite all the pain he felt and the position he was in, Athos managed to raise his
head enough to look at the face of the mage in front of him. He felt his blood run
cold as all his pain became irrelevant for a moment.

Hot tears fell from his eyes as he looked into the face of the man who had taken
care of him for the past five years, the only person he still loved in this world
and who he considered almost like a father.

Athos wept as he recognized Khali's body.

Chapter 42

******

A few minutes ago.

"Shit!" Khali cursed as he saw the base fall on his head. He activated two magic
rings, generating two domes of water before freezing them. However, he saw the ice
crack quickly as the tunnel's weight pressed down on him.

He quickly summoned the rock worm and had it dig a tunnel and flee. The rock worm
dug through the earth as if swimming, until it reached the sewer. Khali jumped out
of the hole and looked around. He saw a small group of 10 thugs passed out around,
but wasted no time investigating and blasted the ceiling with mana bullets, before
jumping out.

'If I was discovered, so was Athos. I have to find him before he gets caught-' His
thoughts were cut off when he saw the state of the city. He had destroyed the
ground and appeared on top of the slums, but no one cared. Everyone was too busy
trying to save their own lives to care about him.

People were running all over the place, while others with red eyes were killing
anyone who came into their field of vision. The bandits tried to kill the crazed
ones, but the situation was very chaotic and they couldn't organize themselves.

'It will be difficult to find Athos in the midst of this chaos. I need a top view.
Find Athos for me.' thought Khali, summoning the night owl and ordering it to fly
over the city and find Athos.

But before she could fly 10 meters, an arrow of fire hit her in the wing, before
the flame spread throughout her body.

'From where?' Khali used mana vision to look around and noticed hooded figures on
the rooftops. They removed the hood from the robes they wore and deactivated their
invisibility. The medallion they all carried on their chests revealed that they
were mages of the order of magic.

All of them were second-layer mages and they added up to 10 in all. The mana vision
also revealed that all the items they used were magic tools. They looked at Khali
in surprise and began to cast their spells.

"He's pretty strong, isn't he? But his items are no big deal." Random Mage 1.

"Is he a wandering mage? Or is he a renegade mage of the order?" Random Mage 2.

"Don't let your guard down, you idiots. He's also casting his spells, and one of
you could end up getting killed, so be careful." The leader of the mage group
scolded.

The order mages didn't have any spells ready. The plan was to bury him alive, they
were here in case he managed to survive, but they got distracted by the chaos of
the city and missed the chance for a surprise attack.

'This is bad, very bad. There are too many, I have to find a way to escape... His
thought was interrupted by a stone spear trying to impale him. He jumped back to
dodge it, only for the ground where he fell to turn to quicksand and his feet to
sink in, before hardening again.

"I don't know who you are, but why are you causing all this chaos and senseless
deaths?" Rickley asked, stepping out of a hole in the floor.

Balls of fire, bullets of wind, spikes of ice and arrows of light rained down on
him, but none of the attacks managed to hit him. Khali used sheer brute force to
shatter the stone floor, before freezing the ground and sliding, as if skating. He
fired ice spears in response, but the mages didn't even bother to dodge, just
activated defensive items and continued to attack him.

"I'm not to blame for all of this. Although I have a vague idea who is
responsible." Khali spoke with a cynical smile as he cast a great spell at Ricley.
A blue glow appeared beneath Ricley, before a 10-meter-wide pillar of water
appeared and froze him. Ricley panicked slightly and created a barrier of pure mana
around him. The barrier began to crack the instant it was formed by the pressure of
the pillar, making Ricley have to expend more and more mana to maintain his
integrity.

Khali waved his wand and the ice partially melted, water entering the barrier
through the cracks before freezing again, preventing the barrier from repairing
itself no matter how much energy Ricley poured into the barrier.

"Do something, you idiots!" Ricley shouted to his companions as the ice came closer
and closer. He felt his body shiver from the cold and frost began to build up on
his clothes.

"See what I said? If an idiot lets his guard down, he might get caught." The mage
leader spoke, hurling fireballs at the khali to try to distract him, but shields of
ice blocked the spell.

The mages also cast their spells on him, but Khali slid across the frozen ground,
dodging most of them. He had learned the sensory field and cool mind from Athos, so
avoiding these monotonous attacks was child's play for him.

Khali took a bottle from his belt pocket and threw it on the ground in front of the
ice pillar, before melting all the pollar. The pillar turned to water at the same
instant the bottle shattered against the ground, releasing a lightning storm. Khali
didn't trust the leather bags Athos used and stored the lightning powder Athos
created for him in a bottle, as well as his potions.

Ricley was electrocuted, falling to the ground in spasms. Without the constant
supply of mana, the barrier quickly broke as Khali again froze the water.

To Khali's misfortune, a hole opened up in the ground and swallowed Ricley's

unconscious body before closing, preventing the ice from hitting him. Khali saw the
earth move and a hole opened up next to the captain and Ricley's body appeared. One
of the light mages stopped attacking him and started healing the unconscious
Ricley.

"Tsk!" Khali clicked his tongue, annoyed that he couldn't break up with him. He
snapped his fingers, causing the ice pillar to explode in a shower of shards toward
the mages. The mages took no damage, but the roofs they were on broke, causing them
to lose their balance and fall to the ground.

A 5-meter fireball was launched in front of him, forcing Khali to conjure an ice
shield to protect himself. The fireball exploded against the shield, the shock wave
sending Khali flying and crashing into a wooden wall and shattering it.

Half a second later, a shower of spells hit the hut, blasting it to pieces.

"Did we kill him?" one of the mages asked, all his earlier arrogance fading,
replaced by pure nervousness.

One of the wizards waved his wand, causing a gust of wind to sweep away the smoke
and allowing them to see the rubble.

"Shit, he got away! Find him!" The captain yelled, seeing nothing but a crater
where the hut should have been. Khali had more than enough strength to withstand
the shock wave, but he preferred to use momentum to temporarily move away from the
battlefield and recover.
He used a mana regeneration potion to regain what he lost by creating the ice
pillar and an invisibility potion. He used the same concealment combination as
Athos while the mages were still looking for him.

The mages used their mana vision to scan their surroundings, but could not detect
Khali. He crept in between three mages and created a dozen ice spikes from the
ground.

The mages were impaled precisely on Organs vitals, before transforming into ice
statues. They didn't notice the attack until it was too late, dying instantly.

"You son of a bitch!" His companions screamed in anger at their companion's death
and to mask their own fear.

'If it continues at this rate, I can kill the others and escape from here to help
Athos.' Khali thought about fleeing the scene, but he felt something approaching at
high speed towards his back.

Khali turned the moment the object entered his detection field, drawing a short
sword from his waist and blocking the attack. A dagger flew straight towards his
chest, but Khali managed to block the attack in time.

The dagger was imbued with the ability to shatter the weapon, causing the dagger to
explode, shattering the enchanted short sword, and causing a shower of shrapnel to
hit Khali.

He looked in the direction the dagger had been thrown and saw a man in a white
assassin's garb, with the medallion of the order of magic. Khali gritted his teeth
in anger, recognizing the uniform of the white fangs, the order's assassin unit.

They were also the ones who murdered his father when he was a child.

Chapter 43

"I really must be someone important, for the order to send a mage slayer after me."
Khali smiled wryly, sensing the urgency of the situation.

Khali might face the group of rookie mages, but an order mage slayer was in a
different league. They were experts in anti-mage techniques, using mixed abilities
and magic as well as anti-magic tools, not that he needed anything like that to
clean the floor with Khali. But it was also very suspicious that the order had sent
someone of that caliber against Khali.

'Now that I think about it, I didn't do anything to reveal my identity as a

guardian. How did they find me? Khali wondered, but the enemies didn't give him
time to reflect.

"Kill him!" The leader shouted, sending a spear of fire towards him, the other
mages quickly following suit. The mage slayer also ran towards him, hurling weapon-
breaking daggers.

Khali dodged the spells without turning around thanks to the sensory field while
summoning great water bubbles towards the daggers. The daggers lost momentum after
passing through the water bubbles and exploded harmlessly against the floor.
Deciding this approach was futile, the mage slayer stopped wasting mana and sped
towards Khali. The mages quickly stopped their spells for fear of hitting the mage
slayer and focused on support him. Enhancement spells have been released further
improving your skills.

'I can't let this turn into hand-to-hand combat!' Khali thought quickly, conjuring
spikes of ice across the floor. Unlike Athos who could fight as both vanguard and
rearguard, Khali was a pure mage. He had trained his body only to the extent that
it would not be killed immediately if an enemy got too close.

The mage slayer slashed with the dagger three times, sending out blade auras that
cut through all the ice spikes. His boots suddenly glowed and he moved so fast that
the mages watching thought he had disappeared, before reappearing behind Khali.

"Cum!" Khali screamed in pain, a deep gash protruding from his right shoulder. The
mage slayer attack was too fast for his eyes to follow, but not his sensory field.
He felt the approach of the dagger to his neck and leaned to the side at the last
moment, saving his own life.

The ice under his feet also went slick and the mage slayer slipped a little, so his
attack wasn't accurate.

"...You dodged. It's the first time anyone dodged this attack." The mage slayer
spoke for the first time, a little surprised. He had activated the boots
enchantment, Lightning Step, in addition to the haste ability itself, a combo that
never failed to eliminate a target, at least until now.

The boots enchantment tripled its movement speed for an instant, while the skill
increased approximately another 50%. The mage slayer had gotten so fast that even
he had trouble keeping up, causing his attack to be telegraphed. Even so, it should
be an attack impossible for a mage to detect.

'He's got good reflexes.' was the magekiller's thought as he resumed the offensive.
The boot enchantment had a cooldown, so he couldn't activate it successively.

Khali took his wand in his left hand and froze the wound, preventing more blood
from spurting out. He tried to retreat hastily, but the mages launched explosions
and other spells, cutting off his escape routes. In desperation, he tried to make
hurriedly a wall of ice between himself and the mage slayer, but it was broken in a
single blow.

The mage slayer stretched out his left hand and the magic ring on his hand released
a flash of light blinding Khali, but the latter didn't bother, perfectly sensing
the enemy's movements.

"Shadow body." The assassin muttered. Khali's shadow suddenly opened its eyes and
took on a three-dimensional shape that rose from the ground. Khali shot shards of
ice at the shadow, but they passed through the shadows that make up his body
harmlessly. Unlike the light element that needed to become physical to deal damage,
darkness was intangible and difficult to block.

The assassin tried to stab him from the front while the shadow's body held him from
behind, draining his strength. Khali cursed inwardly, his body refusing to respond
as he tried to block the mage slayer. The mage slayer's blade possessed a magically
enhanced neurotoxic venom, capable of paralyzing a gray troll, one of the monsters
with the highest regenerative capacity and resistance to toxins within two minutes.

Khali lost control of the body, but the assassin didn't stop. He plunged both
daggers into Khali's thighs, causing Khali to fall to the ground. He stepped on his
left hand and took out his wand, ensuring he couldn't use magic. Lastly. he pierced
the back of the neck with the dagger, killing him.

"I guess conjuring you was overkill after all." The assassin muttered to himself,
looking at the shadow body. He wave the hand and the spell disappeared.

"Is he dead, sir?" One of the mages approached, asking respectfully. He didn't know
why a mage slayer was here, but the moment he appeared, all authority passed to him
automatically. The rank of mage slayers was far higher than low-ranking mages like
them and the order is very strict when it comes to hierarchies.

"Yes. My orders were to eliminate the target." The magekiller spoke looking between
the mages. "Which of you is the leader of this group?"

"It's me, sir." The leader stepped forward, saluting him respectfully.

"What is your mission in this city?" the mage slayer asked.

"The mage responsible for guarding the border reported the state of the city, so we
were ordered to help restore order to the city, but my familiar, a terrestrial
mole, smelled rock worms so we decided to investigate and discovered an underground
base. under the city sewers. We informed the order and they ordered us to
investigate and eliminate the cause." The leader made a full report.

"Intelligence captured some members of the word keepers and after interrogating
them, they discovered that some of them were gathering in a nearby village for the
extraction of an infiltrator and his apprentice from this town. Members of my unit
are already on their way to the village and I was sent here to eliminate both the
infiltrator and the apprentice." The mage slayer said.

"That man had an rock worm as a familiar, but I saw no sign of the apprentice."
Ricley reported, waking up after being completely healed.

At that moment, they heard an explosion in the distance and saw flames start to
rise in the noble area.

"I think I know where to look for it." The mage slayer spoke, before turning to the
leader. "Take this man and kill the apprentice. You should be able to do at least
that much, shouldn't you? I'll follow you just in case, but I must keep my hidden
presence."

"Yes sir!" The group leader said, before turning to his subordinates and starting
shouting orders. Ricley carried Khali's body and sank into the earth, while the
others moved across the rooftops and provided cover if the apprentice was stronger
than expected.

They let their guard down and suffered casualties for Khali, but they wouldn't make
the same mistake again.

*****

"I came here prepared for a battle, but you were already finished when I arrived.
What a disappointment." Ricley said in a mocking tone.

"You... son of a bitch." Athos spoke with difficulty. He tried to absorb world
energy quickly, but Ricley stopped him.

"No, you won't cast magic!" Ricley yelled, mistaking Athos' natural ability to
absorb energy for a spell. He placed his hand on Athos' back and pushed him down,
causing the spears to sink even further.

"GAHHHH!!" Athos screamed in pain, the blood pooling below him. If the bleeding
didn't stop, Athos would die in a few minutes.

"Your fucking master almost killed me today you know?? And to make matters worse,
he embarrassed me not just in front of the unit leader, but in front of the mage
slayer!! Do you know what this will do to my career?" Ricley took hold of Athos'
head and lifted it, bringing his face close to his.

Athos glared at Ricley with hatred, but that was all he could do in this situation.
He tried to ignore the wounds and gather the energy of the world, but Ricley
stopped him once again.

Chapter 44

"You're not using a wand. Do you use a ring or pendant to cast?" Ricley asked,
taking all of his magic items, including the light sealing ring.

"The only ring... that I... put my finger on... was your mother's!!" Athos
screamed, spitting blood in Ricley's face.

"You son of a bitch!" Riley screamed red with rage. He raised his fist, but someone
stopped him.

"Don't you dare attack him again. Don't you know how valuable his body is?" The
mage slayer was holding his arm, glaring at him. Ricley couldn't see his face
behind the white mask, but his murderous gaze was enough to terrify him.

"Sorry, sir!" Ricley, didn't know what he'd done wrong, but he apologized anyway.
All the mages were shocked by the mage slayer actions, but no one dared to
interfere.

"Mr. Ricley? Who are they, your companions?" one of the surviving guards asked,
looking around at the mages. The guards had stopped in confusion and just watched
the interaction, but one of them finally mustered up the courage to ask.

The mage slayer looked at the wounded guards and the sheer number of dead and
realized it would be a headache to deal with. He felt the urge to simply kill
everyone here to silence them, but he held back.

"We are members of the order of magic. This man is a mage wanted for using dark
arts. We came here to capture him and bring him to justice." The mage slayer lied.
He had no idea who Athos was, but noticed that he drew world energy without using
any magic items. That could only mean one thing.

'He possesses a body of mana. I must take him alive at all costs. It was your
thought. The mana body trait was highly coveted in the order. One absolute rule
that all members above a certain level knew was that: If someone with a mana body
was discovered, the order should be reported immediately and captured at all costs.

"Our mission has just changed. Remove the earth thorns and make sure he gets the
cure. We'll take him alive." The mage slayer whispered to Khali.
"Wait! This man destroyed our city! He should be executed immediately!" The guard
yelled angrily and his companions agreed with him.

"I'm sorry, but I have orders to take you into custody. Stay away, I won't repeat
myself." The mage slayer slightly released his aura, causing the guards to drop to
their knees to the ground in one fell swoop.

Even though the aura wasn't directed at him, Ricley still broke a cold sweat
feeling the difference in power between them. He hastily undid the stone thorns and
softened the ground so that Athos would not be injured.

"Cough cough!" Athos coughed up blood as he held the wounds. Ricley approached him
and clicked his tongue at the wounds. He removed all of his armor and helmet,
revealing his face, causing people to be amazed at how young he looked.

"Hi, heal this guy quickly!" Ricley yelled at the light-using mage.

The mage slayer watched silently as the mage knelt beside Athos and healed him,
making sure no one approached. After approximately 15 minutes, the mage lifted his
face and wiped away the sweat, before turning around and smiling.

"I finished healing him. The wounds were extensive, so he must be weak, but I
managed." The mage smiled brightly looking at the mage slayer, as if expecting to
be praised.

"Good job. Now arrest him before he- no!" The mage slayer screamed, but it was too
late.

"EH?" The mage exclaimed confused. His field of vision began to spin several times
before coming to a stop, slamming hard against the stone floor. He saw his own
decapitated body still on his knees and the man he had just healed behind him.

The darkness of the night seemed to converge on his body, while his surroundings
were obscured by darkness. His vision began to fail and the last thing he saw was
the man-shaped mass of darkness roar, gripping his headless body.

*******

The darkness in Athos' body was kept sealed for a long time. His body had a high
affinity for darkness as well as fire, but the sealing ring of light prevented him
from awakening. An elemental affinity wasn't just a matter of compatibility, it was
something much bigger.

When the life force matured enough and began to attract world energy to form the
mana core, it would absorb energy until it was completely filled, but certain
elements would be absorbed in greater amounts than others, causing an imbalance in
the core.

The life force would act as a filter, allowing only equal amounts of all elements
to be absorbed into the body, but excess elemental energy would still remain in the
body and be slowly absorbed, creating an affinity. The more energy was absorbed,
the greater the elemental affinity.

Athos went beyond that. His life force absorbed energy and expelled it through his
body several times before stabilizing, further increasing the elemental energy. It
was because of this that elemental magic could be used. The elemental energy in his
body allowed Athos to attract a specific element of the world's energy and mix it
with his own mana to manipulate it. Meanwhile, skills like controlling fire that he
used before learning magic was inefficient as it purely relied on the core itself.

As the body developed, it would continue to absorb energy unevenly, and the excess
would flow into the body, increasing the amount of elemental energy, power, and
control over the respective element's spells. In the case of Athos, fire and wind.

The same should apply to darkness, but because of Khali, the darkness grew trapped
and only manifested in the form of shadows flickering when Athos was inattentive,
or his room turned darker than usual while he was sleeping.

Out of his shackles, the darkness energized the weakened Athos as if he had been
given an adrenaline pump, allowing Athos to rip the mage's head off with his bare
hands.

"ROARRRRRR!" Athos roared like a maddened beast, his entire body smeared with
darkness. Even so, the mages around him felt not fear, but anger. The late
elemental awakening was an event they only heard stories about, but they could see
with mana vision that the core of Athos was empty. The mage who was killed had been
taken by surprise, but that would not happen again.

'I was surprised for a second, but the situation remains the same. Just cast ranged
magic and-' The mage slayer's thoughts were interrupted by Athos's next actions.

Normally something like this would be impossible, but Athos did it anyway. The mana
within the mage's body had his mana signature, but upon his death, the life force
undid along with the energy signature, causing the mana inside the corpse to revert
to world energy.

Darkness had the ability to absorb energy and along with the mana body trait,
allowed Athos to steal world energy from corpses. It was a little-known skill that
mages with a mana body and an affinity for darkness possessed.

Athos did not do this consciously, he knew that darkness could drain the body, but
mana was new to him. He was just trying to absorb the world energy around him while
draining the corpse, but the darkness created a path with the body and devoured the
now unowned energy.

To add insult to injury, the mage was in the second layer of life while Athos was
still in the first, so the energy diluted as it was absorbed, filling his core
completely.

Athos stood up, but before he could do anything, an aura blade was hurled at him,
slashing his throat with precision. The darkness around his body cushioned the
damage, preventing his head from being severed, but the cut was still horrible.

He fell backward, holding his throat with both hands as he tried to stop the
bleeding, but to no avail.

Chapter 45

"Who was the idiot that did this??" The mage slayer asked furiously, looking at the
guards. One of the guards had fallen to the ground, after spending all his mana on
an aura blade. "I'll deal with you later. Is there anyone else who knows how to
heal? We need to heal him before it's too late or we're dead!"
"There is no one else who has an affinity for light, but we all carry superior
healing potions with us." The leader of the mages said, rushing to Athos' side. He
didn't know why the boy was so important, but he didn't question it. He tried to
touch it, but the darkness around Athos wouldn't allow it.

The leader poured a potion on his neck, but the liquid sizzled upon contact with
the darkness, before disappearing, unable to cure him. The darkness around his body
was part of him, but it responded to his subconscious and Athos was unable to
control it currently. It was as if Athos had developed a new limb and had no idea
how to control it.

The darkness responded to the intense and agony that Athos felt and gathered around
his neck as if to protect him. She corroded the potion and didn't let anything come
in contact with his body.

"Shit, shit, the potion doesn't work!" The mage leader spoke, looking at the mass
of darkness gathering at his neck. He tried to use non-elemental magic around his
hands and close to his neck, but the darkness drove him away.

"I already realized, so hold him. He's going to die before non-elemental magic lets
you touch him." Said the mage slayer, kneeling beside Athos. He held a potion in
his left hand and used the ring in his right hand to accumulate a large amount of
darkness. The surrounding mages created mana chains to bind Athos' body, while the
guards just stared at the fallen body, praying that justice would be done and Athos
died, but not daring to interfere any further.

He placed his right hand on Athos' throat without fear, as Athos slammed himself to
the ground. The darkness on both sides struggled, trying to devour each other, but
the mage-slayer side won by a wide margin. He was already in the fourth layer of
life and had complete control over the darkness.

He used his other hand to pour potion into the open wound, but the wound was
healing much slower than usual. Darkness was coursing through both the body and the
outside and was resisting the potion's healing.

"Stop resisting you idiot! You'll die if you don't let me heal you, got it?!" The
mage slayer spoke hastily, looking into Athos' eyes. Athos' face was already white
and he was already almost unconscious. He had stopped fighting, and that was a bad
sign. His body went limp, while his eyes lost their luster and the potion stopped
working.

He was dead. The bleeding in her neck had already stopped and the wound was still
open. The darkness around his neck disappeared and spread through his body as his
core began to unravel.

"Tsk! Shit!" The mage slayer began to swear, seeing the lifeless body of Athos.
Things had gotten too complicated for him now. They looked at the mage slayer in
confusion, but no one dared to speak to him, fearing that such anger would be
directed at them.

'What do I do now? If they find out that I let someone with a body of mana die
right in front of me, at the very least I'll be kicked out of the order.' The mage
slayer racked his brains thinking of a way out of this situation.

'Should I get rid of the body? No, the order reads the minds of all mage slayers
after they finish a quest. If they find out I destroyed a mana body, I'll be lucky
if they just execute me. At worst, I could be accused of treason over it and my
entire family executed.
The mage slayer sighed. "I have no other choice. I'll call in every favor I can, as
well as prepare to be demoted and go back to being an assassin's apprentice. It's
better than being kicked out.

Having made his decision, he turned to the surrounding mages: "Listen to what I
have to say. We have a huge problem on our hands, but if we act right, we can fix
it."

The mages around him were confused by his attitude, but as they listened, their
expressions started to get paler and paler. When the mage slayer finished
explaining, they were in a panic.

"Hi, I didn't know this kid was special. They can't judge me for something I didn't
know!" Rickey yelled.

"You know as well as I do that the order won't mind small details like that.
They're almost certain to execute you and show their heads like traitors." The mage
slayer said.

Ricley started pulling out her own hair in frustration. He knew how benevolent the
order was to those who succeeded, just as he also knew how cruel they were to those
they considered failures.

"No need to panic just yet. A live mana body would be excellent, but a dead one is
also good. Their bodies are extremely valuable as research material and I know
someone who would be interested in them. One of the 7 elders of the council, the
elder Louis Zahara, is an avid researcher determined to unlock the secret behind
Mana's body and may be willing to cover up our mistake if we bring the preserved
corpse to him." The mage slayer spoke, hope returning to his eyes.

He knew that if the dark elder had the chance to get his hands on the corpse of a
mana body, he would be more than happy to hide the entire mission and secure the
body just for himself.

The 7 elders of magic were the most powerful mages of the order. Each of them was
represented by an element of magic and held all the authority of the order. If the
mage slayer's words are true, the elder may be willing to save them. But there was
a problem.

"How are we going to talk to the elder? He would never accept an audience with
rabble mages like us." One of the mages spoke, still desperate.

"The mage slayer was founded a hundred years ago by him. We have our own means of
contacting him, in addition to official means." The mage slayer said confidently.

"I see, this might work!" The mages said, excited again.

"But I'm going to need you to do me a favor. A full-scale investigation will be

done in this city after this incident. I'm going to need to go back to my unit and
report that I killed both the teacher and the apprentice. Instead, we need to
maintain my presence in this city." unknown and the boy's corpse intact, until I
finish negotiating with the elder." The mage slayer looked at the guards as he
spoke.

The guards felt an ominous shiver, but before they could do anything, the mage
slayer shadow expanded until it touched all their shadows. Their bodies were
restrained, before tentacles of shadows emerged from the ground and clung to their
bodies, draining their energy until they became parched mummies.
"That's..." The mage leader looked at the mummified corpses with regret, but
quickly shut up.

"I'm sorry for them, but no one can know of my involvement. Let's put all the blame
for this incident on the other mage, while we hide the boy and sell him to the
elder. Does everyone understand?" The mage slayer spoke, and everyone around them
nodded.

"Fine. I'm leaving now." The mage slayer said goodbye, handing a headphone-like
magic item to the leader. "Wear it all the time. It's a one-way communication magic
item, I'll use it to give you instructions after negotiating with the elder."

The leader picked up the receiver and waved it to his ear. "We're going to hide
somewhere in the woods until you get in touch."

"Okay, until next time."

*******

Chapter 46

Rock Village, a few hours later.

It was still the middle of the night, but the mage slayer was running as fast as he
could towards the meeting point with the members of his unit, wanting to reach his
leader and the direct communication device that only she had. He pretended he was
helping the idiot mages, just because he desperately needed their help.

He had lied to them. In fact, if it was discovered that the apprentice had a mana
body and had died in front of him, he would be the one to take responsibility for
it. Running away to save one's own skin wasn't an option either.

He could run for his life and avoid execution, but his family would have to suffer
the sentence instead.

As he ran towards the village, he racked his brains trying to figure out a way to
steal the communication device, but there was only one way to do it. Your field
leader was two tiers above him, and she always carried the device with her. She
never let her guard down in front of the unit, but he would have a chance if they
were alone.

'I have no choice. There's only one way to achieve this.' The mage slayer thought,
hardening his resolve. He arrived on the outskirts of the village and jumped over
the wooden wall, expecting to see the village partially destroyed by the battle
between mages and their unit, but saw no sign of a struggle after entering the
village.

The village was small, with several dozen simple wooden houses and corrals, with a
few shops close to the center. The village had approximately 300 to 400 people, a
medium-sized village.

The mage slayer pressed one of the buttons on the collar of his cloak, revealing
his location to his companions, and waited for them to make contact. Approximately
30 seconds later, he received an answer from his teammates. The button on the
collar of the cloak acted as a compass, indicating the direction of your allies and
their approximate distance.

'Approximately 500 meters south.' The mage slayer thought, before climbing up a
tree to get a better view of the village. 'By the distance, it should be roughly in
the barn.'

The mage slayer jumped out of the tree and ran toward the barn, being careful not
to reveal his presence, just in case. He climbed onto the roofs, being careful not
to make any noise, and tried to peer inside.

"Do not move." A female voice was heard from behind, before a blade was aimed at
her throat. Before he knew it, his left arm was immobilized behind his back.

"...The darkness that swallows the light." The mage slayer was not surprised or
panicked despite the situation and calmly said the security code.

"You took longer than expected, Finn. Is there a problem?" The female voice spoke
in a sweeter tone, but it still held him arrested. The mage slayer, or Finn, felt
the woman move even closer until their bodies touched. She leaned her body on his
back, while resting her face on his shoulder.

"Captain, if you've already confirmed my identity, I'd like you to release me. I
have to report on my mission." Finn spoke hastily but didn't move a muscle. He knew
the captain's temper better than anyone and knew that things would only get
complicated if he resisted.

"Call me Emilia, not captain. If you do, I might consider letting you go." To
captain spoke, applying a little more force to his arm.

"Emilia, can you let me go, please? If we take longer than that, the others might
get suspicious and find us in this situation. Besides, some villagers might see us
out here." Finn spoke in exasperation.

"Okay. You should have talked like that from the start. And you don't have to worry
about the villagers. We spread sleeping drugs all over the village and all the
villagers are sleeping now. It was really a pain to break into a house by house to
drug them." She complained as she released him, before jumping through the barn
window.

"Haah...this is exhausting." Finn sighed before following her. He was already used
to the captain Emilia's eccentricity, so he don't paid attention.

After entering the barn, he looked around and saw all the members of the unit, as
well as a few people tied up with chains in one of the corners. The captured word
keepers, or at least the ones left over.

"How was the mission, #1?" A unit member approached him, codename #3 while asking
in high spirits. Unit members didn't know each other's names and recognized each
other by numbers, except for at captain, who insisted on breaking the rules and
calling each other by name whenever they were alone.

"A disaster, but I managed to complete it somehow. And how was it with you guys? I
expected the village to be a pile of rubble now, but it's intact." Finn replied,
giving a vague answer..

"Everything went as expected. We ambushed them before they reached the village and
they didn't last long. There were 12 guardians and we captured half of them alive.
I say it was a great success." The 3rd grinned, but Finn didn't notice because of
the white mask.

"Enough of the small talk, we're still on a mission! Everyone, gather here. #1,
report the mission." Captain Emilia caught everyone's attention, putting her
frivolous attitude aside and speaking in a serious tone. Unit members stopped what
they were doing and gathered around her.

"Yes, captain!" Finn nodded and explained the entire disaster that had taken place
in the city, from the chaos of the crazed, the death of the power figures in the
city, to the group of order mages, except for the presence of Athos. He
successfully eliminated the guardians' undercover mage and his apprentice, but the
situation in the city was tragic.

"...Is this all true?" Captain Emilia asked, frowning. A case of mass hysteria and
genocide would attract the attention of the entire nation. It is likely that their
presence in the village will be discovered as well, putting the entire operation at
risk.

Officially, the order was supposed to support the guardians. If it were discovered
that the White Fangs, an organization under the order's control, had attacked the
guardians, there would be major repercussions. If the guardians used this to their
advantage, they could even blame the incident on the order, causing great damage to
the order's image and destroying the relationship between the country and the
order.

Emilia realized the numerous repercussions that this incident could cause and
concluded that it was beyond what she could handle. "I understand. Thanks for the
report #1. I'll inform headquarters and they'll decide what to do. Rest for now."
She dismissed the team as she walked away from the team.

Finn tried to follow her, but the team quickly surrounded him, before peppering him
with questions.

"#1, you really are a lucky guy. The order will investigate the situation
personally and you will likely receive a generous bonus for reporting this." #2
spoke with envy as Finn paled.

"Is it true that the whole town was killing itself?" #4 asked, brimming with
curiosity.

"More importantly, was the guy you killed strong? I had been excited to kill the
guardians, but they were disappointing." #5 spoke, a little annoyed.

One by one, every member of his unit asked questions about him, preventing Finn
from following him. Finn clicked his tongue in frustration, but looking out of the
corner of his eye, he noticed Emilia reaching for a bracelet with a purple crystal
hidden under her left glove as she walked away. He tried to follow her with his
eyes, but she was gone and out of sight before he could confirm that it was the
communication item.

The captains of White fang units were instructed to report any serious matters
directly to the elder, before reporting the order. They were originally his private
assassins before they joined the order when Louis became an elder, but their
loyalty belonged to him alone.

'This bracelet is probably the item I need.' thought Finn.

*****
30 minutes later.

After answering all of his companions' questions, Finn spent the rest of the time
lying on top of a makeshift bed of hay, going over the plan in his mind. He would
be a despicable man if the plan worked, but a dead man if it failed.

There was no room for failure or second chances. If he failed now, he would be
accused not only of losing a body of mana, but also of withholding crucial
information and getting in the way of the investigation. He had removed the mask
and was holding it in front of his face, wondering if this would be the last time
he would wear it.

"Guys, listen here, I spoke to the barracks and they gave us new instructions."
Emilia spoke, after finishing talking to the elder.

Chapter 47

"Our orders have now changed. Kill all prisoners and destroy their bodies as well
as their magic items." Emilia spoke, before a chorus of grumbles was heard.
Typically, magic items would be sent to the order to be studied and then returned
to whoever took them. The only exception is when the mission is to recover a lost
item, but in such cases, a cash bonus would be given.

"Damn it, I wanted to take that enchanted cloak for myself!" No. 6 complained
loudly.

"I understand how you feel. I already had my eye on a flaming sword." No. 2
whimpered as he looked at the sword at his waist.

"Come on, you don't have to cry that much. We're all going to get a nice bonus to
make up for the losses, so it's not too bad." Emilia tried to lift the spirits. "We
are going to spend the rest of the night in the village and leave at dawn. Try to
rest and get some sleep after killing and destroying the bodies."

"Yes, yes, we already understand." The unit members spoke in low spirits, but
carried out their orders anyway. They approached the gagged guardians with weapons
in hand, as if they were going to slaughter animals.

"Hmmm, hmm!" The imprisoned guardians tried to
paid no attention. They raised their heads and
alive. Not a single drop of blood was spilled,
darkness and the wounds rotted the moment they
a few agonizing seconds before dying.
say something, but the mage slayers
slit their throats, beheading them
the daggers had an enchantment of
were made. The guardians gasped for

"No. 1, no. 3, now it's up to you." The 2nd spoke as he and the other members
collected all the magic items. They flowed mana through the items without
activating their effects, quickly overwhelming them. The magical energy had nowhere
to go and destroyed the items inside, turning them to dust.

Finn and the 3rd, the only ones with the unit's dark affinity, hurled waves of
darkness at the corpses, destroying them to dust. The 3rd also used a magic item to
dig a hole and bury all the dust, before plugging the hole again. After confirming
that all evidence was destroyed, Emilia left the barn.
"Well, there's still a few hours until dawn, so I'm going to get some sleep. What
are you going to do number one?" #3 asked while yawning.

"I'll ask the captain Emilia out." Finn replied dryly, his expression hardening. He
walked towards the captain with heavy steps, as if he was walking towards a
battlefield, not paying attention to the stunned No. 3.

"...EH?" That was all #3 could say, after hearing such an absurd statement. He
thought Finn was just teasing him, but seeing his determined expression, the
expression of a man preparing for his own death, he felt a deep respect welling up
in his chest.

He also saw Finn drink a potion he assumed was a stamina potion and then gargle a
dark green paste, presumably to improve his breath.

"No, it takes at least the determination to face death to hit on the captain
Emilia. #1 knows that too and he went after it anyway. He's a true warrior, no, a
hero." The #3 nodded as he looked at Finn's back, which looked more manly in his
eyes, before turning around and spreading the news among the unit members, betting
on how many bones captain Emilia would break after rejecting him.

*******

"Emilia, can I talk to you?" Finn called after her and then followed her to the
roof of the village's watchtower. The village had a single watchtower towards the
forest, to spot monsters before they approached the village. Emilia was lying
lazily on the roof of the tower, watching the stars.

"Finn? What's the matter?" Emilia asked curiously, turning to look at him. She
wasn't wearing her mask, so Finn can get a good look at her face. She had short,
shoulder-length black hair with a thin nose and delicate features. His eyes were
black and slightly droopy.

Her figure was delicate, but Finn knew she could crush skulls like eggs if she got
angry. Finn was slightly stunned by her beauty, making Emilia laugh at his expense.

"Why are you still standing there? Sit down." Despite his sweet words, she held his
hand tightly and forced him to sit beside her. She continued to hold his hand as if
reassuring him that he wouldn't run away.

An awkward silence spread as Finn thought about what to say. He wasn't new to this,
but Emilia was a mystery to him. He wasn't stupid and he knew she was interested in
him, but he had no idea why.

"You know, I never understood why you insisted that I call you by name." Finn spoke
after a while. He turned to look her in the eyes, only to find that she was already
staring at him with a smile on her face.

"It's because I like you, Finn. That's all." Emilia spoke up, her smile getting a
little brighter as her cheeks flushed slightly.

Finn's eyes widened at how naturally she said that. He opened and closed his mouth
several times like a goldfish, but he couldn't say anything. For a second he forgot
what he came here to do and his mind went blank.

"An opening!" She pulled him by the collar closer to her before kissing him. Finn
was shocked at her, but he kissed her back soon after. They continued like that for
a few more seconds, before Emilia abruptly pulled away and kicked him in the chest,
knocking all the air out of his lungs.

She pulled a dagger from her waist, waist and tried to assume a fighting stance,
but her body suddenly went limp and she lost her balance, falling off the roof.
Finn threw himself off the roof, catching her still falling body and landing safely
on the ground.

"Ack!" Finn groaned in pain, feeling a blade in his side. Emilia couldn't control
her body's limbs, so she put the dagger in front of her body and used the moment
when he grabbed it to stab him.

"Trai...tor." Emilia muttered as she looked at Finn with a grudge, before passing
out. Finn felt a bitter sensation at being called a traitor by her, but he put it
to the back of his mind, telling himself he had no other choice.

What #3 mistook for a stamina potion and breath-enhancing paste was actually an
antidote and the special poison that mage slayers used in their weapons. The plan
was to take advantage of Emilia's feelings to kiss her and knock her unconscious,
but she ended up doing it all on her own.

"I'll get on my knees and beg forgiveness when you wake up, but please sleep for
now." Finn spoke to her, placing her gently on the floor. He took an intermediate
healing potion just to treat the wound and took a deep breath to calm himself.

He took off her bracelet and activated it. Seconds passed as the light flashed on
the crystal, indicating it was connecting. Finn was getting more and more nervous.

"Why did you call me again, captain Emilia? I thought I made my orders very clear
last time." Louis Zahara's hologram appeared and spoke in an annoyed tone, not
taking his eyes off what he was doing. He was an elderly man, with wrinkles all
over his face and completely bald, with a white beard that reached almost to his
chest. He wore a cloak as black as night from head to toe, But it wasn't the elder
who caught Finn's attention..

In the background, Finn could see a blue-eyed white dragon and a red-eyed black
dragon, both approximately 15 meters long, attached to white stone tables with
their abdomens open.

Black chains chained all the dragons' limbs while continually draining their mana.
Scalpels made of mana cut off certain organs and transplanted them into each other,
while the dragons groaned in agony.

Finn felt pressured, even if it was just a hologram. He knew he was nothing but
dust to any of those dragons, let alone the man capable of treating them as mere
guinea pigs.

"Sir, I apologize for disturbing you, but I have an important matter." Finn spoke
respectfully as he knelt down.

"...who are you and how did you get that bracelet?" Louis turned to him with a
sharp look.

"Member of the 457th White Fang Unit #1, Finn Haug. I took this bracelet from
Captain Emilia because I needed to contact an elder." said Finn.

"This is a serious violation of the white fang code, child. I hope this is a really
important matter to be worth my time." Despite his words, he didn't seem to care
much for Finn. He seemed to be more annoyed at the interruption than at the
violation of the rules he'd created.
Chapter 48

"Yes, I'm sure it will be worth it. I'm sure you'll be interested in the preserved
corpse of someone with a mana body." Finn spoke in a monotone, as if it was no big
deal. He heard a loud noise coming from the other side and when he lifted his head
to look, he noticed that both dragons were gone and the elder was looking intently
at him.

"Explain yourself and you better not hide anything." The dark elder ordered and
Finn promptly obeyed. He spent the next few minutes recounting all the events since
he'd split from the unit, to what he'd witnessed in the city of Faltra, without
hiding any details.

Finn knew the elder would read his memories when the mission was over, so it would
be a stupid idea to hide something.

"Fascinating, fascinating...! A mana body with a late awakening of affinity! That's

the stuff of legends!" The elder exclaimed fanatically. Countless tomes flew around
him feathers quickly wrote down all the experiments he planned to do with such a
specimen.

"Elder, I'm glad the material is to your liking, but as for my request...?" Finn
asked cautiously, not liking the maddened gleam in his eyes at all.

"Your request? No problem. Your mission was to hunt down the word keepers, so there
would be no official records anyway. The mind reading will be done by one of my
trusted apprentices and with my authority, the matter will be closed. " The elder
said as he waved his hand, as if the matter was something trivial to him. The elder
opened a map of the region and muttered for some time.

'Um... he is currently in the country of Mirkor, more precisely, on the border with
the semi-human empire. My influence in this region is almost nil and if I make a
big move, it's possible that the other elders will find out and interfere. The last
thing I want is those vultures messing with my stuff!' The elder thought, already
considering the corpse of Athos his property.

"More importantly, I need you to listen to my instructions carefully. You said the
body was with a team of rookie mages, right? I'll send an extraction team to
Clastro City to retrieve the body, they should arrive in approximately a week. Have
the mages ready by then."

"Elder, Clastro is two weeks by carriage from Faltra. Even if they left now they
wouldn't arrive in time." Finn informed him.

"Don't they have any wind mage capable of casting flying spells on their team? What
do magic academies teach these days?" The elder grumbled like an old man before
sighing. "I will send them to the city and order them to wait for a week or two
until the mages arrive."

"Understood, elder." Finn waved at him. They spent the next few minutes working out
all the little details before ending the call.

"Oh, one last thing." Finn was about to hang up when the elder suddenly called out
to him. "Is Captain Emilia around?"

"Yes, she is. Why?" Finn asked suspiciously.

"No, it's convenient for her to be around. Kill her." The elder spoke in an icy
tone.

"What?" Finn stood up abruptly, praying he'd heard him wrong. He glanced out of the
corner of his eye at Emilia's sleeping body and felt a tightness in his chest.

"It's an obvious result, isn't it? Regardless of the method you used, she is
incompetent enough to be defeated by a subordinate and have an extremely important
item stolen from her. That's more than enough reason to be kicked out of the white
fangs. And the order cannot allow its secrets to be exposed. Therefore, she must be
killed." The elder pressured him to kill her.

"With all due respect, elder, I don't believe she needs to be killed. Captain
Emilia has an almost perfect track record in the missions, in addition to being one
of the most promising white fang assassins, she also comes from a magical lineage
that serves the order of generations. His death will not go unnoticed." Finn said,
trying to convince him to reconsider. He'd heard Emilia complain about her family a
few times and knew she was the black sheep of a powerful family.

"Council elections are approaching, aren't you? If you spare her, you can use that
to rally their support. I'm sure she'll be more useful alive. I beg you to
reconsider elder." Finn bent over as he pleaded, going so far as to lean his
forehead on the floor.

"Um..." The elder frowned for a while as he investigated her family. A black book
floated up to him, containing the family history of all active white fang
assassins. He arrived at her name and widened his eyes recognizing her last name.

"Emília Ripha..? Is she one of the Ripha?" The elder muttered, before a hideous
smile appeared on his wrinkled face. The Ripha were one of the families that served
the current water elder, his greatest political enemy within the order. He was more
than willing to let the girl live if he could have such a family owing him a favor.

"Boy, today is your lucky day. I'll spare the girl and let her get away with a
demotion. Tell Captain Emilia to contact me as soon as she wakes up." The elder
spoke after a time of deliberation. "Now stop wasting my time and bring me my dead
body. And don't you dare call me again if you value your life." The elder
threatened him before ending the call, without giving Finn time to respond.

Left alone, Finn began to shake with excitement, before jumping in with a huge
smile on his face.

"I did it!!HAHAHA! I really did it!" He continued celebrating for a while as he
raised his fists in the air in triumph. "Good thing that old man was an avid
researcher, who doesn't care about rules as long as he gets what he wants."

Finn continued waving his fists for a while, until Emilia's sleeping body appeared
in his vision, and he felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.
Guilt for hurting her, for betraying her trust, and for tarnishing her career
weighed heavily on her conscience, making her victory hollow.

"I'll let you hit me all you want when you wake up, but I need to finish what I
started before I wake you up." He apologized to her once more before turning around
and using the headset to communicate with the mages hiding in the forest.
"Leader, can you hear me? I have successfully negotiated with the elder and he has
agreed to cover for us in exchange for the boy's corpse. Delivery of the corpse
will be made to Clastro City in two weeks, so I need you to-" Finn started to
explain the plan for the magic item, when he noticed an abnormality.

No matter how much mana he flowed into the communicator, he couldn't connect the
receiver item in the leader's hands. The communication item was a set of
transmitter and receiver, the transmitting side had to feed the item with mana,
until it connected with the other party. The greater the distance, the more mana
would be needed.

Finn had already fed the item several times more mana than it should have to cover
the entire forest and even then, it still hadn't connected. There were only two
explanations for this: the mages had left the forest for whatever reason and were
out of reach, or...

"-someone destroyed the item. Something happened to the leader and the other
mages." Finn muttered, having a bad feeling. He kept feeding the communicator until
he ran out of mana, but there was no result.

********

Chapter 49

Athos felt as if he were sinking into a dark place. He couldn't see or hear
anything and all his senses were useless. He was also unable to move, no matter how
hard he tried. Athos felt as if he were dreaming and could not wake up.

But even in this desperate situation, Athos did not forget what happened to him. He
vividly remembered his body being impaled and the feeling of having his own throat
cut. The agony of feeling your lungs burning for air and not being able to breathe.
Athos could not forget such pain, even without understanding what happened to him
after his consciousness disappeared.

No, he knew what had happened, but he was unable to accept it. His mind, the only
thing that still worked, was filled with thoughts of hatred towards his killers and
a feeling of emptiness and despair came soon after, as he realized he wouldn't be
able to take revenge.

'You sons of bitches, I will kill you with my bare hands, I swear I will kill you.
You motherfuckers... I'll kill them. I will kill them. Athos continued to curse
them, as if it were a broken record.

His thoughts began to wander and become incoherent, until only hatred was left.
Unbeknownst to Athos, the darkness in his body responded to his deepest desire. The
darkness remaining in his corpse spread throughout his body as it corrupted the
world's energy from the destroyed core.

The light was extinguished as darkness took its place. The previously translucent
world energy was painted black as the world energy became unbalanced. The darkness
drained all the nutrients from his body and accumulated it where the mana core had
previously been, trying to rebuild it.

His body visibly withered as the darkness tried and failed to convert the drained
energy into life force and form a new mana core. His muscles withered, his organs
rotted and his skin turned to dust. When only a skeleton remained, the darkness
gathered enough life force to support the world energy in his body, but it was
unbalanced by the lack of light element, forming a layer of death.

Corrupted world energy flooded the life force, forming a black core. A pulse of
darkness shot out of the core and spread through the body. His white bones turned
black, while a dark void radiated from his empty sockets. His consciousness, which
until now had been wandering, returned to his body.

Athos had returned

*******

A few hours earlier, somewhere underground in the forest of Faltra.

The seven remaining mage team were hiding in the woods, as they guarded Athos'
corpse in a makeshift underground hideout built by Ricley, awaiting contact from
the mage slayer. The mage order tried to contact the team leader, but he purposely
destroyed the communication item itself, keeping only the mage slayer receiver.

He did this to delay the order's information gathering and to have a plausible
excuse for not responding. The novice mages were a nervous wreck as they waited
impatiently for news.

The team leader assigned tasks to the mages, mainly to keep their minds occupied
and keep them from panicking.

"What do you think will happen to us?" A mage asked his companion. He appeared to
be in his 20s, but his real age was nearly 40. He was blond with green eyes a thin
chin and delicate features.

The two were alone and were ordered to watch over Athos' corpse and ensure that
nothing could reach it.

His body had been preserved in an ice coffin, so it was hard to imagine that
anything would happen to him, but the leader would have no peace of mind if there
wasn't someone constantly guarding his trump card.

"Can you stop asking me that every 5 minutes? I know as much as you do, and none of
us know anything!" His companion replied angrily, hearing the same question for the
umpteenth time. He appeared to be the same age as his companion, only with slightly
more striking features. He had long black hair tied in a ponytail and black eyes.

He glanced at the ice coffin before clicking his tongue. "If it weren't for this
shit, we would have left this town by now, instead of rotting underground!"

Frustrated and angry, he got up and walked to the front of the coffin before
kicking it, trying to vent. "This is all your fault! Why did you have to have a
fucking mana body! It's your fault that someone like me is stuck here!" He screamed
hysterically as he kicked the coffin.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? Stop that shit now!" the blond mage asked in
a panic, afraid his mate had gone mad. He took him by the shoulders and hurriedly
pulled him away from the ice coffin, before checking that the coffin had not
suffered any damage.

He sighed in relief to see the coffin had suffered only minor scratches. The ice
was matte, so he couldn't see Athos' body and notice the changes that were taking
place.

The blond mage turned around in annoyance and yelled at him. "Have you lost your
mind!? Why did you attack our only chance to get out of this situation??"

"Hahaha... do you really think we'll survive?" the ponytailed mage asked with a
deprecating laugh, as if he'd already given up. He was fragile-minded and easily
gave in to pressure.

He stood up and yelled hysterically, "Do you really
going to include us in his deal? He's just using us
negotiates with the elder! Or worse, he might blame
it, and we're just saving it as evidence! We should
still can!"
think that mage slayer shit is
to guard the body while he
us in order to get away with
destroy the corpse while we

"Hi, you're imagining things! Try to calm down a bit." The blond mage said trying
to calm him down, but to no avail.

"No, we must destroy it now!" The ponytailed mage said frantically, no longer
listening to reason. He took his wand from his waist and pointed it at the ice
coffin. Flames gathered at the tip of the wand as the mage cast a simple explosion
spell.

"Stop it now!" The blond mage tried to stop him, but he didn't listen and kept
building up energy. But before he could shoot the flames, the ice coffin exploded
from the inside, sending a shower of ice shards in all directions.

"What was this?" The mages said in unison, looking dumbfounded at the place where
the ice coffin was. In its place a black skeleton stood, raising its bony hands in
front of its skull, as if surprised by what it saw. He opened and closed his hands
a few times as if testing their movements, before lifting his head in their
direction.

His eye sockets were empty, but they got the impression he was looking at them.
Looking with hate.

"I said we should have destroyed the body!" The ponytailed mage spoke, shooting the
accumulated flames. The black skeleton stretched its right arm in front of its
body, a black gale gathering in its hand. The wind formed in a spiral that
extinguished the flames as they approached.

When the fireball finally reached the black skeleton, it was the size of a fist and
didn't even leave a burn mark on the bones.

kakaka

The skeleton snapped its jaws, as if laughing at them.

"Cursed undead!" The blond mage yelled drawing his own wand, but Athos was faster.
With a wave of his hand, the black wind gathered and turned into a black hurricane,
before being fired at the mages.

The ponytailed mage shot fire arrows at him, but the hurricane swallowed them and
threw them back. With no other choice, the blond mage conjured an ice shield to
protect them.

"Shit...!" The blond mage complained, feeling the ice shield give in to the
pressure of the wind. He turned to his mate and yelled. "The shield will give way,
do something!"
"I can't...can't...breathe..." The ponytailed mage spoke with difficulty, while
holding his throat. He dropped to his knees on the floor as he coughed up blood.

"What happened...?" the blond mage asked, before starting to cough up blood as
well. It was then that he realized that the air around him was dark. After the
hurricane slammed into the ice shield, it dispersed into a black wind laden with
darkness that the mages inhaled, rotting their very lungs.

The blond mage ran out of air quickly and the shield broke a second later, letting
the black hurricane hit them full-on, hurling them against the stone wall.

The blond mage fell to the ground after the black hurricane ended, gasping for air.
He had activated the cloak's protection enchantment at the last second to save his
life, but that only delayed the inevitable.

Chapter 50

The cloak's enchantment formed a non-elemental barrier that shielded his body from
the hurricane's impact, but it didn't block the darkness laden air. His skin was
rotten and much of his vitality had been robbed. The ponytailed mage had done the
same, but he hit his head against the wall and fell unconscious.

The blond mage was trying to get a healing potion out of his pocket when he heard
the sound of footsteps and weakly lifted his head to look up. The black skeleton
arrived in front of its unconscious companion, before lifting its foot and stomping
hard on its neck, crushing it.

"You filthy undead...!" The blond mage stood up shakily after drinking a superior
healing potion. The darkness drained most of her strength and the healing drained
the rest.

He felt exhausted and hungry, but he got up anyway.

"If I'm going to die, I'll take you with me!" He yelled, raising his left hand
above his head and activating two magic rings. The first created a pulse of orange
light that spread across the ceiling of the hideout, before the ceiling began to
shake and crack, collapsing under their heads.

The second formed a dome of water around it, which quickly froze. Despite his brave
words, he wasn't really willing to die. Against his expectations, the skeleton
ignored the collapsing ceiling, and lunged at it.

Black lightning flowed through his bones and he accelerated, reaching the edge of
the dome in an instant. The black skeleton crossed the dome of water before it
froze and raised its left hand, conjuring black flames into its palm.

"WHA-" The blond mage yelled in surprise, but the black skeleton quickly sealed his
mouth with his hand, turning the flames into a ball of black fire inside his mouth
before detonating it, blasting his head to pieces.

The dome froze completely seconds before the cave collapsed, trapping the black
skeleton underground.
*******

The mage leader was checking the receiver he received from the mage slayer for the
seventh time in the last 15 minutes, when he felt a sudden tremor in the ground.

"An earthquake, in this region?" The leader asked himself confused. As far as he
knew, earthquakes were not common in this region. He pushed the matter to the back
of his mind, thinking it was just an unusual situation, before abruptly standing
up, pale as a ghost. "The corpse!"

He began to run hurriedly, ignoring his confused subordinates. The subordinates

around didn't understand why he suddenly ran, but followed him anyway.

When the leader reached where the underground hideout was, he gasped in terror. A
crater had formed within a radius of approximately 20 meters. The leader searched
desperately, but found only rocks and downed trees that had fallen into the crater.

"Shit! Ricley, help me dig them up! I don't see our mates, nor the ice coffin." The
leader yelled, summoning his familiar, an earth mole, while using earth magic to
dig.

"O-Okay, got it!" Ricley responded as he helped him. One of the mages created a
fireball and left it floating in the air, lighting up the surroundings. The leader
and Ricley, the only magic users on earth, continued digging desperately hoping
that the ice coffin or one of the mages guarding the coffin could save the corpse.

The mole emerged from the earth and began to make noise, drawing the wizards'
attention. The leader understood his intentions and began to dig around him,
finding a barrier of ice.

"It's them! Quick, we have to melt the ice!" The leader yelled as he pointed his
wand and started releasing flames to melt the ice. The other fire mage also helped
him, while the rest watched anxiously.

When the ice had melted enough for a body to pass through, the leader ordered the
fire to stop and tried to look inside, to confirm the state of the mages. He also
released a small fireball to light up the dome from within.

"Hi, are you all right?! We'll help you-Cogh!" The leader gasped mid-scream, an
arrow of black fire buried in his throat. He tried to throw himself backward, but a
bony hand came out of the hole and grabbed him by the neck before twisting, killing
him instantly.

The ice exploded, throwing ice shards everywhere. The 4 mages retreated in panic,
watching with horror their leader instantly die.

"What the fuck just happened??" one of them asked in panic.

"How am I supposed to know??" Another mage replied.

"Talk less, conjure more!" A female mage yelled, interrupting the argument.

"..." Ricley didn't say anything, but stayed behind the three of them, wanting to
use them as meat shields for whatever attacked them. 'I refuse to die like a dog in
this shitty little town!' That's what he thought.

A ten-foot black fireball was launched from the hole, quickly flying towards them.
The female mage conjured up a barrier of wind to block it, while the other mages
hurled spears of fire, stone bullets, and lightning into the hole.
The black fireball destroyed the ground as it advanced, before hitting the wind
barrier and detonating, blowing a hole in the wind barrier. A black skeleton leapt
through the crack in the barrier, surprising the mages. He had moved along with the
fireball to approach the mages undetected. They were above him in numbers, magic
items, and even individual strength. His only chance was to separate them and kill
them one by one, or catch them off guard like the leader.

He had already noticed in their previous interaction that mages were strong but
inexperienced and could only use one spell at a time. Their wands could only draw
one stream of mana at a time, and unlike him, they could not change an attack spell
to a defensive one, forcing them to rely on their magic items to defend themselves.

The black skeleton raised his hand and activated a magic ring, creating a dome of
black water around him, isolating him and the mage. The corrupted mana that fueled
the magic ring created a dome of water mixed with darkness. The darkness corroded
the ring's magical runes, destroying it from within, and rendering it useless after
a single use.

The black water froze as his companions screamed and attacked the dome, but the
mage female paid no attention. She backed as far away from the black skeleton as
she could while hurling beams from her wand against him. The black skeleton had the
same idea, shooting black bolts from its hands.

The rays met in the center of the dome. The mage was in the second layer and the
power of her magic reflected that, pushing black lightning slowly backwards. But
the darkness within the black rays could absorb the air element in the enemy's
radius, increasing their own power and weakening it, forcing the female mage to
spend even more mana to maintain the spell.

As if they were hungry snakes, the black rays devoured the energy in the rays,
getting closer and closer to the mage.

"No, no, no!" The female mage screamed in horror, seeing the black rays getting
closer and closer. The lightning struck her wand and raced throughout her body,
before blasting her against the ice wall, into a charred corpse.

The black skeleton wasted no time, seeing the dome being bombarded with spells. The
darkness reduced damage taken, but enemy magic would break through in a matter of
seconds. He activated a second magic ring, causing a dark orange wave to spread
across the floor.

Outside, the mages attacked the dome with their best spells, determined to kill the
undead while he was busy with his mate. Suddenly, a small-scale earthquake started
knocking them off balance and causing them to fall, breaking their concentration.
The earth beneath them sank before darkening, corroding anything it came in contact
with.

The mages groaned in pain, feeling their skin sizzle as it made contact with the
ground. Ricley was especially powerless, unable to use earth magic. The darkness
mixed with the earth and he became unable to use it, reducing his fighting power
and cutting off his escape route. One of them created a platform of pure mana and
climbed up, the others quickly followed him, avoiding the toxic ground.

A part of the dome melted and the black skeleton leaped out of it, black rays
coiling around its arms like snakes. He stretched his hands in front of his ribcage
and the beams pooled into a sphere, before firing.
Ricley conjured a non-elemental shield to protect themselves while one of the mages
conjured a spear of fire at the black skeleton, but the ball of lightning was
faster. The sphere of lightning hit the space between the three of them and
exploded, the lightning spreading out and electrifying them. The platform collapsed
and they fell to the ground in spasms. The black rays spread darkness throughout
their bodies, draining their strength as it paralyzed them.

But the black skeleton was not unharmed. The fire spear was thrown at him, but
luckily the mage lost consciousness, causing the spear to explode before reaching
him. The black skeleton was thrown and crashed into a tree, chipping the bones in
its spine. He quickly got to his feet, feeling no pain from an injury that would
normally be crippling for an ordinary human.

The black skeleton ran until it got in front of the mages, before spitting out a
jet of black flame, incinerating them alive.

Chapter 51

Athos basked in the feeling of superiority in killing. A feeling of euphoria spread

through his bones as Athos stared at the destruction around him.

"I killed them. I don't know how, but I killed them!" Athos spoke, his voice much
deeper and guttural. He had no vocal cords or any organs, but he was able to speak
without any problems.

Athos continued laughing for a while, before calming down. He stopped and looked
down at his bony hands in confusion. He had put his own situation aside because of
the urgency of the situation and the enemies that appeared one after another, but
now that things had temporarily calmed down, he began to question himself.

"Have I... become an undead?" It was the only conclusion he came to. He knew the
undead only by name and what Khali had taught him.

Undead. Beings created from corpses through necromancy. They were tireless and
didn't need to eat, becoming immortal soldiers for the necromancers who raised
them. Undead created by necromancy were lesser races that only served as mindless
puppets of their masters, but there were superior species capable of thinking, such
as vampires and liches. The higher species had the ability to think on the same
level as a human, but they were creatures of hatred, killing every living creature
they came across.

Khali didn't know all the details about the undead, but that information was enough
for Athos.

"If what Khali taught me is true, then I must be some kind of superior undead. But
which one? I've never heard of black skeletons. Maybe I'm some kind of mutated
skeleton or a new species?" Athos wondered, his scientific curiosity piqued.
Strangely, he didn't feel any fear or revulsion with his new skeletal body, on the
contrary, he felt that he had freed himself from a weight that had chained him.

...He wasn't wrong, as his pure skeleton weighed less than 20 kilos.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I don't have any knowledge of the undead and my species
name doesn't really matter. What matters is my fighting power." Athos thought,
testing his senses and abilities.

He'd only noticed it now, but it was the middle of the night and he was seeing like
it was midday. Smell and hearing were the same, while his touch was somewhat dull
and his taste was non-existent.

Athos wondered how he was able to hear and speak when he was just a skeleton, but
he had no way of finding out, so he just ignored the matter.

His abilities have undergone some changes. He tried to use the sensory field to
sense his surroundings and the dark mana flowed to the ends of the bones and the
skill worked with a slightly shorter range but that was about it.

As for magic-

"As expected, I cannot use non-elemental magic and even fire and wind magic are
mixed with darkness." Athos sighed, trying and failing to use non-elemental magic.
The dark mana that made up its core turned its spells into corrupted versions.

Non-elemental magic has become a strange type of dark magic. Its core contained 5
elements with the exception of light, but the effect of darkness overshadowed the
other elements, making them similar to dark magic. Unlike dark magic, it was solid,
not ethereal, but he would need to make more tests to notice other differences.

He had never practiced dark magic before, so he would have to learn everything from
scratch, but there was a problem.

"I don't remember having an affinity for the dark. So how did this happen?" Athos
wondered, remembering the moment he had awakened the darkness. He thought for a
while and remembered the ring of light that Khali had forced him to wear all along.
He had the mental clarity effect so Athos gladly accepted, although he found it
strange that someone as petty as Khali would give a magic item for free.

"Now that I stop and look back, it's really weird. Maybe the mental clarity is just
a side effect of the ring? I didn't wake up to the darkness until after Ricley took
the ring from me, after all." Athos muttered, feeling his anger rise at the mere
mention of Ricley's name. He also felt his left rib tighten at the memory of Khali,
but he didn't stop to think about it.

"The last test is the most important: my mana body." Athos thought. His passive
mana regeneration was useless now. He could absorb the energy the same way he did
when he was alive, but the light in the energy world would damage his body while
the darkness would heal him, making the process a waste of time.

Active mana regeneration was still useful as he could focus and exclude light
before absorbing it, but it required even more concentration. The bottom line is
that the only skill that remains the same is accessing world energy without needing
a wand.

"Being an undead has more downsides than I expected. Now that I've tested almost
everything I need to know, there's only one thing left. How do I destroy Faltra?"
Athos wondered. Not for a second did he wonder what to do, or where he should go
now. His desire has always been to bring death and destruction to the city of
Faltra and his desire to destroy it has only increased after becoming an undead.

"Maybe I can use magic powders again? I could get hides from forest monsters to
store them, but the problem is how to spread them. I don't have the Falco anymore,
but maybe I can use an undead bird and -" He was planning his plan of attack, when
a sudden realization hit him.
What were the greatest characteristic of the undead and the reason they were so
feared? Was it their infinite stamina, which allowed them to fight almost
endlessly? Was it his hatred of all living creatures that made him kill all life
forms that got in his way?

Not. The greatest trait of the undead and the reason they are so feared is their
ability to increase their own numbers the more they kill. The Undead had the
ability to transform corpses into other undead, making them a threat wherever they
went.

"I'm also an undead, so I should also be able to create undead, right?

Conveniently, there are excellent materials to practice around here." If Athos
still had a face, he would be grinning evilly right now, as he looked at the
surrounding corpses.

He gathered all seven corpses and lined them up in front of him, after removing all
of their magic items, of course. They would become useless after a single use, but
they were still useful.

"Now, who do I start with?" Athos wondered, looking at the corpses. He immediately
discarded the blond mage, as he was too damaged. If he failed using his corpse, he
wouldn't be able to tell if he failed through his fault, or because the corpse was
destroyed. Athos touched the corpse, draining its world energy until its core was
full again. He stopped in front of Ricley's corpse, deciding he would be the most
expendable.

"Even if you become an undead, I would still destroy you again, so it's perfect."
Athos placed his hand on his chest releasing small pulses of darkness, but to no
avail. The only thing the darkness did was slightly rot the skin where it touched.
Then he tried to send a tendril of darkness where the core should be, but it was
also useless.

"Hmm...it's harder than it looks. Why don't the skills come with instructions? I
know it's necessary to recreate the core, but how do I create the life force
necessary for that?" Athos complained, trying different ways but failing all of
them. He got a little annoyed, until he realized something very simple.

"Zombies create zombies, vampires create vampires, black skeletons must create
black skeletons too, right?" Athos spoke, placing his hand on Khali's chest again.
He spread the darkness all over his body except the bones draining all his
vitality. The darkness expelled the light and corrupted it, before injecting the
corrupted energy back where the core should have been.

The corrupted life force drained the world's energy except for light, forming a
black core. A pulse of darkness flowed from the core to the body, but the skeleton
remained white even after becoming undead. The skeleton began to squirm, before
scrambling to its feet.

"What...I'm not dead...I...I...." He muttered incoherently, staring off into space.

He looked around hesitantly, until he caught sight of Athos.

"Yo." Athos waved his hand awkwardly, not knowing how to react to him.

"You you!!!!" The skeleton suddenly screamed, attacking Athos. He pointed his hand
at Athos and when nothing happened, he tried to attack him with his fists. Athos
responded by launching a simple blade of wind at his exposed neck, decapitating
him.
"I'll consider that a half success. It's useful that I've learned to create undead,
but if they're going to remember me killing them and want revenge it's useless. I
need them to recognize me as their master or see mindless undead." Athos spoke,
oblivious to how incredible it is to create an undead capable of thinking on the
first try.

Athos tried the same thing with another body, but this time he tried to focus his
own will on the mana while forming the core. The result was even worse. The
skeleton struggled while screaming incoherently, until Athos finished him off.

"Useful bodies are running low." Athos complained looking at the four remaining
corpses. He decided to try something a little more dangerous this time. He tried
again on a new corpse, but unlike the other times, he mixed a spark from the death
layer itself during core formation. The amount he used was negligible and even if
he used large amounts, he would only need to drain a little from the surrounding
corpses.

That's when he instinctively felt he'd made it. The black core formed and sent a
pulse of darkness throughout his body, his bones turning black as a dark void
radiated from his empty sockets. The skeleton rose without difficulty and stood,
staring at Athos.

Athos felt a connection with Skeletor, similar to the connection he had with Falco.
The difference was that the skeleton had its own mana core, and Athos felt a weak
will in the skeleton. It didn't seem to resist it, but it still existed. Intrigued,
Athos decided to test the control he had over the skeleton.

'Get down on your knees.' He mentally ordered, ready to destroy him if he

disobeyed.

"That changes everything." Athos clenched his fists, watching the skeleton kneel.
He looked up at the night sky, thinking of the infinite possibilities now that he
was undead. At that moment, he set a goal for himself.

"I will destroy this world."

...without him realizing it, a pair of eyes, one blue and the other amber, watched
him.

Elbon

The world of Elbon is divided into 5 continents: Adula, Caprio, Doravon, Nytrer and
Setlan. The continents varied in size and population, but each continent had a
dominant race, as well as its own history and civilizations. The continents were
constantly at war with each other, with Adula and Nytrer constantly invading the
other continents.

Adula was known as the sacred continent and the only race was humans. All other
races had been expelled, exterminated or enslaved. The continent was divided into
two great nations that occupied the north and south. The sacred empire of Caria
occupied the North, while the South was occupied by the sorcerer Empire of Makima.

Both countries had a strong alliance with each other despite having very different
cultures. The Caria empire preached about human supremacy and they were the
founders of the church of Eishin. The Makima empire, on the other hand, taught
about the incessant search for knowledge and the study of magic, being the founders
of the order of magic. Together, they formed a united front that constantly
launched attacks against the Setlan continent and the races they considered
inferior.

The continent Setlan was ruled by the Fae alliance, formed by several races, with
the elves at the center. Originally, they were several small clans, but they banded
together and formed an alliance to face human encroachments. Elves, dark elves,
fairies, spirits, dwarves, and various species of beast-people.

The continents together were shaped like a u, with each continent occupying one
half and with the entire north separated by the ocean. Battles between them took
place mainly at sea, or land invasions from the Makima empire, which lay at the
lower end of the u.

Nytrer was the dark continent, ruled by the undead. It is not known how many
species of undead there are, but what they did know was that all the undead served
a single identity, the lord of death. a black fog covered the entire continent like
a dome, so there was not much information. The one thing that was widely known is
that anyone who tried to get in never came back.

They constantly attacked the Adula continent, more specifically, the Sacred empire
of Caria. It is said that the only reason the Fae alliance is able to defend
against the Adula continent is because of them.

Doravon was the continent of the demihuman races, the descendants of the extinct
giants. Trolls, Ogres, orcs, goblins and minotaurs were some of the species that
lived on this continent. They were warrior races, who constantly warred with each
other. Among all the continents, they were the least technologically developed, but
they were exceptional warriors. They were divided into hundreds of different clans,
but recently, a king had appeared, unifying several tribes.

They worshiped strength and their leaders were chosen from sacred duels.

And finally, the continent Caprio was a mixture of several species. Humans, Elves,
demihumans, beast people and undead all lived on this continent and fought for
supremacy. There were 3 human countries 1 elven country, 1 beast people country, 1
undead country and 2 demihuman countries.

********

Caprio Continent, country of Mirkor, near the border with the semi-human empire.

An alpha gray wolf and his brethren were fast asleep after their successful hunt
during the day. Thanks to the alpha's commands and the wolves' coordination, they'd
hunted a rock bear this morning and gotten enough food to feed the entire pack. The
weather was cold and most of the prey hid to sleep, so it was a blessing they got
so much food.

His pack had occupied the cave created by the rock bear and he was sleeping in the
deepest part. As alpha, it was his duty to make sure the entire pack had food. He
was sleeping comfortably with his females around him when his ears twitched,
catching a loud sound coming from somewhere. He decided to ignore it at first,
thinking it was just his brothers fighting over food, but the howling and barking
quickly escalated, alerting the entire pack.

He awoke immediately, prepared for combat. The alpha began to run quickly towards
the exit, pushing those who were too slow out of the way. When he reached the
exit... there was no more exit. In its place, a black mud wall was erected,
blocking the way.

His brothers tried to dig a way out, but their paws squeaked as they came into
contact with the black mud and they backed away whimpering. Suddenly, small holes
appeared in the ceiling and a black mist began to pour in, quickly spreading
through the cave.

Sensing a putrid smell coming from the fog and a sense of danger, they backed away
slowly, while barking at the black fog, not knowing what to do. The alpha
reinforced his body with mana before jumping into the holes and forcibly opening a
path, but as soon as he came into contact with the fog, his body began to weaken,
so he quickly retreated. With no choice, he ordered his brothers to retreat deeper
into the cave, keeping the females further away.

They quickly found themselves cornered at the end of the tunnel. The males huddled
on top of the females in an attempt to protect them with their own bodies. The mist
hit them, searing their skin as they howled in pain. The fog first scorched his
skin, then rotted his eyes, blinding them. Then they entered through their snouts,
preventing them from breathing.

The alpha watched his brothers die one by one, unable to do anything. The alpha
circulated mana through his body to protect himself, but that only prolonged his
suffering. He fell to the ground without strength, feeling his consciousness slip
away. In your last seconds of life. he saw the fog disappear and a black skeleton
in a cloak appear through it.

But that was it. He didn't even have the strength to growl, and just died. His
consciousness faded, his senses faded, and the alpha felt like he was dreaming. He
felt angry momentarily, but his mind was simple and incapable of deep thought, so
he quickly forgot about it.

In the midst of that darkness, as his mind wandered, the alpha felt as if a black
chain came out of somewhere and chained his mind, dragging him out of the dream,
his consciousness quickly returning to his body. The black chain coiled tightly
around his mind, limiting his thoughts.

The alpha immediately stood up, feeling lighter, and looked around. A black
skeleton was in front of him, his hand stretched out on his chest. Normally he
would have freaked out and tried to bite his hand out of reflex, but the black
chain tightened and he was unable to move.

The alpha panicked internally and tried to get up and attack the black skeleton,
boost his body with mana or bark for help, but the only order his body obeyed was
to get up. The black chain tightened every time he tried to do something harmful to
the skeleton. Sensing this instinctively, the alpha understood one thing. his body
was no longer his.

"You know, I liked dogs when I was a kid, but my parents never let me have one. Try
rolling." The black skeleton spoke to him and the body of alpha promptly complied.
He didn't understand what the black skeleton was talking about, but he understood
its intentions. The alpha tried to resist, but the chain tightened again and his
body shifted against his will and began to roll from side to side.

Not only were their movements restricted, but he could also control their body on
their own. To add insult to injury, every time the chain tightened, the alpha felt
what little control he had over his own body slip away and his consciousness waver.
The black current not only kept him from resisting, it also slowly corroded his
mind.
"Good boy, good boy. I'm glad I was able to successfully turn you into an undead.
Let's turn the other wolves too, so you'll have company even after you die." The
skeleton spoke, releasing a black wave with a wave of its hand towards the wolves
huddled at the end of the tunnel.

The alpha watched in horror as his brothers mutated into black wolf skeletons and
realized that he too had become a skeleton.

He began to shake involuntarily and decided to stop resisting, fearing for his very
existence.

Lifting an exercise

Athos nodded, satisfied seeing the wolf's skeleton rolling on the ground. He wanted
to test whether monsters with different physiologies could become undead. As far as
he knew, undead like vampires could only turn humans into other vampires, so this
was an important test for his future plans. He had already tested with other
monsters, but each species of monster was unique, so it was important to test with
as many monsters as possible.

After succeeding in turning the alpha into a skeleton he cast the spell to raise
undead en masse on the other wolves. A great mass of darkness gathered in his palm
before spreading out like a wave lifting all the wolves at once. The spell used not
only mana, it also used a large amount of life force corrupted, but that wasn't a
problem for Athos.

The spark of life force consumed when raising an undead mingled with the undead's
core, making their energy signature similar to his and forming a bond between the
two. After the undead was successfully created, a part of the life force that forms
its core would naturally flow to Athos, recovering spent life force and
strengthening it further.

It was as if he spent 1% of his total life force and got 2% back. The amount of
life force received was fixed and did not increase regardless of the strength of
the raised skeleton, but it was certain that Athos would grow stronger the more
undead he created.

Athos had created the spell to raise undead en masse with ease, despite having no
experience with dark magic. Using corrupted non-elemental magic was easy for Athos,
as he could use his experience with non-elemental magic as a crutch. Although they
had different effects, the base of the spells was the same, so it was just a matter
of getting used to the effects.

When Athos confirmed that the last of the wolves had turned into an undead, he
nodded in satisfaction and stood up. "Let's go. I'll introduce you to the rest of
the gang." Athos spoke, patting the alpha on the head as he exited the tunnels.

"Open it." Athos ordered and the wall of mud opened revealing the night sky and
dozens of black skeletons of beasts.

"Sorry for the delay. Did you wait too long?" Athos asked, looking at the 4 human
skeletons in front of the horde. They were the mages that Athos had successfully
turned into the undead and were using the same equipment they had in life. Athos
was a little worried that they would be able to use magic now that they were
undead, but luckily, the wands that mages use don't need to be mana powered, quite
the contrary, they draw the energy of the world to mages, feeding them. your
spells.

Behind them, black skeletons of rock bears, two-faced monkeys, bladed birds, raging
wild boars, and the newly added gray wolves, all monsters common to the forest of
Faltra, were gathered here.

It had only been a day since Athos became undead and he made the most of his
infinite stamina to hunt monsters, quickly amassing a small army. Athos was
gathering his strength with a certain urgency, because he knew he didn't have much
time. Things should have calmed down in Faltra by now, and messengers would be sent
to nearby major cities such as Clastro and Shiima, so reinforcements from the
country would be sent to Faltra, making it difficult for Athos to attack it.

It was likely that the order of magic and the adventurer's guild would get
involved, adding to the difficulty even more. The mercantile town of Shiima was the
closest and was a two-week carriage ride away. It would take at most a week to
gather troops and resources to help the city, and another two weeks before they
returned. In short, Athos had just over a month to muster enough strength to
destroy Faltra and its neighboring villages, then cross the border and flee.

Athos knew that the country would not allow the existence of an undead like him and
would muster all its resources to eliminate him while he was still weak, just as he
knew he wouldn't stand a chance against an entire nation. He would need time,
resources and especially soldiers if he was to have a chance.

There was also the option of simply running away without attacking Faltra, but
Athos didn't even consider that possibility. The city's main forces were probably
dead and order in the city in tatters, and the idea of leaving the city without
finishing destroying it left a bitter taste on his tongue, even though he didn't
have any.

"Um...most of the monsters are either hibernating or migrating at this time of

year, so even after killing for one full day, I was barely able to gather seventy
beast skeletons. I'll need to speed up from now on. It's better to attack villages.
and gather as many soldiers as possible quickly and then attack the city." Athos
talked to himself, deciding to change his plan. Although beast skeletons are strong
individually, human villages would give him more than enough numbers to make up for
it.

There were 5 villages close to Faltra and all were to the east of the city, the
smallest of them having about two hundred people, while the largest four hundred.
Even at a low estimate, he could get at least a thousand undead, apart from cattle
and whatever else he could hunt between villages.

Encouraged by this thought, Athos mentally ordered the skeletons to move towards
the nearest village. "Come on guys, it's time to spill some human blood!" Athos
yelled, jumping on top of a rock bear skeleton and leaving with his small army.

A few minutes after Athos left, a nearby tree began to shake and bark split to
reveal a wooden face. The left eye was green, while the right had an amber glow. He
looked with disgust and revulsion in the direction Athos had fled before saying,
"Did that filthy undead go away? He dared to contaminate my forest with his miasma
and even killed many of the monsters that dwell there.

I intended to destroy him if he kept destroying my forest, but as long as he leaves

in peace, he's the humans' problem, not mine. Those other white-suited humans are a
lot more troublesome than he is. Their attempts to enter the forest are irritating
and it takes a lot of mana to stop them." The wooden face spoke in a voice that
sounded like a creak, before sinking back into the tree. The bark of the tree grew
again, the grass that withered because of the undead regained its vitality and all
traces of it were erased.

"But if he dares to go back to my forest, I will definitely kill him." The wooden
face whispered before disappearing completely.

*******

On the outskirts of the rock village, a day ago.

After trying and failing to contact the leader of the mage team, Finn had to make a
difficult decision. He couldn't leave the unit alone to go after the mages, but
even if he told Emilia the truth, it wasn't clear if she would listen. He had
broken her trust in a horrible way and it was quite possible that she would kill
him, even if he explained that he had no choice.

He agonized for some time over what to do, until the decision was taken out of his
hands. Emilia made a few sounds before slowly opening her eyes and looking around.
Finn quickly rushed to her side to explain himself, but that was a serious mistake.
Emilia had hidden a universal antidote in her lower molar and exploded it when she
fell from the watchtower, but because it was a universal antidote, it took a while
to take effect. Emilia had been awake for a few minutes, but continued to pretend
she was unconscious until the numb feeling had completely passed.

With an agile movement of her hands, she hurled a dagger right between his eyes,
before abruptly standing up and running towards him. Despite their close proximity,
Finn managed to move his head to the side at the last second, but it proved to be a
futile effort. The dagger was imbued with the weapon break ability, as well as a
telekinesis enchantment, allowing its wielder to remotely control it.

The dagger swung around just as it passed Finn and exploded against his back. Finn
was able to activate the enchantment on the magic-resistant suit, but the metal
shards still hit his back, knocking him forward.

"Wait Emilia, listen to me!" Finn screamed desperately feeling the pain in his back
and the bloodlust emanating from Emilia, but she didn't hear. Emilia conjured two
daggers of light in both hands and activated the lightning step boots enchantment,
disappearing from Finn's sight.

Finn knew this attack all too well and raised his guard, ready to fend off the
telegraphed attacks. Unfortunately for him, Emilia was much more powerful than he
was and could react even at such speed, changing the direction of her attacks and
catching Finn off guard. An X-shaped gash appeared on his throat, causing Finn to
drop to his knees, choking on his own blood.