Chapter 49

Arran stood amid the carnage, panting in exhaustion . All told, the battle had taken less than two minutes, yet he had expended every bit of energy in his body .

Now that the fight was over he became aware that he was injured, and after inspecting his body he was startled to find that there were more than a dozen injuries all over his body — burns, cuts, and bruises, none of which he remembered sustaining .

Although Arran was hurt, his armored coat had taken most of the damage, and with a quick glance he could see that it was ruined beyond repair . Still, better the coat than him, he thought .

It took him some time to catch his breath and slow his racing heartbeat . As the excitement of battle wore off, a deep sense of weariness set in, but he did not allow it to take hold of him just yet .

He felt fear, too . During the fight, there had been no time to be scared, but now, he understood just how close he had come to dying . Although he wanted to believe that he had survived through his own skill, he knew that he owed much to luck .

Once more, he was reminded of the need to get stronger . Even if he had been lucky this time, there were limits to luck, and he’d be a fool if he believed his luck would last forever .

He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts . Right now he had other things to take care of, and after that, he would need rest .

After a short search, he found his sword, which had been torn from his hands when he used it to block a fireball . He was relieved to find it unharmed, although it was covered in the blood of those he had slain . He carefully wiped it clean before sheathing it .

Next, he searched through the belongings of his enemies, taking their weapons and the void bags of those who had them . He did not look at the bags’ contents as he took them, deciding that there would be time do so later .

After taking the valuables off the Redstone men’s bodies, only the Academy mage was left . He approached the man’s corpse with some hesitation, some part of him still fearing that his defeated enemy would somehow suddenly rise again .

Yet when he looked at the mage’s body, he understood that the man was well and truly defeated . Where his head had been there was now only a bloody pulp of blood and bone and brains, and Arran was shocked at the damage he had done in his desperate assault on the man .

He shuddered as he remembered the fight . By all rights, the mage should have defeated him, and easily at that .

Yet in that crucial moment, when Arran had attacked bare-handed without the slightest hesitation, the mage had wavered, and it had cost him his life .

There was a valuable lesson there, Arran knew . In battle, even the briefest moment of doubt could prove fatal against a decisive opponent .

Resisting the urge to gag at the sight and smell of the mage’s corpse, Arran searched the body, finding a slender sword and a void bag . He took both, then stood up .

Just as he got to his feet, a voice sounded behind him .

“Are you all right?”

Arran spun around, sword drawn in an instant . He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Captain Yang .

“You’re injured,” the man said, worry clear on his face . As he approached, his eyes went wide with shock . “Your face!”

With a frown, Arran touched his hand to his face . Instantly, he winced in pain as he felt that the left half of his face was badly burned . He could not recall being injured like that during the fight, but then, all his attention had been focused on defeating his enemies .

“I’ll take you to a healer,” Captain Yang said . With a look at the bodies strewn across the charred battleground, he added, “I’ll have my men bury the bodies . “

Arran was about to say he didn’t need a healer when he suddenly felt his legs go weak beneath his body . He only barely managed to remain standing, but it seemed his injuries were far more severe than he had realized .

“Come,” Captain Yang said, “I’ll help you . “

They slowly made their way back to the town, Captain Yang supporting Arran as they walked .

“That was horrible,” Captain Yang said after a time . “Even during my time at the Shadowflame Society, I never saw anything like it . “

Instantly, Arran all but forgot about the pain . “You were a member of the Shadowflame Society?”

“No,” the man replied . “I never made it past the selection . “

Just then, a call sounded . “Captain!”

As they approached the town, the guards Arran had seen earlier came rushing toward them .

Their first concern was with Captain Yang, and only when they saw that he was unharmed did their attention move to Arran .

“Help me get him to my house,” Captain Yang said . “And one of you go fetch the healer . “

———

Although Arran’s injuries were serious, with the help of Lord Jiang’s circulation technique he recovered rapidly . Within a week, his wounds were all but healed, and even the burns on his face and shoulder were almost completely gone .

“It really is something,” Captain Yang said, shaking his head in wonder . Arran had stayed at the man’s house while he recovered, and several times a day, he would come to check on Arran’s recovery .

“What is?” Arran asked .

“You,” Captain Yang answered with a laugh . “With your wounds, I half expected you to be dead within the week . But now, just look at you — it’s as if that battle didn’t even happen . “

“It’s a technique I learned some time ago,” Arran said . “But some days ago, you said you tried to join the Shadowflame Society . Any more you could tell me about that?”

“There’s not much to tell,” Captain Yang replied . “Two ago, I went to one of the border cities, hoping to join the Shadowflame Society . I spent a good two years there, hoping to get selected . ” He sighed . “It never happened, so in the end, I came back here . “

“Selected?” Arran asked . “How does that work, exactly?”

“It’s simple,” Captain Yang said . “The border cities are full of people hoping to join the Shadowflame Society . Every once in a while, one of the members will appear and recruit a few dozen of them . But why are you so interested?”

“I’m actually hoping to join the Shadowflame Society myself,” Arran said .

“You?” Captain Yang gave Arran a puzzled look . “But you’re already a mage . Why would you want to join them?”

“I have my reasons,” Arran replied . Although he liked the man, he still did not want to share his secrets . “But that selection you mentioned… how does it work? How do they decide whom to recruit?”

“It depends on who’s doing the recruiting,” Captain Yang said . “Some take only the best fighters, while others prefer healers and herbalists and the like . I once saw a scribe get recruited — scrawny little girl, wouldn’t last a second in a fight . ” He scowled . “But she got in, and I didn’t . “

Arran nodded, a frown on his face . Before, he had assumed that joining the Shadowflame Society would be a simple matter of asking, but now, it seemed it might not be that easy .

“Think I have a chance of getting in?” he asked .

“You?” Captain Yang laughed . “Strong as you are, I imagine you could walk right in if you wanted . Though I still don’t see why a mage would want to join . “

Arran felt some relief at this . While it remained to be seen whether the man was right, his confidence helped soothe Arran’s worries .

“I could take you with me,” Arran said with a thought . “If you still want to join, I have ways to help you grow stronger . “

“A decade ago, I’d have taken you up on that,” Captain Yang replied with a chuckle . “But my adventuring days are well behind me . “

Arran nodded, although he couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed . As far as company went, he could do worse than Captain Yang .

“There is another favor I have to ask of you, though,” Captain Yang continued .

“What is it?” Having spent the week as a guest at the man’s house, Arran figured the least he could do was hear out the request .

“There’s a group of bandits about two weeks’ travel west of here,” Captain Yang said . “They’ve been attacking merchants and traders for the past few months . There’s a few dozen of them, too many for my men to handle . “

“You want me to take care of them?” Arran asked .

Captain Yang nodded . “If you could, I’d be in your debt . There’s no mages among them, as far as I’ve heard, so you should have an easy time of it . And it’s along the road to the Shadowflame Society, so it shouldn’t take up too much time . “

Arran gave it some thought . “I’ll take a look,” he finally said . “I can’t promise anything, but if there aren’t any mages with them, I’ll make sure they won’t bother any travelers again . “

Captain Yang smiled broadly . “That’s all I was hoping to hear,” he said . “But first, you should make sure you’re fully recovered . Another week or two wouldn’t hurt . “

“I’ll be ready to leave in a few days,” Arran replied .

Even if he enjoyed the soft bed and warm meals, he was anxious to be on his way again, all the more so after his most recent battle . The more he experienced the more he understood that he needed strength to survive, and there was little strength to be gained from resting in comfort .

Another two days, he decided, and he would depart .