Kris waited alone inside Jack’s office at the barracks while seated on the couch. He’s been waiting for about a half an hour now, he assumed. Finally, the doors to Jack’s office opened and two people, including Jack, entered.

Kris stood up a bit lazily as he eyed other person.

It was a woman of above-average height with a voluptuous figure.

Her triangular face slowly turned towards Kris while her deep-set blue eyes scanned him from his toes and up. She twiddled with her long, blonde hair before she curved her luscious lips.

“General, is he the one you were talking about?” she asked without turning towards Jack.

“Yes. Let me introduce you. This is Kris Raven,” Jack then turned towards Kris. “Kris, this is Reina Truey, a water-mage of the Royal Battle Mages.”

“I didn’t think you were a young man. The General made it seem like you were older,” Reina remarked. Kris then felt a prodding in his mana which he promptly expelled. Reina raised a brow.

“I’d like to think that I’m way beyond my years,” Kris commented casually.

“Hah,” Jack scoffed as he sat down. “More like your body doesn’t suit you,” Jack continued. Kris smiled wryly.

“So, how is this arrangement going to work?” Reina asked.

“I’ll be working on my own volition and act as I see fit, if that isn’t a problem with you, Ms. Reina. However, I'm free to do as you order if you feel it best,” Kris said. One way or another, they were going to notice him.

Reina turned her head slightly towards Jack as she gave a questioning glance. Jack simply shrugged.

She then locked her gaze with Kris.

“I’m afraid this isn’t how things work,” Reina shook her head. “I can’t leave you to your devices and risk you aggravating or comprising this expedition.”

Kris raised a finger.

“One condition then, at least.”

Reina frowned a bit. “It depends. Usually people would be thrilled to just simply work under my orders. Especially kids.”

Kris chuckled.

“I bet you haven’t heard of any kid who just shrugged off what you just tried to do earlier,” Kris said.

Reina snorted and raised her chin.

“Oh? Pretty confident. Then, let’s see what the kid has to say," she said mockingly.

“I'm taking on the strongest opponent,” Kris said.

Reina scowled.

“You? Don’t test me, young man. You being able to expel my mana means nothing,” Reina’s scowl then slowly turned into a smirk.

“Fine then. You can come with us and do what you like. As long as you do something worth mentioning, I’ll make sure that word reaches the King even if its not under my orders. Jack mentioned you needed it for the scholarship,” Reina said as she turned to leave. She stopped halfway through the door.

“However, if you compromise this mission. I will personally have your head,” she let her words sink in then closed the door behind her. Kris heard her footsteps getting fainter and fainter. He then sat down and sighed.

“Lively woman, Jack. You think that Reina woman is going to give me a tough time?” Kris asked as he slumped back down on the couch.

“Probably. There’s nothing I could do about it. She’s the one who’s leading this mission, being a Royal Battle Mage,” Jack sighed. “Even so, why the need to challenge her authority?” Jack asked with a tinge of confusion and disappointment.

“I’ve got a lead on the cult,” Kris revealed.

Jack widened his eyes as he banged on the table.

“What do you mean?”

“In at most a day, I’ll have some tangible information regarding them. I want to use this opportunity to leverage that, if possible. This is why I have to work alone. Judging by her strength and considering the abilities of the expedition team, I doubt that an Agwe would amount to much,” Kris explained. Jack relaxed and closed his eyes in thought.

“What kind of information is this?” Jack set his gaze on Kris’ eyes.

“I honestly don’t have the exact details on this yet. Still, I’m pretty sure that whatever it would be, it’ll be reliable. Once I get this information, I plan to move on my own.”

“What about getting the achievement? If you miss out on getting to the front-lines, I doubt that your abilities would shine for everyone to see.”

Kris shook his head.

“That matters, sure. Though, getting information on the Cult is an achievement in itself, is it not?” Kris confirmed.

But what’s really keeping Kris on his toes is the disparity between the mass havoc that the cult seemed to be planning, versus the systematic waves of monsters that they announce.

Jack thought for a bit as he slacked his jaws before nodding.

“What do you think is going on?” Jack asked as he stared out the window.

“I’m not sure if even the information I get later would be substantial, but in a way, these monster summons just go against their whole creed. I don’t understand why they’d have to announce this,” Kris explained.

Jack didn’t react.

Kris was by this time sure that there were developments in void magic that he’s not aware of yet, and that these developments had something to do with the frequent and consistent summons. Summons that Kris noted was becoming more and more fierce in the quality and type of monsters that they’re able to summon.

At the back of his head, Kris knew that as long as Maya did her job properly, they’d be able to pinpoint where the summoners for this Agwe should be stationed or any particular reasons why they were doing this peculiar contest in the first place.

He’d be dealing with more than a few cultists, judging just by the sheer power of the monster they’re trying to summon. Kris had to be careful, but he had the element of surprise and he had faith in his power.

Still, I have to keep my eye out for any developments.

Kris ruffled his hair while he thought about things he should look out for.

Jack squinted his eyes and put a hand on his chin then looked back at Kris.

“What you’re planning is dangerous,” Jack said as he massaged his jaw and studied Kris’ expression..

“I'm going to face danger soon enough. Might as well take it on when it counts,” Kris concluded.

Kris made his way down to the center courtyard and saw four large carriages with a maximum capacity of ten people each. Beside the front carriage was Reina, and in front of her were three lines of five-man squads composed of mage-soldiers from the military.

Curiously, all of them were equipped with a longsword that dangled on their waists. They wore breastplates that are made from many diagonal layers of leather and fur, covering everything from the neck down and ending at the groin.

Kris wondered why they weren’t wearing plated or metal armor but he figured that it must’ve been a choice that stemmed from them being mages. They might not see a need for such armor. Granted, armors usually don’t amount to much in mage battles, much less battles with mana-wielding monsters.

The sun was high up in the sky, indicating that it was about noon. Judging from the distance to their destination, it’d take at least until tomorrow before they would reach it. They had to set up camp later so the men were eager to get going.

Kris saw Reina glance towards him a bit before she rolled her eyes. She gesticulated for the men to move. They immediately bolted towards their own respective carriages. As the last of the soldiers entered the carriage, Reina was approached by a familiar man.

Kane, the Colonel, tapped her shoulder then they exchanged a quiet conversation. After a few quick nods from Reina, she then widened her eyes and sternly shook her head as she glared at Kane. Kane seemingly didn’t reply, so Reina promptly made her way to the front carriage, though not before she looked at Kris with suspicion.

Kane swept his gaze along the carriages before they landed on Kris. Kane abruptly turned away as his expression twisted awkwardly. Kane entered Reina’s carriage in a bit of haste.

Kris entered the farthest carriage at the back. He sat on a seat nearest the entrance of the carriage. The five men inside watched him with curiosity as he did. Kris simply smiled. The men nodded in understanding. It seems that they were briefed by Reina earlier. It also didn’t seem like she gave them any bad impressions about Kris.

At least she was cooperating.

Pretty soon, the carriages were moving in a cadence. Kris closed his eyes, eager to squeeze in some rest.

After what seemed to be like a half-day of sleep, Kris opened his eyes. The carriage had stopped and he was alone inside. He could hear the movement of many men, chattering and grunting. They were probably setting up camp.

He got out of the carriage and stretched as he looked around him. They were in a thick forest. Trees with ash-colored barks filled his view. They were tall, as tall as ten grown men, and their thick and numerous leaves blackened the faint light from the setting sun.

The area was filled with various bushes and shrubs, while the ground was littered with moss. The air was damp and there was a slight, foreboding fog. Apart from the sound of the men, it was awfully quiet and devoid of any indication of wildlife or insects.

Kris walked towards the center of the campsite while he kept looking around.

Kris noticed that there were various large tents set up around a large fire. There were still a few tents being set up, though they were only being worked on by a few men. A lot more were resting on makeshift seats of rock placed crudely on different parts of the camp.

Reina and Kane was nowhere to be found. Before he could decide to look further, there was a ding that went off in his head. Kris smiled.

“Master, I am approaching your position now. Please find a spot where we can rendezvous,” Kris realized a few days ago that his ability to communicate telepathically with his spirit depends on their proximity, and this extends to any type of ability that he uses Maya as an intermediary. He judged that it was about a three kilometer distance before he loses all contact.

"Maya, meet me in 40 minutes".

He had no reason to hide his spirits, but honestly, having to show their existence at such an idle time was just asking for a tedious explanation from Kris.

Kris could make out a clearing not far off from the campsite. He planned to make his way there and then find an area concealed by the trees around the clearing before meeting up with Maya. Before he could make his way out though, he was alerted to a presence behind him.

“Kris Raven,” a deep voice called out. Kris raised a brow then turned around.

“Colonel. Is there anything wrong?” Kris could then feel multiple presences circle and surround him, hiding out of plain sight using some form of illusion magic. Kris was impressed. He’s never seen this kind of magic before but it did intrigue him.

“You. What are you planning?” Kane asked, his voice a bit raspy, underscoring his intent. It wasn’t a question, Kris thought.

“I’m planning to ask you why you thought that it was a great idea to interrogate me,” Kris retorted. He didn't expect this and he wasn't sure how he should take this.

Kane scoffed.

“Then, if you’re not answering… I won’t have to know,” Kane then gesticulated for the hidden men to attack.

Kris felt a myriad of mana take shape and form spells around him, he could even hear faint chants among the trees.

Kris eyes turned sharp and focused as he willed his mana to get active. He had no time for this farce.