The following morning Archibald and Wolf left the town of Iceowl. Their destination was Northshield’s eastern neighbor and home of an old friend of Archibald’s, duchy of Silverhound.

Because of the big man’s uneasy feeling, rather than east, the pair headed south, towards Northshield city. This was a part of Archibald's paranoid plan. He had to do something about the ominous feeling the streets of Iceowl had given him, while leaving behind as few clues as possible.

The pair traveled at a pace that was neither slow, nor fast. After half an hour they passed the outermost ring of farms that surrounded Iceowl. Father and son were about to enter a forested area when Archibald coughed.

“Son, if we’re getting ambushed it’s going to happen once we enter the forest.” Archibald masked his whisper as he darted his eyes this way and that, inspecting the tracks in the snow.

“I can see a couple of them hiding in the snow ahead of us. And we’re passing about a dozen of them right now.” Wolf nodded and whispered back while hiding his mouth, like Archibald had taught him.

Wolf’s heart was racing. Other than the few critters he had hunted with his father, this was going to be his first real engagement.

“Pretend you didn’t notice anything and act normally.” Archibald barely managed to whisper when a large group of over ten bandits appeared in front of them.

Right on cue the group they had just passed moved to close their escape path. It was a poor encirclement. These guys should’ve waited for them to make a couple of extra steps. While Archibald was thinking about this very basic blunder, an effeminate man in his late twenties stepped forward from the group in front of them.

“Good day gentlemen! I bear you no ill will. I’m just here to settle the affair from the other day. In case you forgot what I’m talking about, you turned two of my subordinates over to the town guards. This cost me quite a bit of money and face. I only wish to collect what you owe me. As for the price…” The skinny man made a dramatic pause. “... what do you say about nineteen gold pieces?” The effeminate man spoke in a sleazy way and wore an equally cheap smile on his face.

Archibald nodded, took out a small pouch and threw it to the effeminate man. The pouch made a clear metallic jingle as it flew through the air.

“Here’s twenty gold pieces. Keep the change.”

The man grabbed the bag with a surprised expression, hefted it a couple of times and smiled. Finally, he opened the bag and nodded, satisfied with what he was seeing.

“Kill them.” The man waved his hand nonchalantly, before closing the money-bag.

The group behind the leader charged. Or at least tried to. Instead they moved with unnatural slowness, barely faster than walking.

The gang that stood behind Archibald and Wolf, also charged, really charged. But, before they managed to take the second step, a Subtle Fireball exploded in their midst.

*Woosh!*

By the time the slowed bandits were halfway to reaching their two victims, their comrades had already been reduced to ash, without even getting the chance to scream. The only trace of their existence was a circular patch of snow-free road.

Wolf had acted according to the scenario he had agreed on with his father. As soon as bandits appeared, Wolf cast a Subtle Lethargy spell on those further away, then he dealt with the closer threat.

Even the minds of lethargic brigands were sluggish. Due to this, it took a while for them to realize what had happened. These vicious men just stood there, dumbfounded for the longest of moments. About a second later, their brains caught up with reality.

Some started screaming and fleeing towards the forest, while others still stared in shock. Their mental trauma ended abruptly as Wolf lobbed another orb of fiery death into the center of the group.

*Woosh*

Mere seconds had passed since the fight began. The brigands were gone. Reduced to flakes of ash floating in the wind. All save for one. The effeminate man was frozen in horror, steam rising from his wet pants.

“I-I-I-I I’m the magistrate's...”

The man tried to use his background to protect himself. He stuttered so badly that he didn’t have the time to finish his introduction before Archibald plunged a dagger into his chest. Even with this withered body, the big man wasn’t to be underestimated.

“Son, there are a couple of things you should learn from this encounter. But first, I want to praise your timing.” Archibald pulled out his dagger.

The lifeless body toppled over, blood flowing out of the wound, painting the snow red.

“Slowing the enemies in front of us bought you enough time to deal with both groups. Almost completing the first Fireball and then waiting for the enemy to take action was a stroke of genius. As for the things you should learn from this...”

“Don’t be greedy and have restraint. Look at this guy here.” Archibald kicked the lanky man’s corpse while wiping his knife.

“If he had restraint, he would’ve walked away with twenty gold pieces. He wouldn’t have suffered the slightest harm. But, when he saw that I was acting meekly, he assumed that we were intimidated by him and his band…”

“Which brings us to the second point. You should always be aware of your strength as well as that of your enemy. You should also learn how to estimate the power of your opponents and not charge in blindly. If you’re weaker, don't fight. The same goes when you don’t know about what kind of enemy you’re up against.”

“Unless a manling’s soul is considerably weaker than your own, it’s very difficult to estimate their power. Just because someone is timid or well behaved doesn’t mean he’s weak. More importantly, not everyone that acts tough is strong. Which brings us to the final mistake these guys have made…”

“If you’re already greedy and dumb enough not to check how strong your opponent is, then for the love gods, act from the shadows, when the enemy is unaware of your presence.”

“If these idiots had decided to riddle us with arrows without giving a warning, this would’ve been a whole lot more difficult for you to handle. Well, that’s mainly because I’m a burden to you.” The man muttered with self-loathing.

Wolf looked at his downcast father and took his hand.

“You will never be a burden dad.”

“Thanks son.” A big, emaciated hand patted Wolf’s shoulder.

Those words truly warmed Archibald’s heart.

“Now, just like Monster Beasts, humans also have useful things on them, even when they are dead.” The man shifted from the touching atmosphere to looting corpses without even blinking, or even noticing what he had done.

This was the man teaching Wolf emotional intelligence.

After saying his piece, Archibald slowly searched the only remaining body. He narrated what he did, while letting Wolf see the places he checked.

The magistrate’s… whatever-the-guy-used-to-be was dirt poor. Aside from some coins and a fancy looking, yet low quality dagger, he had nothing of note. Archibald took the coins and threw the dagger into the bushes.

“All right. Let’s get back to our real route. That way, even if anyone looks for us, they won’t be able to find our trail.”

After those words and the act of looting a dead man, Archibald and Wolf followed the southward road for an hour. Then Archibald randomly turned left, entering the forest.

Some fifty meters into the snow-covered shrubbery, Archibald used his powder to cover their tracks. Even that was probably an overkill. But he didn’t want to take a risk over a dozen gold pieces, which was the value of that pinch of Remove Trace powder. It would’ve been even more economical if that fancy idiot had simply taken those twenty gold pieces…

Behind his back snow shifted to cover their footprints, going so far as to return back to the shrubs from which it fell.

With the tracks starting some fifty meters away from the road, the odds of anyone finding them were practically zero. Even if that spoiled brat was a bastard child of a Duke, nobody could gather enough manpower to send a search party in time.

While walking through the forest, Archibald cheerfully explained some things. For instance why they didn’t immediately enter the forest and why they left the body in the middle of the road. Naturally, the topic of looting also came up.

“Useless junk, like that dagger, is something you should never pick up. The item itself is just a moderately expensive piece of ornamental crap. It’s way too unique, not all that functional and not sturdy enough. If you try to sell it you leave a trace and potentially reveal yourself as the killer. Using it where people can see you is even worse…” Due to his rough youth as a commoner surrounded by nobles, Archibald knew a thing or two about how a man should dispose of his enemies. He never had to use any of those tactics, but he had fantasized about them quite often.

The subjects the big man brought up were heavy, but spoken in an easygoing fashion of a man teaching his son how to hammer in a nail, or make a slingshot. Relaxedly chatting, Archibald and Wolf quickly made their way through the forest.

The snow reached up to their knees. And yet, traveling through this Northshield forest was like a picnic when compared with the primal jungles in which Archibald and Wolf spent more than three years. The big man felt proud to see the proficiency with which his son navigated through difficult terrain. It would be a great boon once the boy starts adventuring.

Since the trek was relatively easy, Archibald allowed Wolf to plan their days. When they walked, the big man lectured on miscellania. When they camped, Archibald taught Wolf different high Order spells. The boy currently had eight columns in his Mind Hall and believed that the ninth one should manifest soon.

In contrast with his powerful soul, Wolf’s Mage Order was relatively low. However, now that they could focus on this subject and speak freely, advancing to the Sixth Order was just a matter of time.

Just like advancing his Order, the rate at which Wolf refined his Mind Hall had also slowed down considerably over the last couple of years. Each column took progressively longer to refine, but that wasn’t the main issue. Archibald had taught Wolf how to pay attention to his surroundings while meditating. The trick could also work while he was sleeping, but whenever he started carving Wolf completely lost touch with reality. The action would draw him into some kind of trance from which he couldn’t easily extricate himself. Because of this Wolf didn’t dare to carve when expecting trouble.

When Wolf mentioned this to his father, the old man was unable to help him. He never tried creating anything in his Mind Hall, let alone redesigning the place. To normal Mages, spending time in their Mind Palace was exhausting work that required a great deal of focus. Not something that happened whenever you took a nap.

The only surefire way for Wolf to wake up was through magic. Due to this an Alarm spell was prepared daily.

After casting his spell for the night, Wolf entered his Mind Hall and started carving the fifth column. This giant pillar was full of human body diagrams. They were different from the sword katas depicted on the third column. Katas focused on form, while these figures focused on essence. Wolf couldn’t quite understand what exactly he was carving. Dots and lines on a manling body… It was probably one of those puzzles you can’t understand until you fit in all the pieces.

Days passed.

Archibald spoke about a wide variety of topics. They ranged from high magic to everyday common sense things.

Wolf was impressed and proud with how many things his father knew. Archibald, on the other hand, was just as amazed with the sharpness of his son’s mind. Wolf asked questions frequently, often leaving Archibald in deep thought. Every other question was something Archibald had never considered before.

Why is casting easier when chanting and waving your hands?

Why would talking gibberish increase your focus?

Why was the world more prone to listen to you if you bend your finger this way instead of that?

All of these were things Archibald took for granted, but they annoyed Wolf to no end. Worse still, each time Archibald gave a half-assed answer, it made him ask questions of his own, filling him with doubt.

Why did magic work the way it did? Why had he never asked these questions? By waving your hands and speaking the words someone said long ago, you evoke the same effect? It really made no sense…

Other than disturbing his father’s preconceptions and practicing magic, Wolf had one other pastime. Ever since they had returned to the Human Empire, he resumed his training with the sword. Wolf’s body had grown powerful. Now he handled that fancy sword of his considerably better. The weapon wasn’t entirely up to Wolf’s taste. The blade was still too long for him, but he could grudgingly wield it.

In part this was thanks to Wolf’s proficiency, in part it was because he had grown some fifteen centimeters and the issue of disproportion had lessened. But mostly it was due to the benefits provided by the elixir of Magma Marrow and the Star Body Body Refining art.

Wolf was currently a bit stronger than a healthy adult. He could battle professional soldiers relying on nothing but the power of his body. If he topped it off with various buffs and offensive spells he had in his arsenal, Wolf was sure he could easily dominate regular people that hadn’t taken one of the paths of refining their power.

As for those that stepped onto the path of becoming a Mage, Sword-Sage or a Body Refiner, Wolf still had no idea how he measured up…

Archibald's lessons:

Nature is fair. The same act that ruins female Soul Refiners damages male Internal Energy Refiners. By using special techniques while copulating, females can draw out a male’s Internal Energy and keep it for themselves.