It has been a week since Thanes was razed to the ground, nothing but ashes and ruins are left behind. The inn, Godric's house, Gillian's house, all of them are gone. The surviving defenders have moved on towards the nearest town, Ceylon. They met up with the non-combatants which have been evacuated earlier a quarter of the way through the journey and shared food and supplies among themselves.

The soldiers, having nothing left to protect, carried on towards the town in order to report to their superiors. The adventurers stay with the group for their hopes and dreams have been crushed to smithereens. After facing the terrors of the Forest for themselves, none of them retained their previous confidence. There shall be no Exploration for them, or for anyone else at the moment.

None of them expected to see corpses of monsters and humans alike littering the fields around Ceylon. bodies riddled with arrows, men with broken armours, flies and maggots thrived upon the scene of carnage. It was evident then, that Thanes was not the only one attacked. For such a large habitat like the Millennium Forest, an army of several thousands were too small. The monsters must have spread themselves out and took various paths, targeting every human settlement in their way.

They arrived in front of the battered stone walls of the town like defeated dogs, seeking refuge. The walls stood at ten feet high, made out of layered bricks, thick enough to deter any minor attacks. Small rectangular slits were present in significant quantities over the wall, serving as arrow chutes. Numerous gaping holes at the foot of the wall have been plastered as a form of makeshift repair. The sounds of construction rung out from behind them, indicating work in progress.

A large set of thick wooden doors, just as tall as the walls, stoically guarded the way to the interior of the town. A pair of guards stood before a small opening at the bottom of the door, purposely made for human entry. Their bodies were draped by iron chainmails and they held sharp-looking pole axes in their hands. They flanked the entrance, ready to swing down their weapons at any sign of hostility.

It took several moments for the Squad Leaders to identify themselves and clarify the situation. The guards invited them inside and told them to wait as they relay the message to Lord Sierra, the ruling noble of Ceylon. The weary defenders had no choice but to stay.

It was a few hours later that they were finally escorted all the way to the lord's castle in the innermost part of the city. They saw dozens of buildings crushed by huge boulders on their way and a large number of people trying to move the giant rocks with Magic.

The citizens eyed them with sympathy as they walked through the streets. Judging by the damages to the town, the locals seem to be kindred souls who have suffered through the same things.

Inside the lord's castle, they were served with multitudes of food as the lord spoke to them. First of all, he offered his deepest apologies to the refugees. Apparently he could not spare any of his soldiers to aid Thanes or the other villages which had also sent similar requests because his beloved town was also under attack.

It was only a couple of days ago that the evacuees from Thanes and various other places arrived in Ceylon, whom he kindly provided lodgings to within his castle. As spacious as his castle was, he could not house every single refugee. Hence, over half of them were placed in the soldiers' living quarters.

According to him, the town was assaulted by an army of thousands of monsters. The horde occupied a large area which was located several miles away from Ceylon, blatantly displaying its full force. Alarmed at the report, Lord Sierra immediately barred off the gates and imposed a state of temporary lockdown on the city.

He could not send his personal army of one thousand to vanquish the monsters, so he chose to have them guard the town from within its fortified walls while enlisting the help of the gathered adventurers as hired forces.

He had already sent a messenger to the capital, so help was bound to come sooner or later. The horde did not make any moves for three whole days as if they were waiting for something.

Not daring to unnecessarily agitate the monsters at first, he ordered the mages to restrain themselves from firing spells at the horde. On the fourth day, Lord Sierra regretted his decision on not striking first.

The army of monsters received thousands of reinforcements from higher up in the west, bolstering their already mighty forces. They even came with siege weapons resembling giant trebutchets. The lord decided to wait no longer, so he ordered the spellcasters to open their attacks.

The composition of the attacking army was identical to the one which besieged Thanes. However, compared to the latter, this army attacked full force in reckless abandon. They mindlessly charged at the city walls, unafraid of their own deaths.

The stones flung by the trebutchet managed to break parts of the wall and buildings within the city, which are now being repaired. Under heavy fire by the combined forces of his army and the adventurers, the horde was fully eradicated with major casualties to the defending forces by the end of the second day of the siege.

The Squad Leaders which defended Thanes delivered a full blown report to Lord Sierra, informing him of what had happened in the village. The report combined with those he received from the capital earlier that day clarified several things which Lord Sierra had not been able to confirm previously. Lord Sierra revealed his speculations to the defenders and told them to brave themselves for the upcoming storm.

The monsters had split up into several armies and were destroying every human settlement on their way.

Their target is the capital itself.

The monsters were being controlled.

The birth of a new Demon King

The information he received told him that similar patterns had cropped up all over the kingdom. Though the composition of the armies vary with the geographical locations, their strategy was the same. The monsters split up into smaller divisions to raze villages to the ground, and regrouped into larger armies when attacking bigger towns.

These armies were heading towards the center of the continent, right where the capital is located. These supported his first and second points. In short, it was a coordinated multidirectional pincer attack on the capital.

It was a simple but effective strategy which provided many advantages. The armies would be able to gain experience in sieges as they practice on the smaller villages and cities. Reinforcements from outside the capital would be cut off as the monsters destroy everything in their path, leaving the capital to stand alone.

If they had succeeded, the kingdom of Armitage would be no more. Monsters, are not known for their high intelligence. This coupled with the involvement of the cowardly goblins in their attacks supported his third point.

However, the timing for the attack was a bit off and led to their failure. The monsters had decided to attack during a time which was quite disadvantageous to them. This is because legions of adventurers all across the continent were on their way to gather at the capital and were concentrated in the big cities. Hence, the defensive power of the towns and cities were doubled or even tripled.

None of the larger cities or towns have fallen to enemy forces although a few were reduced into terrible conditions. In a way, The Great Exploration was a hidden blessing which protected the kingdom.

The only known living being which has the power to rule over monsters is the Demon King. The Lord of Shadows, the Champion of Evil, the Monster Overlord. Those are the various names given to the one who was born destined to champion the forces of evil. It had been over fifty years since the defeat of the 107th Demon King, the most fearsome one in history.

The cycles of battles between the Heroes and Demon Kings would repeat every 20-30 years. However, it had been far too long since the previous cycle. The denizens of Armus believed the forces of Good had finally won because there were no new Hero or Demon King.

Recent events had proven them to be wrong, it is without doubt that a new Demon King had been born. Since the Demon King had no knowledge of The Exploration being held this year, it must have been born in a very secluded place. The event is so famous that even adventurers from other continents come to join on occasions.

After informing the defenders of the grave news, the lord ordered his men to prepare tents for the refugees and open up some areas in the slums for them to stay in. He did not wish to be a poor host, but there was no choice as even some of his own citizens are homeless now.

Most of the adventurers and merchants declined his offer. They are well-versed in finding places to stay at, even if the inns were full there must be a local somewhere who is willing to rent a few rooms for the right price.

Some of them have no intention to stay in the city, they have to check up on their families that they left behind. Most of the adventurers came from the countryside which were the first places to be attacked. The chances of their family surviving were slim but they have to hold on to their thin sliver of hopes.

The lord understood their concerns and wished them luck as they turned their backs and left the castle. The original villagers of Thanes were glad to accept the Lord's hospitality. A tent and a place to live is better than nothing after all. Of course, among those who accepted were Chase, Aaron, Gillian and Alice.

The kingdom had already sent word of this to the neighbouring continents. All they can do now is prepare for an inevitable battle and to wait for the Hero to step forward.

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A group of five is sitting about a round wooden table positioned right next to a wall. Two elderly men, one middle-aged man, a boy and a girl are having their orders taken by the waiter. The rowdy atmosphere induced by the customers permeates the whole room.

"What? What do you mean you don't have any tea?" A white haired old man spoke up to the waiter, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Sorry pops, but ordering tea is a bit...weird, in this establishment" The waiter replies while giving an awkward smile. He had been working in this tavern for years and no one had ever ordered any non-alcoholic beverages. Not to mention bringing kids over, the tavern is known to be one of the roughest one around even by the standards of Ceylon's slums.

"...Fine, bring me some plain water then" Gillian mumbles weakly with his white eyebrows knitted together in dismay. If only his house is still there, he could have brewed his favourite red tea.

'Ah... those teapots and cups were a part of a pretty expensive set too...' He hangs his head low in sadness, most of his fortune had been blown up by the explosion. The only thing that survived was his bag of gold, but that does not even come close to a tenth of his previous wealth.

"Give me and the kids some water as well" A muscular black haired man in his late thirties chides in. Aaron Blackstone is not the type to drink booze. As a soldier and a combatant, he had been trained to be alert at all times. Although he abstains from drinking, he does not prohibit anyone else from doing so except for his underage child and subordinates.

"Okay, and what about you?" The waiter turns his head towards the other elderly person.

"Ah... just give me some water! I don't bloody have the money to pay for anything else" The geezer groaned unhappily while waving the waiter away with his only hand. Unlike the other defenders, he was dragged along by the quartet before him, all because he found out about a secret that he should not have.

'Just my bloody luck..' With an obvious frown on his face, he glares at Aaron, the man who forcefully took him along without his consent.

The waiter walked away to get their orders with a puzzled expression. He had seen many customers, but this has got to be the oddest group yet. Who has ever heard of customers who only ordered water?

"So, what was it yer wanted from me? If we're going to bloody discuss something confidential why choose a tavern?" More creases appears on Stump Geezer's forehead, adding more lines to his already wrinkled skin.

"In noisy places like this, no one would pay attention to what we say" Aaron replies nonchalantly. As if to empower his statement, a brawl broke out between two groups of men a couple of tables away. Curses and punches are thrown around. The other customers stand up and cheers them on, eager to see bloodshed.

'Maybe too noisy..' Aaron regrets as even his thoughts are being drowned out by the noise. Yet again, this is the most suitable place in the slums. The streets and the place their tents are pitched at are too crowded with the homeless.

"What do you know about Chase's eyes?" Aaron fixes his eyes on the geezer's posture, having the entire top half of the old man's body within his view. The rest of him was hidden under the table. The old coot will not be able to utter a lie and get away with it, not with Aaron watching him.

"It's.. Ahhh! Hurry up with the bloody water will yer?" He holds back his answer for a moment, seeing the waiter has returned. He understands how dire it would be should this information leaks out.

"Pops, if you keep on being rude, I'll squeeze some bloody water out of you, got it?" The waiter bangs the glass of water on the table, right in front of Stump Geezer's hand. He does not feel like taking offense from some old man who looks like a beggar.

"....."

"Shitty brat.." Stump geezer mutters softly under his breath as he glowers at the waiter who had already walked to another table at the opposite side of the tavern. He turns his eyes back towards Aaron and continues with his answer, knowing that he cannot lie.

"It's Mana Manipulation isn't it?" His response elicited a sharp intake of breath from everyone except Aaron, although Aaron's eyes did widen slightly. It's not a wonder for them to be so shocked, he is just as surprised when he first saw the boy's eyes turning silver.

"How do you know that? There are other abilities where the eyes change colour when used" Aaron tries to coax out the geezer's secret. Mana Manipulation is an ability that only runs in the Blackstone family. Although it had been recorded in various books, few knows of the exact characteristics exhibited by the user or the fact that it is genetically inherited. For the old man to recognize the features, he must not be an ordinary person.

"I've heard about it from somewhere" The geezer kept his eye contact with Aaron, but his hand nervously moved towards his own body as if to guard himself.

"Where?" Aaron narrows his eyes, staring hard at the old man. From his observations, the old man did not lie but there was more to it than what meets the eyes. Gillian, Alice and Chase could only look at the two as they converse with each other. This is not their field of expertise, hence it is better to keep quiet and not be a bother.

"A reliable source of information which I can't tell yer" Stump Geezer gazes back into Aaron's piercing violet eyes, trying hard not to lose or show his nervousness. Cold sweat had already begun to roll down his back.

"Tell it, or else" Aaron squeezes the words out through gritted teeth. This is a very grave matter, the old man's confidentiality can go to hell for all he cares.

"Or else what? Yer gonna bloody kill me? I'm old, do you think I'll be afraid to die?" Aaron is taken aback by the geezer's answer, he was not really thinking about anything along the lines of murder. It was just a figure of speech to enforce his threat.

"Yer can't kill me even if yer wanted to. Yer just not the type of man to be doing that sort of thing" Stump Geezer had taken the upper hand for the conversation. He knows Aaron would not be able to harm him, judging by how Aaron risked his life to save the trapped defenders during the siege. Even more, he had contributed a lot towards the defense, so the quartet owes him some gratitude.

"Mister, can you just answer my dad? This is really important. We are not going to go anywhere unless you confirm a few things for us" Chase barges into the conversation after realising his father was losing.

"I..." It is hard for him to refuse Chase's request. The boy had saved his life, it would be rude of him not to comply.

"Sigh... I still cannot reveal my sources, but at least I can tell yer who I am" He starts to rummage around in his pockets, fumbling a few times as he does so. Having only one hand makes everything difficult. After a few moments of difficulties which drew awkward looks from the others, he successfully procures a familiar white hexagonal metal plate, the portable Glyph of Evaluation.

"I'm going to do this once and quick" Stump Geezer starts to channel a trickle of mana towards the Glyph, causing it to glow faintly with an azure coloured light. The light starts to thin itself and wraps around his body like a measuring tape.

*THUD*

A steel dagger embeds itself on the wall, vibrating violently while giving off a brittle strum. The dagger missed Stump Geezer's face by a few inches, causing the light to disperse due to him losing concentration. All five of them turn towards the direction from whence it came from.

The brawl had already escalated to a full blown fight with weapons. One of the men involved is holding his hand in pain, a trickle of blood flowing from his palm. Another man holds a sword at his throat, signifying his victory. The dagger must have been knocked out from the defeated man's hand and coincidentally flew towards the table they were sitting at.

"HEY!!" Aaron rises up from his seat, face red and fists clenched in anger. He stomps towards the men who are involved in the fight and starts to send lightning fast uppercuts. The men were sent flying from one side of the room towards the door. Some of them were lucky enough to be thrown accurately out the establishment but a few did not share their luck. Their bodies made contact with the wall and they slid to the floor like sacks of potatoes, landing with loud thuds. They start to crawl out in fear, scurrying away like handicapped cockroaches.

Chase was not looking at the spectacle, he kept his eyes on Stump Geezer for the whole duration of Aaron's rampage. The geezer too, was not paying attention to what was happening. He fell into a state of deep concentration after the shock of almost being stabbed in the head, staring intently at his hand as he contemplated about something. Beads of sweat dripped off the geezer's nose and fell on the table.

"Right, please continue" Aaron says as he retires back to his seat and crossed his legs. Now that the fools were gone, they can have the conversation in peace.

'Tch.. if that dagger had stabbed anyone, I would've murdered them right then and there' Aaron is still fuming over the incident. What would have happened if Chase or Alice was hurt?

"I.. I don't think I should be revealing my information after all" The one-armed old man stuffs back the Glyph in his hand back into his pocket. He stares down at the table while doing so, not making any eye contact with anyone.

"WHA-" Aaron begins to exclaim his frustration, the geezer is starting to really piss him off. Among the things that he hates, indecisiveness is very high up in the list.

"Yer don't really need to know who I am, what yer wanted was for me to shut up about it, right?" Stump Geezer hits the nail right on the spot. The only issue that matters is that word about Chase having the ability does not get out. The source of information regarding the ability is secondary.

"I can't give yer lot anything but my words for it" He raises his head up and slowly pans his head around the table, scanning the faces of the quartet one-by-one. He has to show his sincerity or he would be stuck with them for the rest of his life.

"My name is Marcus Noir, yer can call me Mark. I solemnly swear that I won't be going around telling on the boy's ability to no one" Mark gazes stonily at the four. No matter what happens, he would stick to his words. He had never broken a promise in his sixty-four years of life.

"..... "

Aaron spotted something curious. The old man did not lie about his name, so why did he not show it on the Glyph? Perhaps he does not want reveal his title, but titles can be hidden on the portable version of the Glyph of Evaluation, unlike the ones available in the Adventurer's Guild.

"This is not something I can decide alone, what do the three of you think about this?" He asks as he turns around to face the other three members of the party.

"I believe him" Alice says with a warm smile at Marcus. She is quite fond of the old man for saving Chase from the explosion in Thanes.

"I believe he can be trusted as well" Gillian strokes his beard thoughtfully as he said so. His black eyes carefully observing Mark.

"I trust him" Chase responded simply. He might be naive, but he is confident that the old man would keep his words.

"Okay, that's settled then" Aaron declares a bit reluctantly. He knew Marcus did not lie, but it bugs him that the old man is hiding something from them. However, since Chase has already agreed to it, he will have to accept it.

"So... am I free to go?" Marcus asks hopefully, his eyes brightening up at the prospect of leaving this accursed dump of a tavern.

"...Yes" Aaron nods slowly. They have no need to hold Mark captive anymore.

"Alright then, maybe we'll meet up some other time, eh?" Marcus slowly raises his tired old body off the chair and straightened his stiff back.

"So Chase, we would have to rethink about your Academy bills for next year.." Aaron glances at Chase. He is currently jobless at the moment and the amount of money they have are still not enough. Borrowing from Gillian would be a last resort.

"Huh? Academy? Yer sending the boy to the Academy?" Marcus who had already begun to walk away sharply turned around to rejoin the conversation.

"Why do yer need to pay? Just send the boy through the scholarship program.. he should be good enough to pass"

"Scholarship... program?" This is a new piece of information for Aaron. As far as he knows, the Academy had no such thing.

"Yer haven't heard? They introduced it along with Combat and Magic classes a couple of years ago" Marcus inches back to his chair and sits down.

"They have Combat and Magic classes?" It was Chase's turn to be surprised. From what he knew of the Academy, they only taught standard academic things such as history, science and arts. If they had Combat and Magic classes, Chase would definitely join them.

"Yeah, a couple of years ago they started introducing them. Some of the nobles wanted their kids to be good in fights. So, the Academy had hired some Zenithian Knights and Royal Wizards to teach with the King's permission. They're kinda like extra classes besides the normal ones which can be added on for extra charges" Marcus starts to explain. This is already widely known but apparently word of it have not reached the countryside.

"And about the scholarship program?" Aaron asks again, this had really piqued his interest. Things would be easier if they do not need to pay.

"Opened up at the same time as part of the King's condition for allowing his Zenithian Knights and Royal Wizards to teach at the Academy. The Academy is to hold a test once a year to select worthy kids who deserve to be sponsored for their education. These kids would be taught in all three classes for free, but they would have to join the Army for some time by the end of their school years."

"I heard the test is extremely hard, but yer boy shouldn't have too much of a problem with it" Marcus says as he briefly glances at Chase. The boy is probably good enough to be teaching the teachers Magic.

".........." Aaron stares at Marcus with a wide open mouth. The old man did not speak a single lie.

"When is the test?" Chase puts forth his question excitedly. He wants to prepare himself for it and make sure he passes. Being overconfident is not part of his traits. The fact that he would have to do some military service does not discourage him in any way since his father used to be a soldier himself.

"Should be exactly one week from now"

"That's it! Forget about waiting till next year, just go now!" Aaron jumps off his seat and grabs Chase. He rattles Chase back and forth, unable to control his happiness.

"Y-y-y-y-y-e-e-e-a-a-h" Chase's response is distorted by the violent vibration his body is going through.

"I'm going over to Emond at first light tomorrow, I can bring yer boy along if yer want"

"....Promise me you won't do anything that would harm Chase in any way" Aaron narrows his eyes at Marcus. He still has some negative feelings about the old man.

"I promise I won't harm yer boy" Marcus replies after letting out a tired sigh. Just when is this man going to stop suspecting him?

"Alright, meet me at the East Gate tomorrow. I'll leave yer if yer late" Marcus mouths off as he rises from his seat and leaves the tavern for good.

"Well, that's great news for you two!" Gillian exclaims happily. He had a feeling that Aaron would be asking to borrow some money from him before they knew about the scholarship program.

"You're going to the Academy, Chase! Good luck!" Alice flashes a wide grin at Chase, happy for him.

Chase's happiness shattered into pieces like dropped glass. He would have to leave Alice behind, and a year earlier than expected.

'She's not even sad that I'm going to move away...' Chase thought sulkily, his smile slowly turning into a frown. It went unnoticed though, as the grandfather and granddaughter pair was assaulted by Aaron in a bear hug.

Aaron decided to spend some money and booked four rooms in a high-class inn near the East Gate, just for the occasion. They spent the night in luxury on soft, comfortable beds, something which they had almost forgotten about.

Chase did not sleep soundly though, he barely slept at all. It was not because of the excitement or joy of having a chance to enter the Academy for free. It was due to the heavy feeling in his heart which was eating him away.

'Do I really want this?'

'Why am I even going to the Academy?'

'For what reason am I learning how to fight? For an adventure?'

'Should I really leave behind all these wonderful people?'

'Would Alice still remember me?'

For an eleven year old boy, he had a lot of worries weighing on his pre-adolescent mind. They were legit questions too, just what is he trying to do with his life?

Eventually he fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning without finding any definite answers to his questions.

"RISE AND SHINE!!!"

Chase's eardrums is pierced by a familiar booming voice, one which belongs to his father. Loud yelps of surprise and pain resound throughout the inn, most likely coming from customers who were surprised and fell of the bed.

The sun has yet to rise, but Aaron's biological clock indicates that it would be dawn soon. Hence, he yelled from outside the locked doors of Chase's room. Comfort has little meaning to him.

Feeling slightly drowsy, Chase slowly got off his bed and creeps towards the door. Swinging the door open, his father's bright smiling face is revealed.

"We're going to be leaving soon, get ready!" Having said what he needed, Aaron left and went back to his own room.

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The four of them and the other customers had a very early breakfast that day. Thanks to Aaron, some of them woke up and could not get back to sleep. Unable to bear their hunger, they descend the stairs in search of food. The cook swore under his breath as he worked in the kitchen, cursing whoever it was that woke everybody up.

Having finished their meals, the quartet checks out of the inn and headed towards the East Gate with some food packed in a knapsack for Chase. The short journey was quiet without any conversation between them. Something about mornings just seem to dampen people's spirits. Even the usually spirited Alice looked downcast and tired.

The East Gate soon comes into view. Its giant wooden doors are identical to the West Gate which they had entered through. Marcus is already there, his horse right beside him snuffling heavily over his shoulder. It is a surprising sight to see a man besides Aaron being an early riser.

"Done?" Marcus asks Chase.

"Hold on for a while"

Chase walks a few paces forward and turns around to face his father, his magic tutor, and his only friend or love interest which he is still very confused about. Straightening his posture, he looks at the faces of every single one of them while burning their images into his memory.

Having done that, he bows at ninety degrees, face staring at the cobblestone paved path.

"Thank you, for everything" His voice quivers slightly.

A hand touches his shoulder, it was warm and very familiar. Chase could not feel it over his shirt, but the hand was rough and callused from all the hard work he had done in his lifetime. The man touching him had never known the meaning of taking things easy, he had always gave his best in raising Chase up. The tenderness of the touch provided Chase with an unexplainable comfort.

Another hand touches the top of Chase's head and ruffled his hair. It was not as rough as his father's but it was just as warm. Chase could picture the snowy white hair and beard of its devious but gentle owner standing in front of him. Gone are the days where he would sit on a sofa in front of a warm fireplace while sipping tea together.

No words were uttered by any of them, but Chase's heart starts to tremble. His eyes begins to water and small teardrops threatened to roll down his face.

"Stand straight" A soft, girlish voice which reminds Chase of a bubbly and spirited girl enters his ears. No girl could have ever endured Aaron's training regimen and keep up with him throughout the whole thing, except for the owner of the voice.

Chase slowly raises his head and faces Alice, his eyes bright with unshed tears. He had expected a smiling Alice to greet him but the face in front of him was not much different from his own. Alice's face is contorted in a frown, beads of water slid out of her eyes and rolled down her reddened face.

Unable to hold herself back, she pulls Chase into a tight hug while placing her head over Chase's left shoulder.

"I'm going *hic* to miss *hic* you.. come back safe okay?" Her words were squeaked out with difficulty accompanied by uncontrollable sniffling.

"Okay.."

Chase felt a huge sense of relief, just what was he worrying about? Alice would always remain his friend no matter where he is. Five years, ten years, nothing would take away their time spent together.

After finally managing to control her emotions, Alice let go of Chase. Her face is still red and her eyes are still glossy, but she flashes her usual cheerful smile, looking as pretty as ever with the sunlight shining on her brown hair.

"The sun has risen, it's time to go" Marcus insensitively interrupts the scene as if he could not read the atmosphere.

Gillian and Aaron stand on the left and right side of Alice respectively and places a hand on her shoulders. All of them stares at Chase with bright cheerful faces, hinting of the delightful reunion to come rather than the current tearful farewell.

"Go, and good luck" The three of them say in unison, their hearts united for a single moment.

Chase wipes the tears off his face with his right arm and nods seriously with his eyebrows knitted together. He turns around showing his knapsack and rushes towards Marcus who was already talking to the gate guards.

"I hope he doesn't meet his grandmother in the capital.." Aaron mutters quietly, his feet shaking nervously.

"Chase has a grandmother?" Alice asks, she is interested to know what sort of person Chase's grandmother is.

"Which one? Your mother or Iris's?" Gillian interjects with a question of his own.

"You know that the Blackstone family lives in Hwalren except for me and Chase..." Aaron says bitterly, a hint of sadness appears on his face for a fleeting moment.

"Ah... then.. oh dear, I hope he doesn't meet Corvette too" Gillian's peach coloured skin begins to pale slightly as he too, shakes in fear.

"What sort of person is Corvette?" Alice had never heard anything about Chase's other family members besides Aaron. It was just never spoken of.

"You don't want to know" Aaron and Gillian blurted out together, both cowering in their shoes. To scare even the brave and strong Aaron and the calm and composed Gillian, Corvette Grim must be a very fearsome old woman.

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"Finally, I was thinking that yer changed your mind about leaving" Marcus gave a sidelong glance to Chase, a playful smirk playing on his wrinkled visage.

"Get on the horse - hup!-" Extending his hand to Chase, he pulled him up and seated Chase behind his back.

"Yer know the drill, hold on tight because I ride fast, Hiyah!" With that said, Marcus snaps the reins on his horse, causing it to go straight into a gallop through the opening in the gate. They sped through the wide,open grasslands which are a prominent characteristic of Armitage. The East Gate shrunk in no time as they travel farther and farther away from Ceylon.

"Hey, Mister Mark? Why didn't you show us your information back then?" Chase asks while holding onto Marcus's waists, his black hair merrily tossed by the cool morning winds, revealing his silver eyes.

They had discussed about what to do regarding Chase's eye colour the evening before. In the end, they picked Gillian's idea as the solution. Gillian had suggested Chase to never stop channeling mana while he is awake, in order to constantly keep his eyes silver. This way, no one would notice anything should Chase use Magic because they do not know of his original eye colour.

Just channeling mana without using it for spells would not drain him of it. The mental stress on doing so might be a bit hard on him, but Chase could stop and rest while he sleeps so it should be okay. Chase was advised about keeping a low profile, to avoid attracting any unwanted attention.

Marcus gradually slows down the horse and brings it to a stop. Without saying anything, he rummages the inside of his pockets and extracted a square blue metal plate.

"Here, channel some mana into this. Don't worry it won't bite" He says as he twists his body around and hands the object to Chase.

Chase is bewildered by the sudden request, but he trusts the geezer and did as requested. Reaching out for the warm spot right beside his heart, he gently draws out his mana and let a steady trickle flow into the blue metal plate. A soft pulsating green light begins to envelop the plate and disappears after a few seconds.

"Good, now hand it over" Chase complies and places the object back into Marcus's palm. Judging by the reaction given by the plate, it is some sort of Glyph. One which Chase does not know about.

"What was th-" Before Chase could finish structuring his question, the Glyph begins to glow again in Marcus's hand. This time it gives off a bright yellow light. The light forms a complete ring around Chase and breaks off into uncountable tiny fragments, only to reform into something invisible to Chase.

Marcus is moving his fingers about in the air, as if interacting with something. Most likely, whatever information that is being displayed is only available to him.

"And....done" The Glyph dims and return to its original state as Marcus said so.

Marcus places the Glyph back into his own pocket and withdraws the Glyph of Evaluation to replace it. The white hexagonal metal plate begins to glow with its trademark azure light and encircles Marcus, it then shattered into tiny shards and coalesced into letters in front of Chase's very eyes.

NAMEMarcus NoirTITLEThanes Branch, Adventurer's Guild Chief

"...Understand now?" The letters fade away as Marcus cuts his supply of mana to the Glyph.

"Why show it to me now? Does it have something to do with the blue Glyph?"

"Yes, The blue Glyph is called the Glyph of Resolution. It is exclusively used for staff registration by the Adventurer's Guild. A moment ago, I made yer into one of the agents of my branch"

"What? Why?" Chase is getting more confused with each sentence spoken by Marcus.

"It's the Guild's rules, never reveal yer identity to non-members unless in dire need. Last time the situation wasn't dire enough, that's why I got the warning" Marcus scratches his head as he explains further.

"So you made me a member in order to make it legal for you to reveal your information.... wait, what warning?" He did not recall anyone approaching Marcus while Aaron was interrogating him, unless...

"You mean the dagger?" His eyes open wide in disbelief, such a thing could not be possible.

"Yes, sharp one aren't yer? Two of the men there were agents, don't worry they didn't listen to us. They did, however, see me pulling out my Glyph of Evaluation and stopped me just in time to remind me of the ironclad rules of the Guild" A slight smile appears on Marcus's face as he was impressed by Chase's deduction.

"How could that be? They were there even before we arrived!"

"The agents of the guild are everywhere, boy. If Thanes is still standing, I could tell yer what King Melzar III is having for breakfast today" Marcus gave Chase a wink, an expression which does not suit his old, baggy face.

Chase could say nothing in reply, he is amazed by Marcus's revelation.

"Let's talk while we move" The old geezer stuffs back the Glyph back into his pocket and takes hold of the reins. They soon begin to move at a galloping pace again.

"Wait, now that I'm an agent... do I have to do anything like espionage?" Chase asks worriedly, a spy is not a very favourable line of work.

"No, I just registered yer so yer have the clearance to know who I am. Yer don't really have to do anything, though be careful not to leak my information to anyone" Chase heaves a sigh of relief once he heard that.

"My turn to be asking questions.. what are yer planning to do at the Academy? Getting stronger?" Marcus is quite curious about Chase's answer. The boy shows an overflowing amount of talent

"Yeah" Chase replies simply.

"Why? Yer want to be strong enough to protect the little missy back there? Heh heh!" Marcus chuckles lightly as he teases the boy, prompting Chase to blush furiously.

"T-that's part of the reason but.... mostly, I just don't want the same thing like what happened in Thanes to happen again. Back then, If only I had more power.. I could have saved Thanes without blowing it up, I- I" The mood got heavier with each word spoken by Chase.

"Woah, woah, stop right there, boy. If yer weren't there, none of us would still be alive!"

"But that's a good reason to get stronger, keep that in mind. Power drives people down the wrong path most of the time" Marcus would not even think of blaming the boy for the destruction of Thanes. If the wave of monsters were not stopped back there and regrouped with the others, even Ceylon might have fallen.

"So, boy.. now that yer know who I am... don't yer want to ask me questions about the world? After all, I'm a walking encyclopedia of information" A grin spreads from ear to ear across Marcus's face, not visible to Chase who is sitting behind him. This is the only way he knows to cheer the boy up, little kids are always too curious for their own good.

"Well... I've always wanted to know about..." Having the opportunity opened up before him, Chase unhesitatingly took the chance to ask a bunch of questions. They were going to be together for a week to come, so why not find out everything he can in the meantime.

And so they rode East, always to the East.

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And that marks the end of the First Arc: The Unfinished Cycle

(They rode east, heading towards the center of the continent in case you are confused)

The planning of the Second Arc is still a bit rough and I don't want to repeat the same mistakes as I did when first writing this story.. Heck, I was creating the world from scratch while I wrote the prologue. Didn't even think about what I wanted to do with the story until I reached Chapter 4. So.... might be quite some time until another chapter comes out since I'm thinking of writing them in bulk before releasing.

This story is not as straightforward as it seems

So I managed to make it this far, this is pretty much the longest piece of work I have ever written, and it's not even complete yet! :kyaaaa:

I didn't even think it would be this long when I first started writing the story. At first I was just thinking of giving it a try, to experience for myself what it means to be a writer.. and so far I quite enjoy it even though I am still inexperienced.

If you have read up to this chapter, you've read through 100+ possibly 200+ pages of my ramblings. Thank you for accompanying me through this 13 (perhaps more if you count the chapter splits) chapters and giving me support :boworpushups: (or constructive hate

If you have the time, (not forcing anyone, mind) do rate/review or rate and review this fiction of mine. Give an honest one!

If you are going to rate lower than 3, please tell me why. Even a simple 'I hate this story' 'This story is st00pid' 'I hate XX character' 'Author is cr4p' would be sufficient, at least you don't keep me wondering about which part I need to fix. But jokes aside, please tell me which part of the story that you find lacking if you did so!

If you find the character limit to be too much of a hassle, here are some generic sentences you can put at the end of your review:

1. I shall wait for more chapters

2. There is still plenty of room for improvement, young padawan

3. The author has my family and is holding them at gunpoint

We will meet again! :bye:

Unwanted DestructionArmusSecond Arc

For The Curious Mind