His breath held in anticipation. He had just told Marcus everything, absolutely everything.

From Viran’s perspective, if he was going to tell someone everything about his background it would be Marcus. Somewhere within Viran could tell he wouldn’t be able to tell this much to Jules, Rufus, or Junia- yet Marcus seemed to be the exemption. Maybe it was due to Marcus saving his life? How Marcus talked and walked? Or maybe Viran just felt that somehow Marcus was the strongest within the camp?

Viran didn’t know why, and it didn’t matter. His story was told, and Marcus was there to listen.

The final words of Viran were spoken with a strength very unlike Viran, a sort of passion that unconsciously made Marcus mull over his words with a keener attention. He only stood there in front of Viran, his visage contorted in a thoughtful pose. Viran could tell that he was thinking hard about everything he was just told.

“...So you’re the son of Robert Idicium? Your brother Gregory is trying to kill you?” Marcus asked with interest. His hand was slightly rubbing his chin before it fell once more towards the pommel hanging at his hip.

Viran glanced once towards the instinctive action of Marcus and nodded slightly towards him. Viran’s eyes were bright and showed no more anxiety. Unexpectedly, after Viran told everything to Marcus it seemed as though a weight had fallen off of his back and the young lad felt refreshed.

“I’m not ready to die just yet. So please. Help me. Teach me anything that could save me!” Virans’s voice shook not once, yet it still encompassed the fierce desperation he felt.

“I can’t save you kid. Only you can.” Marcus said sharply without a shift in his expression.

Viran stared at the man in front of him. The pitch black hair tied loosely back into a ponytail swung lightly as Marcus began to nod his head lightly in thought. The icy pupils retracted just a small bit as his gaze met Viran’s.

“You won’t be able to learn much, and especially nothing as big as one of my own spells. But Rufus may have something for you, Vir- Kid.” Marcus said as he hastily corrected his own speech. “Let’s go.”

“Nn!” Viran grunted happily as they walked out of the tent.

Viran peered at the features of Marcus and realized that, still, nothing had changed with his expression. Not a single muscle moved, yet that was his natural state. There of course were times where his eerie iciness would break, yet that never happened as often as Viran would like. Whenever the ice that plastered over Marcus’ expressions broke everyone around would treat it as a remarkable event, and Viran always found that entertaining.

It only took a short amount of time to find Rufus pouring his attention over a book as he kept watch over the camp until dawn. His eyes turned slightly as he saw his friend come by with the young boy in tow. Usually in the camp there would be at most one or two people awake at this time, but needless to say Junia and Marcus found hunting to be easier in the middle of the night. It was only Viran that wanted to get more experience with fighting in the forest and in the dark, Marcus allowed him to go quite easily as well. Whether it was out of laziness or a feeling of apathy towards the situation that Marcus let Viran go in his place, however, was unknown.

“What are you two doing awake?”

“We’re abandoning the kid in a few days. We should prepare him so he doesn’t die out there so easily.” Marcus answered as he sat down opposite to Rufus. Viran quickly followed behind him.

“Hmm, well I suppose it’s natural. After all, if we got caught here…” Rufus quickly ended what he was about to say upon looking at Viran. “It wouldn’t bode well.”

“Jules’ thoughts exactly, though it’s not like I told him that BEFORE we killed all of those Knights.” Marcus muttered the last part under his breath with deep rooted exasperation.

“But three days though… It’d be hard to teach him anything useful.” Rufus went in deep thought while scratching the grizzly hair that was attached to his forearm.

Viran merely sat there at the table and listened lightly to the two adults' conversation. Often Rufus would laugh in a heavy handed manner yet Marcus wouldn’t even smile a little bit. The time went on and the first glimpses of a new day could be seen cascading the landscape behind Rufus’ back. Viran could only wait and listen, and finally learn of their final verdict. It wouldn’t take too long, would it?

...At least that’s what he thought.

“Wait, Marcus, no offense to the Kid but we don’t know if he’d even be able to learn the basics of that within three days?” Rufus had fire spitting out of his eyes at this point. Their discussion had taken a lot longer than Viran originally expected, and in the wrong direction.

“He will. I know he will.” Marcus said cooly. His eyes spit out fire in return.

Viran had, in all honesty, lost track of what they were talking about. They had talked a lot and Viran was still tired from almost being killed, he felt his eyes drooping more as every second passed. Suddenly without him noticing the two of them had already started arguing over some spell.

“I don’t see how you would know Marcus. I understand he was able to kill a Panther on his own but that doesn’t matter! He used a spell he got from some Noble Household and it’s likely not even suited for him either!” Rufus apologetically looked towards Viran’s direction. “Sorry Kid, but you’ve only learned one spell and your Day of Awakening is going to happen in a single year! You just don’t have the spunk nor the talent to learn the foundations of any spell within a few days. It’s better if we just taught him how to take care of his gear! Or some survival techniques, anything else!”

“Wait? What’s so special about the Day of Awakening?” Those words specifically had piqued his interest, after all it was a Holiday celebrated all over the Empire. Gregory’s birthday was also near to it as well…

“The Kid doesn’t even know what that is!” Rufus growled towards Marcus. “He’s not gonna be able to learn it. You’re just wrong Marcus, that’s all. Nothing to be ashamed to admit.”

At this point Rufus smiled slightly towards Marcus, in his mind he had already won and was already thinking about what else to teach Viran.

Marcus’ face broke at this point, crushing the confidence that Rufus had built up. He had known Marcus for many years, and that was long enough to know that Marcus wasn’t only icy towards his surroundings. He was also incessantly arrogant, and when his eyes saw the smirk that grew on the icy landscape Rufus began to doubt himself.

Telling the swordsman that he was wrong when he was indeed correct, was just asking for humiliation.

“Oh? Right I understand now, you mean the spell that was able to let V- the Kid keep up with Junia in the forest? Granted she of course was slowed down, but he also killed the Panther manabeast after that!” Marcus began his lengthy speech just as the sun began to dawn over the camp.

“Haven’t you also realized the terribly low mana that Viran possessed? It’s obvious he only learned how to cultivate his own mana only months ago and before that left it only to grow naturally! He is the son of a Noble and also a magic user? They wouldn’t let such a mistake happen, not to mention not to even give him any elixirs to grow his mana as well! It’s obvious he had only begun to cultivate his mana only a few months ago, and the spell he has? Hehehe.”

At this point and time Marcus had grown a terrible grin on his own face as he giggled to himself. The impression and air he gave off from the disgusting grin he had though, was not good in the slightest. If anything it made him seem like a greedy merchant that had just taken advantage of a child’s naivety and swindled him of all of his money and pride.

“That spell was made by the kid personally! Within only a few weeks as well!”

Rufus only signed in resignation. He knew this would happen anyways, it seems as though Marcus just somehow sees things that he can’t. Things he is unable to perceive, not to mention Rufus saw Marcus as an intolerable asshole.

“Hah… Alright I understand, you’re right.” Rufus said with a smile. Even despite moments like these, Rufus still felt that Marcus was an irreplaceable friend to him. A friend that could last a lifetime, even. Or until one of them dies.

“Alright, kid. We’ll help you out.” Rufus spoke with a sincere and vibrant smile as he ruffled Viran’s umbar hair.

“Wait huh? What’s happening again?” Viran was quickly jostled out of near sleep as he stared at Rufus and Marcus both with smiles plastered onto their faces.

“He’s gonna teach you a spell. I, on the other hand, am going to go to sleep now.” Marcus yawned loudly as he blocked the sun with one hand.

“Tsk. You come all the way over here and waste so much of my time to not help me with the kid? You’d be a perfect dummy for him to test on.”

“Yeah… Yeah… Later.”

Marcus waved his hand behind him and quickly left their sights as he easily slipped into a tent. They could hear the man practically fall headfirst into the cot he had as snores followed quickly after.

“Bastard. Tch.”

Rufus whispered as he clicked his tongue. Opposite of him was Viran, though, with his eyes still clouded over from the fatigue falling onto him all at once. The boy knew, however, that now would not be the time for him to catch some sleep.

The deadline was three days from now, and by then he would likely already be found by some wandering villagers or taken away by Knights searching for him. Viran was fully prepared to work without sleep for hours.

“So, what are you going to teach me Rufus?” Asked Viran.

However contrary to his expectations, Rufus only eyed him slightly before tapping his figure onto the table beneath them.

“Well you already have that one other spell that strengthens your legs or some shit… I’d like you to have some sort of spell that would let you send some sort of attack but that would be more dangerous to yourself if not trained properly. So something a bit different would be best for you before we let you go.” Rufus smiled as he stretched out his back. “We’ll let you off with a spell to serve a tie that’ll make you find us again, that ok with you?”

Something about those words struck deep within Viran. Although his time with them may have been short as it had been with Marianne, he felt deep gratitude for them all.

A deep gratitude Viran would hold for years to come.