.....everything seemed to be as usual. I was, as always, researching in one of the rented buildings. At the time, I was deeply concerned about many things, especially the offer from the Romulus Kingdom.

Although I knew that my research process would skyrocket with the help of the whole kingdom, I still had some doubts. I might have traveled around the world the majority of my life, but betraying my hometown, the Cezar Kingdom, still seemed wrong.

Anyway...let's get to the point already.

So, that day, just as I was about to take a nap, someone barged into the building. It was a woman...a beautiful woman. She was dressed in a long black dress and had extremely soft hair that fell to her shoulders...

Unexpectedly, she had come here specifically to find me, or rather, she was here because of the poison I had made. Aside from spending most of my time researching Qi and Divine power, I also had the hobby of creating deadly poisons, and it was actually quite a profitable business.

I didn't care why she needed such a thing, so I sold her almost all the stock I had at that time. Surprisingly, she didn't even leave after she bought the poison. The papers on the desk had piqued her interest.

We started talking about divine powers, Qi, and almost in the blink of an eye, the whole evening had passed. I was impressed by both her beauty and intelligence. She actually knew much more about Divine powers than I did, which made my progress in research breakthrough many times over.

I didn't know how, but she also placed a restriction on my notebook so that it could no longer be opened without a tinge of my blood. I was incredibly grateful to her, and even more grateful when she vowed to come the next day.

However...I never heard from her after that day, but an interesting commotion arose within the royal family. All the nobles who reached the age of fifteen suddenly died...of poison.

It was a definite blow to the Kingdom, but it was promptly silenced, leaving everything in the dark as to what had really happened.

To this day, I have not seen her again.

Year 1249, September.

-

"This woman...I have to find her, no matter what," Cale said in a determined voice. By meeting this woman, he would be able to open this notebook and maybe even ask for help in further research.

Either way, he had to get to the core of this study, as it would later be one of the most powerful hidden cards in his arsenal.

"Fenrir, stop sleeping, you lazy wolf," Cale said after seeing Fenrir close his eyes again, "Guard Loe while I'm gone," he added, but the little wolf only rolled over onto his side of the bed.

'Ahh...such a lazy beast.'

-

Cale spent the next few days looking for someone who fit this lady's description. Unfortunately, he failed to get even a trace of information about this woman.

-"Black long hair and abysmal eyes? Are you sure it's not the girl from your dream?"

-"Hmm...her description reminds me of my sister, but she's only eight years old."

-"How shameful! Coming to the store just to look for a girl!? If you aren't going to buy anything, then get the hell out!"

Those were the reactions he got after searching for the girl in the various stores. Even after so many days, his efforts were in vain.

While Cale continued to search for the woman, Leo has been doing nothing but training. Throughout these days, he never left the room and only ate the food that was brought by Cale.

The improvement, of course, was incredible. Cale nearly died of shock when he saw Leo breakthrough to Early-Disciple Rank. Something that had taken Cale almost more than two months in his previous life was so easily overwhelmed by a simple kid from a village? That was absolutely not possible.

One day, Cale decided to address his curiosity by asking:

"Leo, do you have any memories of your mother? Do you know who she was?"

"I've never heard of her, and my father didn't like to talk about this matter. I've heard some rumors that she died after the pregnancy..."

That was the only answer he got to his question, and Cale decided to no longer bother with his background. The important thing was that Leo wasn't his enemy.

Besides, while searching for the woman, Cale has also bought many different herbs to satisfy Leo's monstrous cultivation speed. Unfortunately, the currency he obtained in the dungeon wasn't enough to buy the cultivation potions.

-

"Fenrir, this woman is nowhere to be found. It seems that we need to infiltrate the royal palace to obtain information," Cale stated with a sigh. Since the incident five years ago, information about this woman had been suppressed a lot, making only the royal family knowledgeable about the situation.

Cale desperately needed this research, and the royal family wouldn't stop him in the slightest.

"Nnn!" Fenrir growled comfortably as he rolled around the bed, completely ignoring Cale's words.

"I need to find a way to get in touch with someone from the nobility. Maybe I should sneak in?" Cale mused, only to quickly dismiss all current ideas. He might be progressing at tremendous speed, but sneaking into a palace filled with experts and, perhaps, even master-level cultivators was just seeking death.

"!!" After a few seconds of thinking, a realization suddenly hit Cale as he instantly pulled something out from under the bed. It was a scrap of paper with several characters written on it. As he skimmed the lines, an inner smile weaved within Cale.

-

In a large hall, flooded with complete silence, a small old man could be seen sitting on a throne three times his size. Stroking his pale beard, he glanced below where a young woman knelt on one of her joints.

"Father, with all the respect I have for you, I think your decision was unreasonable," Anne said, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"Ah...Anne, I understand your concerns and I respect your opinion, but it's already too late to change anything. You will be married to the winner of the competition"

A few veins popped out from Anne's forehead after hearing king's words, as she cried out, "But why?! I would understand you marrying me off to someone from a noble family, but someone from those barbarian warriors!? I refuse!"

"All the remaining nobles are either elders or newborns! There is no other way! You'll be twenty soon and no one will want you anymore!" The king shouted back with strong anger in his voice.

"Why do I have to marry at all!" Anne rose from her kneeling position, her eyes watering slightly.

"Don't even try to convince me by crying! Your fate is already predetermined! Now go back to your room!"

"I hate you!" Anne yelled before promptly running away from the king's sight.

Seeing multiple tears dispersed on the cold floor, the king tried to calm the flame of anger within him, 'I wouldn't need to come to such decisions if only she would start cultivating...She has a lot of potentials but doesn't want to train...Is she really my daughter?" he thought with a troubled face.

"It's all that woman's fault! If only she didn't kill every noble in our kingdom, then everything wouldn't go to shit!" he roared, gritting his teeth together, "I hope you're having the worst time of your life right now, Hakiri...The Dark Mage!