“Whatever do you mean?” The Lightbringer asked her, trying to act oblivious.

He knew that she knew. At least from the look in his eyes as she continued to stare into them.

Kimara smiled brightly at him and the man sighed in defeat. Adrin knew that he couldn’t hide it anymore. He might have a plan for it or not, but she could tell that he would lay it down tonight. It made no difference to her either way, but it was up to these folks whether to accept it or not.

Kimara knew because there were a lot of things that pointed her towards the fact.

Of course, other than the obvious question about poison testing. His acting was good but the young man couldn’t hide his awkwardness from her. She could tell that this was the first time he had ever interacted with someone like her.

He might have been a commoner, but his old spirit should have heard about this kind of enchanted ring if his spirit was from this world. She was more sure than ever after the face he made after she had asked the question about his awakened spirit.

But the fact didn’t really matter to her.

“All Lightbringer spirits came from another world,” she said while still pleasantly surprised by the young man’s reaction. “And so did the [Necromancer],” Kimara told him blatantly.

Adrin was taken aback by the revelation. He paused for a few moments before he let out a small sigh as he continued walking. The young man appeared to be thinking while treating her like just any other girl. She didn’t feel like she was the envied princess of the realm while beside him.

Most young men would have fallen onto their knees, while others would have tried to curry her favor profusely without any hint of shame. Adrin was surprised, there was no doubt about that, but rarely anyone would resort to this calculative but respectful attitude.

Did royalty not exist in his old world?

“I see,” Adrin finally said after some time. “Is there someone else like me before?”

“Yes, there were many Lightbringers before you, but I doubt there was anyone like you.” She emphasized.

“What do you mean by that?”

Kimara pulled his arm closer. Adrin took it as a signal for him to stop asking and continue tasting more dishes so she could think about his question.

He was very thoughtful for a young man, and his presence was refreshing.

Kimara used to hate herself for being born a princess. She loved and was proud of her father the King and her mother the Queen, the rulers of the last kingdom of men, but she never asked to be born as the fifth princess of the Kingdom. Inside her heart, she only wanted to be an ordinary girl, a daughter of an ordinary family.

Many would say that she should be thankful to be born into royalty as there were much worse fates for a girl to find herself in. There were dangers in this world of monsters and magic that she didn’t want to face at any age. Kimara was well aware of all that.

She would say they were right, but not many knew the dangers and trials of being one of the royal blood. No one knew her personal struggles growing up. No one but a few of her most trusted people. According to her caretaker, she had faced abduction and assassination at the tender age of three years old.

This fact was revealed to her after the tenth attempt on her life when she was fifteen, just before her awakening. She was horrified by the fact but slowly she could understand why when she thought with a calm mind.

Mages simply hated the fact that another [Void] mage was to be born and Awakened. They wanted her gone before she could dictate what they could and couldn’t do with their own hard-gained power. In other words, her existence was a threat to them.

Kimara doubted any commoner would experience the same thing in their life. The dread of not waking up the next morning right before going to sleep had always and still haunted her to this day. The constant fear of not knowing who she could trust and when the next attempt would be. She would never know who she had offended someone without realizing it, and who would be next to try to insert their own brand of justice on the entitled, spoiled rotten princess.

The people who attended her birthdays might be smiling, but she could never trust any smile with all her heart. It felt like there was a knife behind their backs, ready to stab her at any moment or any chance they got. It was a terrifying life for a little harmless girl to grow up in.

As the princess, she could order people around but one wrong word at the wrong time might mean her food would be poisoned the next day. Everything she did, every step she took needed careful calculation so she might live a few days more. Anything she ought to do could have been seen as abusing her power and people who did wouldn’t live as long.

Kimara might be living in the safest place the kingdom could offer, but she had never felt safe before she felt his essence. An affinity that was so ancient and powerful that even the world itself might bend to its will. In order for her inherited affinity to work, she was trained to sense every essence known to exist in the world but never had she touched such a powerful affinity before.

She was told to check on him and see if her royal [Void] affinity could stop him. It was to ensure the safety of the kingdom, well, if the man turned out to be the next calamity. It felt foolish now to even try to do something like that.

Adrin was already unstoppable.

The royal blood’s [Void] might be the greatest bane of all magic but the royal bloodline affinity could do almost nothing to direct physical attacks. That’s why the royal had so many guards and arms men. That’s why they still need help from loyal families and support from commoners.

Adrin’s mysterious affinity had just added one more weakness to her family affinity. By all means, she should have felt terrified to be so close to someone who she could never stop, but to her surprise, she felt the safest instead.

It felt like no deadly arrow or knife from the dark would touch her as long as she was with him. That was how she felt right now. She could, at last, enjoy her food without worrying as the man himself had proved to be honestly worried about her being poisoned.

Now if only he would follow her wherever she goes. She didn’t mind if he was leading but no one in the Kingdom would ever allow that to happen.

Kimara yearned for nothing else but freedom. It felt like she was living in a prison she couldn’t see unless she did something about it.

But nevertheless, she had to do her duty and report what she had found out about him.

Kimara pulled his arm to stop. She gave him a look and Adrin seemed to realize what she was going to do, but he didn’t look concerned. Only steel determination flashed in his eyes. He was ready to face the judgment of others around them.

“You have all the basic affinities and a few rares, don’t you?” She asked out loud.

Kimara hadn’t made sure her voice reached most of the audience, but she was sure every important person in the banquet was listening to her every word. Adrin and her exchanged meaningful looks for a few long seconds while the feast became completely quiet.

Unlike what he might have been expecting, there was no way she would turn him into her enemy. She wasn’t that naive or stupid.

“Yes, I have all common affinities and four of the rares,” Adrin said after a short pause.

The crowd exploded in gasps and murmurs. No one had heard such absurdities, even from a Lightbringer. Some of them were in disbelief while others had their own unique reactions. Not even Archmages could have claimed the same.

“Yes, indeed,” Kimara closed her eyes. “I can feel them, the astonishing [Crystal], the immovable [Metal], the freezing [Ice], and the dazzling [Lightning], and you can tap into any of them without any problem. How does-”

“That’s impossible!” yelled Arch Magi Augustus. “I beg your pardon princess, but there must be a mistake somewhere.”

She knew the old man from the famous [Lightning] family bloodline would be the first to deny the reveal. The crowd parted away until only the main leaders were left in sight. Everyone unimportant made themselves scarce as they were told beforehand.

“There is no mistake,” Adrin said as he conjured bright yellow [Lightning] in between his fingers on his other hand. Another chain of gasps spread through the crowd as they witnessed it.

“I’ve heard that all [Lightbringer] spirits are from another world, is that correct?” He asked.

“Yes, there is no mistake about it,” her great aunt replied with a huge smile on her face.

When was the last time she saw such happiness displayed by the ancient priestess? Kimara couldn’t really remember.

“Then I’ll be truthful,” declared Adrin. “[Lightning] is not rare in the world I came from, almost everyone can and has benefit from it.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Then, can you explain this?” Adrin said just before his arching tree of [Lightning] changed colors right before everyone’s eyes.

It turned blue from the usual bright yellow, to purple and then eerie glowing red. She felt the mix of [Air] affinity as the [Lightbringer] backed up his words with unshakable proof.

Her great aunt went to her knees and started praying to the Lord of Light. The priestesses who had followed the old woman also followed suit, praying toward Adrin as if he was their salvation. Kimara had always questioned the ancient woman’s beliefs, but now it felt like she had become a believer too. She had doubts before but not anymore.

No one, not even the century-old Archmagi, had seen such a display. Everyone knew about [Fire] changing colors, but [Lightning]?

She wasn’t sure it even had been said in the legends.

“But how?” The Matriarch asked.

“Like I’ve said,” Adrin shrugged, “because everyone is taught, they all have access to the basic knowledge, and when enough people knew, new knowledge will be discovered. My old world had discovered the secret of [Air] and the result is these colorful [Lightning].”

“But peasants had no capacity to understand if we even taught them,” someone in the small crowd argued.

“Yes, you are right,” Adrin sighed. “I know exactly what you mean,” the young man agreed with the statement wholeheartedly to her and everyone’s surprise.

“Sometimes, you just can’t fix stupid,” Adrin spoke as if it was from experience and it earned a few chuckles from the same crowd.

He took a drink in contemplation before the young man continued. “But you should already know that given the chance, some of them, I’ll say two out of twenty, will achieve significant, or even grand success.”

“What if these peasants decided to do harm with the knowledge they have?”

“We will do what we always do, we, as a group, will keep them in line.”

Another scoffed, “easier said than done.”

“Yes, again, I agree, but don’t you think the trade-off will be worth it? My advanced magic isn’t proof enough that this spread of education simply works?”

Adrin patted her hand and Kimara let him go. The first thing he did was to raise the praying woman to stand again with a guilty smile on his face.

“To be honest, I’m just a humble middle-class man back in that world, and you already see what I can do. The question is, how many loyal-to-death soldiers can you recruit from the very grateful peasants you have selected and nurtured? And how many hidden talents can you discover among them? Keeping the knowledge to only family members will only be a huge waste of resources. Free public schools, for example, give a window to… mold the younger generations while they are still impressionable. I think each and every one of us knows how beneficial this is because of the existence of maidservants.”

Kimara could see it within their greedy eyes. The realization turned to greed and then caution as they saw her being. Adrin had used the nobles’ own greed very well.

“Well, if that isn’t enough, I’ll also offer my knowledge of the elements to everyone who is willing to cooperate.”

And with those words, Adrin had just made himself the most valuable living person in the kingdom. Kimara didn’t think even her father could ignore the young man now, and the young man knew this as a fact.

He was just reluctant to play this card.

But the world won’t let the man play his own game. Be in his own world. His own wants didn’t matter to others, she could see those thoughts in his unsmiling eyes.

A burst of sickening laughter filled the night and everyone turned toward the source.

“Will you share with my lord too?” asked the woman as the deathly gray spread on her hands until it reach up to envelop her face.

Her eyes turned black as wisps of greenish smoke escaped them. The lively long hairs turned white from the tip all the way to the head. Her nails grew long and sharp as she slowly began to float in the air. The magic instructor had turned into a Banshee.

Everyone was alarmed by the sudden turn of events.

“Well, if he is willing to stop killing people,” Adrin shrugged.

“He isn’t killing anyone, he is freeing people from the clutches of [Life]. The [Undeath] is the true form of immortality.”

Adrin sighed, “immortality is overrated.”

The banshee hissed before a smirk grew on her face.

The [Lightbringer] screamed in pain and fell onto his knees.

His right hand turned black from [Rot]. The [Death] magic spell spread from his fingers up slowly and painfully. Kimara had read about people turning insane from the pain alone.

“Come with me if you want to live,” the banshee chuckled evilly.

The offer shook her very core.