27/05/1164

At a clearing near a riverbank in the Monastery.

After a ten-minute jog, he found a spacious expanse within the woods with two neatly cut stumps at the riverbank. Looking around, he nodded in satisfaction before sitting down on one stump.

‘This place isn’t bad. Not bad at all.’

Closing his eyes, Samuel took in a deep breath. To his surprise, Arcana in the air came flooding in with every breath, making his nose agitated.

A moment later, his eyes opened wide.

*Achoo!* *Achoo!*

Sneezing twice in succession, Samuel shook his head.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he thought, ‘Just who is talking ill of me behind my back? Tch, whatever. I’m not in the mood to meditate anyway. How about… hehehe.’

His gaze landed on the river as he smiled. Within the crystal-clear water, he saw various colored fishes swimming around.

‘They practically made this place for something like this. I wouldn’t feel good at night if I don’t do it justice, no? Then why shouldn’t I? Let’s try cooking for a change today.’

Smiling, he sent arcana into the ring on his finger. The ring glowed as a fishing rod materialised in Samuel’s hands out of thin air. Swinging the rod forward, he sent the hook flying into the river.

‘Now we wait.’

While waiting for a fish to bite the hook, he held the fishing rod with both his hands as if holding a sword before closing his eyes, looking the picture of a master fisherman sitting still as a mountain, waiting for a catch as he appreciated the surroundings.

A long while passed in what seemed like mere minutes. The boy opened his eyes, looking at the hook in confusion.

There, he saw fishes circling around the hook. As if feeling his gaze, the fishes looked back at him. Their eyes flickered with mockery as they looked at Samuel. The fish in the lead swam towards Samuel before wagging its tail back and forth, taunting the latter to make a move.

A sharp light flickered past the boy’s eyes. Looking at the fish, he barked, “You damned fish! If you have what it takes to be a man—er, fish—just bite that hook instead of wagging your fish butt like you want to be slapped.”

The fish seemed to understand as it backed off before biting on the hook. Like a peacock amongst chickens, the fish’s expression turned haughty.

Smiling coldly, Samuel’s hand reached for the rod. He swung it backwards, throwing the fish into the air.

Leaping in midair, his hand reached out towards the fish. A smile of victory spread across his face as he clasped his hand around the fish’s body.

“Now you know you shouldn’t provoke Lord Samuel, you little fish. Now, become my food. I saw mom making roasted fishes a while back and they tasted superb. Guess I’ll roast—?!”

But before he could finish his words, his smile stiffened. The fish wagged within his arm before slipping away. Stunned, he looked at his hand, full of fish scales. Yet, through the corner of his eye, he could make out the fish dropping back into the river.

“Think you can run away? Freeze!”

An arctic hue covered his hand. A spell shot forth.

Seeing the incoming spell, the fish’s scales stood on end. Twisting its body, it dodged the attack, causing flakes of ice to appear on the surface of its scales.

Wanting to sneer, it turned its head towards Samuel, to see the latter forming a sneer himself, looking at the fish as if it were dead.

The fish’s eyes went wide, but before it could realise, a hard surface smashed into its face. Focusing its gaze downward, it saw a small chunk of ice floating atop the river.

With a splash, Samuel landed in the river, his hand rushing to where the fish had landed.

Scrambling for its life, the fish slammed its tail against the ice below. Following the sound of ice cracking, cracks appeared in the chunk of ice. Meanwhile, the fish flew forward, swimming through the air as it dipped back into the water in front of Samuel’s astonished gaze.

Looking at the boy with eyes full of venom for the last time, the fish disappeared deep into the river.

Samuel harrumphed. Sweeping his gaze over the river, he saw the other fishes scrambling to get away, looking as if they wanted nothing more than to grow a second pair of fins and tail.

Shaking his head, Samuel returned to the riverbank. Squatting to the side, he took off his shirt, spreading it on one of the stumps. His gaze shifted down to look at his body, which, despite possessing a lean build, has traces of baby fat.

Looking up at the sky, he lay down as he waited for his clothes to dry. Watching the clouds drifting through the sky, his eyelids turned heavy.

‘Day one here was full of drama and even today, an idiot bumped into me. At this rate, I don’t think I’ll hold out long enough before I end up wanting to go around beating these people till they drop senseless and distribute sweets if I don’t go around punching them in the face. Seems being strong has other benefits. Heh. And just how did Zack watch this stuff all day? I’m already bored.’

Taking a deep breath, Samuel got up as a black long-sword materialised in his hand. Holding it straight, he swung forward. One strike followed another as Samuel swung at air, practising all that Aria taught him back at home.

Back at Yuan Mo’s cottage, a light knock echoed through the air. Following the sounds of aged footsteps, the door swung open.

Yuan Mo’s eyes went wide as he nodded. “I’m guessing you completed your mission, little one? How did it go? Ah, my apologies. Please come in and sit. You came at just the right time. I was just about to begin my tea time.”

“Uncle-Master, sorry for disturbing your tea time like this. But as you know—”

Yuan Mo waved his hand. “Little Zhu, I know this matter is urgent. Don’t fret about it. Now, let’s sit and talk.”

“Alright.” Zhu nodded. Turning his head to the side, he said, “You, follow me.”

“Okay!” A youthful voice full of vigour filled the air.

“Pipe down.” Zhu rolled his eyes as a smacking sound filled the air.

“Hey, master!” The youthful voice echoed.

Paying it no heed, Zhu followed behind Yuan Mo as he said, “That reminds me, where’s that brat, Sam—I mean, Augustus? This one wanted to meet him after learning he’s son of the Leo so I brought him along.”

Shaking his head, Yuan Mo said, “I don’t know. I didn’t bother keeping tabs on him. He asked me for a quiet place and I told him one. That’s about it.”

“It’s quite unlike you, you know?” Zhu said by way of asking.

“Maybe.” Yuan Mo laughed before entering the living room. “With my age, keeping tabs on adults here is already hard enough. So I decided to not bother with children. Enough on that. Tell me the details.”

Yuan Mo poured the tea as he looked at Zhu, who placed a map down on the table. Looking at the area marked, his expression turned grim.

“Another empty ruin…” Yuan Mo murmured, deep in thought.