It all happened months back...

"Listen up closely, Johann, this is your next part of training. Your task this time is to investigate the Grove of Calicel. I've got reports from some sources that the Kaiser might be trying to attain a certain type of energy source in that area, the type that can alter the future of many things. He already has enough power as it is. I want you to make sure that the Grove is safe and sound, and if you do find any of the Kaiser's officers, or even the Kaiser himself, god forbid, you are to eliminate them at all costs."

"Sounds serious and all, but mind telling me what I need to protect exactly?"

"I can't tell you any more about it. It's still classified by the higher-ups. You won't have to bother with what exactly you have to safeguard since your only mission is to make sure the area is clear."

"Sorry, Marlena, I can't do this one without the necessary information. I'd be going in blind all the same if that's the case. Sure it's classified, but I don't really care about any of that. Filling me in on something that I'm supposed to know won't hurt anyone."

"There you go again, running your mouth. You can't get everything you ask for, Johann. I can only do so much without having my superiors breathing down on me. Just keep what I said in mind and be content with it, alright? Spare me for one day. I can only deal with serious people like you for so long."

"Fine, have it your way. Keep going then. Let me hear the rest of it."

"Thank you for agreeing with me this one time. Alright, where was I? You're not going alone, though. Parkus Heim is going with you, and this is going to be a covert mission that no one else should know of. Be careful with the information you have. Even having rumors floating of our presence being around the Grove can mean bad things for us. I've already given Parkus the details of the mission, so just search for him and you can be on your way."

I stood and started heading for the door until Marlena stopped me at the last second.

"I know what's going on in your mind, Johann. Don't be provoked. I know it said that you have to eliminate them, but remember that there's no shame in retreating. You're far from ready, but if there is an off-chance that the Kaiser does show up, don't fight him right away. He's a dangerous man, and recklessly trying to fight him will draw consequences. You wouldn't want your vengeance to end early, wouldn't you?"

"I know. You've told me that hundreds of times that it's already etched into my head."

"And I'll keep repeating it because you never take it seriously."

"Trust me. You've been teaching me, after all. Have some faith in me, alright?"

She let out a sigh and pinched the temple of her nose. "That's the problem. I keep trusting you, but you keep pulling some unnecessary stunts."

"I'll have to when it counts, believe me. I'm trying my best not to, but I keep getting pulled into these things without me realizing it. If it were up to me, I'd stay away, but I can never seem to. But enough about that. Here, I almost forgot." I walked up to her and handed her a small box wrapped in a special type of paper topped with a red ribbon. "Happy Birthday, Marlena. I know you're busy, so I hope that this will do."

She took the present into her hands and looked at it as if it were some sort of tome containing the secrets of the world.

"You actually remembered," she muttered.

"Why would I forget in the first place?"

"I can never figure you out, Johann. Thank you," she smiled.

"No problem. I'll leave you with your stuff then. I'll try to wrap this one up quickly, then we can celebrate it."

As I walked out of her door, I heard her speak quietly.

"Good luck, Johann. Come back safe."

I replied by nodding my head and finally leaving her office. Outside of it was Parkus, who had leaning forward on an open window, admiring the sight. He was a little different back then. His auburn hair was slicked back smoothly with a debonair-ish flair. The youthful and optimistic grin that was always on his face was still there along with the charisma and energy he usually carries along with him. He wore a light set of armor over his normal clothes and hung his sword on his back.

"Ready to go, Johann?" he asked.

"Yeah. Do we leave right away?"

"Sure, we can. But not if you have anything else left to do. We still have time to spare, though it won't hurt to get there in time, or even before any of them comes."

"No, nothing comes to mind. Let's leave early. It'll take a while to get there, right?"

"Yeah, a few days at most if we want to take the roads that avoid the Kaiser's boys. We'll be traveling light, too, so don't bring too much."

We started walking towards the exit, having some idle chatter along the way.

"I'm curious, why is it only the two of us?"

"I feel a bit hurt that you don't want to spend this one mission with just us," he joked. "If we bring more, we're bound to catch the attention of a lot of people. They actually considered sending me alone, but someone thought about bringing you with me. No one was against it, and neither was I. After hearing that the Kaiser himself would probably be there, I kind of reconsidered things to be honest. But now that you're on board, it makes things a bit lighter to the mood."

"I see. Well, I'll try not to let your expectations fall."

"Ah, don't be too strict about this whole mission thing. Let's try to take it easy for a while and just enjoy the sights. We don't often get to travel around with all the stuff going on with these wars. It's ridiculous! They're ruining the place wherever they go."

"What else do you know about the mission, Parkus?"

"What do you mean? I thought it's been explained to you by your superior?"

"I guess you could say that. But I know there were some details that they left out, and on purpose, too. If it's the two of us going against the Kaiser and his men, then the thing we're going for must be really important, isn't it?"

"Man, you catch on quick. I'm not allowed to say a lot either, but I'll give you a bit of insight. You'll probably find out most of it when we get there, so I'll tell you the bare minimum."

Parkus stopped and looked around the halls to check if there was someone listening in, then turned to me, inching his body forward as he placed his hand near his mouth to suppress his voice. "I've been told that we're going there to check in on a demon that's been sealed by the residents there. Creepy isn't it?"

"Wait, by a demon, do you mean a real one?! Like those in storybooks, the ones who the angels fight against, fell from heaven and were cursed for all eternity, stuff like that? Aren’t hose just myths and fables?"

"That's the thing about it, I'm not sure myself. Though it is interesting, it's pretty terrifying to think of it being real. Hopefully, it isn't and it's just some made up stuff to scare children. But more to it, the thing's been said to hold an artifact strong enough to grant anyone who possesses it with the power like that of the demon, so it's kind of like giving the host the demon's power. If it falls into the Kaiser's hands or any one of his guys, then we're in for a lot of trouble. I don't know how strong a demon is, but I bet it's going to be tricky, even for you and me. And between the two of us, I don't think we have any experience in dealing with some supernatural stuff."

"Isn't this kind of dumb, then? If it's this serious, then we definitely need more people with us. If something goes wrong, we'll all be in trouble, no, probably more than that."

"You worry too much, Johann. We'll get this done, the two of us. We've gone through hell and back, what's a demon going to do against us, right? Besides, it's all just baseless rumors. There's no real proof. And the thing is, we're already stretched thin. While this operation's going on, they've dispatched more of the heroes to stall some of the Kaiser's men along the way that way they won’t find out, so we don't actually have any time to spare," he chuckled wryly.

"I don't know if I should be grateful for your optimism or not. Alright, I'll trust you just like always. Let's get there as fast as we can, then."

With that in agreement, Parkus and I got on our horses and left at the break of dawn. I had come prepared with a light set of armor adorned with a red cape. The rest of my equipment came with a sword and my small knowledge of spells, which were mediocre at best. No normal person was gifted with the ability to use magic easily. It was created for the benefit of the fortunate ones, mostly those of royal blood, or noble lineage. Though there were those ones in a million who were born without the blood for it but are somehow able to pull it off.

It has been a long while since the last one was born. That was decades ago if I remember. But the question of why I had it was something that confused most people I meet. But due to the fact that I shouldn't be able to even use magic, I can only use most of its intended power.

I had infused myself with special alchemic materials with the help of Marlena and her vast knowledge of anything related to magic. Of course, she was opposed to this, I urged her until she gave in, and that alone took a long while to accomplish. I almost gave up on the fact at one point.

As a way to draw in, store, and generate the capabilities of magic around me, she thought of implanting sigils on my body, but I was rejected and the sigils broke during the transplant. Then she thought about creating special tattoos using various ingredients made from mythic beasts, which would help draw in the capabilities around me, but that ended in a tragedy.

I tried searching for the beasts, but it just so happened that the Kaiser's lackeys got to them and killed, or captured them. That was out of the question, so we moved on to the last option she could think of to be safe. That was to infuse me with the blood of someone capable of harnessing the capabilities around him. But the tricky part was that it had to be someone who was compatible with me and wouldn't reject me as a vessel. That itself proved a challenge that almost cost my life. Only with the help of the donor did it work out barely.

But, I was able to do it. And though the rewards weren't as much, they would be important if I wanted to take on the Kaiser. He was someone who clearly possessed a tremendous amount of magic. An unfathomable amount of power swirled around him, and that was just one of the reasons for his strength.

But now that I had it, I could harness the power of the capabilities around me and generate mana to create magic and cast spells with. Though I'm still being challenged with how to do it smoothly, just having it now is enough. I'll figure it out on the way.

A few days earlier, a man had come along the Grove of Calicel. He felt a sort of voice calling out to him, a voice asking for help desperately. Unable to ignore it, he dismounted from his horse and took his jet-black spear with him, surveying the sights around the entrance of the Grove.

He knelt and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds that stood out, but nothing came to him. He stood and combed back his hair from the center. His name was Dietrich Glassel. he didn't look deprived of rest, rather, he looked more awake than he ever was. he stood up straight and had modest, deep blue eyes. He wore a vest underneath his light leather armor and wore a green cape with fur around the collar. His person came equipped with various items like daggers, a rope, and the like. He also carried a small bag containing more of his belongings, which hung behind him on his waist.

He had been traveling around aimlessly, but somehow he was led to a place that he wasn’t familiar with. Nevertheless, he braved the uncertainty and entered the Grove, feeling a strange, eerie aura in the air. It was as if he ended up in a different world with how the Grove surrounded him at every turn. The darkness prevented him from seeing any further, save for the smog on the ground roaming by his feet.

upon entering, the aura which seemed harmless enough started to overwhelm him in the form of a miasma. It came crashing on him like a raging wave, blasting him head on fiercely. The dark cloud of smog seemed to sap him of his strength, and it continued to do so until he fell to his knees.

He grasped for air and scratched at his throat, trying to take in the air that was supposed to be around him but wasn't. In a desperate attempt to do anything to break free from the grasp of the miasma, he used to last of his air and spoke, chanting softly as he became surrounded by a crimson glow. The words that he spoke started forming and burning around him.

He held out his hand to the air and released a powerful blast of fire that ripped through the thick trees of the Grove. With that, the miasma started to spread until it faded due to the light of the morning.

Dietrich fell to the ground, breathing helplessly, surprised that his attempt had worked out.

"Just what's plaguing this place that's made it this terrible?" he muttered, coughing. He stood up and readied his spear in the case of an attack and steeled himself, diving further into the Grove.

"Please, anyone who can hear me, please help us! I beg of you, save my people!"

He recalled the voice that called out to him, it was the desperate voice of a girl. He didn't know who it was or what they need help for, but he was compelled to help her for some reason. His body was not in his control, he thought, but he agreed to help her altogether.