《The Master of Uradan》


 Chapter 1 - Rank 1 Warrior

    In the middle of a castle was a courtyard reserved for the nobility of the Duchy of Barnes. It was morning, the sun had barely risen, and a fine mist enveloped this courtyard, giving a heavy ambiance to the dozens of children waiting there.


    These children were sharing two things in common.


    The first was their age, they were all 13 years old, no more, no less.


    The second point in common was their status, each of them was sons or daughters of a noble loyal to the duchy. Although they were all members of the nobility and were treated as such from birth, no arrogance could be seen here.


    Not a word could be heard, only silence prevailed. Suddenly, footsteps were heard, at an even pace, calm and composed.


    Before these dozen children, a middle-aged man appeared. He walked slowly as if the children watching him with sparkling eyes didn''t exist.


    He stopped in the middle of the courtyard and turned to the future warriors. He looked at them one by one, to get an idea of ??the average level of this group.


    His gaze lingered lightly on a young boy. He had no particular physique, his long black hair was common in this empire and fell over his shoulders. His black tunic was also quite common around these wealthy children.


    What made him stand out from the crowd though, was his composure. A calm so supernatural that you thought he would have the same expression if the world around him crumbled.


    The instructor didn''t have to think about who this boy was. He had the same expression as his father, so he guessed right away that it was Rohan, son of count Roland Sharkan.


    This count was also one of the commanders of this duchy, as an Intermediate Warrior, and directly under his command in battles.


    After observing all these children, he explained to them what was going to happen.


    "You have all trained hard for this day, I can see it in your bodies. But this is only the beginning, you are not only the future of your families, but also of the kingdom."


    His voice grew more serious at this point.


    "You probably know what''s going to happen in a few years. We need more warriors, and hopefully, you''ll be one of them."


    All of the children in front of the instructor were children of the most important nobles in the area, so they were well aware of what he was talking about. In a few years, a war would break out, a war not everyone wanted to see, but it was inevitable.


    "What you are going to see from now on is a secret of the Duchy of Barnes, you are not allowed to tell anyone about it. In fact, you would do well to forget what is going to happen."


    After he finished his sentence, pressure from his body suddenly crashed into the children in front of him. Their faces turned white and their eyes widened. Only an Advanced Warrior could use the Aura.


    An Advanced Warrior was extremely powerful, but just as rare. In all of the Duchy of Barnes, there was only one: the right-hand man and brother of Dukes Chrisfold, Edwin Chrisfold.


    Everyone present now knew who this middle-aged man was, and that was why they were here. To become mighty warriors. They could have tried to become a warrior at home, they all had their family method after all, but doing it here would increase their chance of success by a lot.


    "Keep a cool head! Just because your chances have improved doesn''t mean you should take it lightly! You have all day. By sunset, you all go back home, whether you are successful or not!"


    The tension rose slightly. The future warriors knew it. The time to begin was approaching, and success only depends on them. They all sat cross-legged in a meditation position and waited for the moment to begin.


    Edwin took an object out of his pocket. A crystal, unevenly shaped and the size of a fist, appeared. This crystal was blood red. As the crystal appeared, a wave of mana was emitted from it and engulfed the entire court in a mist of mana.


    "You can start now, good luck!"


    Rohan closed his eyes.


    He had already learned how to train to form a warrior core, each family having a different method of doing it. Although these methods were diverse and varied, the basic idea remained the same.


    The person preparing to become a warrior had to collect mana in his body and gather it at the diaphragm level so that it solidified, thus forming a core of pure mana. Since the mana collected in this way was very corrosive to the human body, it had to be trained beforehand to withstand this stress.


    So Rohan began to gather mana around him. The stone that the instructor released greatly increased the mana and made it easier for the young boy.


    The mana entered through all the pores of the skin and rushed into the body as if it was called by something. He tried somehow to manipulate each filament of mana to get it where he wanted it, but it was much more painful than what he was expecting.


    Wherever the mana passed, the pain felt was practically intolerable. But it didn''t have to stop, everything had to be done once, without a break, otherwise it would have to be restarted from the beginning, and then the body would risk permanent damage.


    The mana flowed through his body like a torrent towards the center, except for the inside of his right arm. He tried to get the mana in his arm to follow the same path to make things easier later. This was the method described in the text his father had given him.


    Once the mana gathered in the same place, he circulated it in one direction to create a ball. So, after some time, a transparent ball began to appear.


    It was then that the pain was excruciating and almost made him lose concentration. After all, he was making an object appear inside his body, the pain could only be intense.


    He cursed the gods as he gritted his teeth, and continued to control mana.


    After a few moments of pain, a core was perfectly formed, a flawless transparent sphere, now standing within his body. But it was not over, he was now a pseudo warrior. To truly become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior, he had to open one of the five meridians.


    Four of these meridians connect the core to the limbs while the fifth connects it to the skull. The latter was usually left at the end because it was the most complicated.


    Normally, after forming its core, most pseudo warriors didn''t have the choice but to stop here. But Rohan felt like he could give it a try.


    Rohan decided to open the meridian connecting the core to the right arm, which was why he had focused on it previously. Indeed, opening a meridian means nothing more than throwing all the mana of the core and forcing the passage by creating a path. This path, solidified, is then called the meridian.


    The pain was just as intense, but the task was not very complicated. Thanks to the red crystal providing a large supply of mana, Rohan had all the mana he needed at his disposal. He then gathered all the mana that was filling his body and sent it into his right arm.


    However, he had made a little miscalculation. He didn''t think there was so much mana at his disposal, as it rushed towards his right hand and completed the links in slightly more than an instant.


    This is how he succeeds in creating a meridian, a thin transparent line connecting the core to the palm of the hand, radiating a faint glow. This meridian now allowed him to explode his mana towards his right arm to launch a faster and more powerful attack, simply called by the warriors strengthened blow.


    As a rank 1 Beginner Warrior, his core connected with a single meridian allowed him to contain an amount of 10 mana. A reinforced blow will cost him exactly those 10 mana, so he can only use this skill once during a fight until he increases his rank.


    After thinking about the effects of mana and his newfound ability, Rohan began to observe his body.


    In addition to skills, the meridian and core, formed from pure mana, increase the strength that the body possesses. Thus, the higher rank a warrior has, the more powerful the body becomes and exceeds the limits of a normal body without mana.


    After observing his body to know the state of it, Rohan indeed judged that he had become stronger, but to know exactly how much, he had to experience it.


    He also noticed that the inside of his body was damaged by the passage of mana, as if the inside of his body was filled with little cracks. He will therefore have to wait until he recovers before opening another meridian, otherwise, things could be dangerous.


    Unfortunately, the next time will not be so easy, the body will be strengthened and he will not have all that mana available. All of this mana was originally intended only to create one''s mana core, very few people have managed to use the remaining mana in the body to create a meridian.


    Thus, because he will only be able to use the limited mana coming from his core, the next meridians will need to be opened in several sessions of meditation.


    Once the core mana has been used up, the surrounding mana will be absorbed from the meridians. Since he only has one at the moment, the mana absorption will be incredibly slow.


    He might try to reabsorb the mana from every pore of his skin, but as his body gets tougher with the mana, using a second time this method would not actually give any results, and might even permanently damage his body.


    At the moment, Rohan was only a rank 1 Beginner Warrior, and after connecting the other four meridians, he will be a rank 5 Beginner Warrior. After that, if he advances to the next rank, he will be a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior.


    His family did not have the method to become an Advanced Warrior, therefore, Intermediate rank 10 was his limit for the time being.


    After taking a look at his situation, Rohan opened his eyes and looked around.


    The morning haze was gone, and only the mana one coming from the red stone remained. The sun was high in the sky, showing that time has passed much faster than he expected.


    The other children were still meditating. He seemed to be the first to finish while the others, gritting their teeth, their fists, and letting out groans, were still not out of their pain.


    Nearby was Edwin. Being the most powerful of the Duchy, he was the only one able to guard the Demonic Core, the red crystal sending waves of mana. Thus, he had to be present while making sure that none of these children were seriously injured.


    He didn''t care whether they succeeded or not, but they were still nobles, he would at least make sure no one dies.


    Suddenly he felt one of them open his eyes.. He frowned. It wasn''t even noon, how could one of them already give up?

 Chapter 2 - Essence Stone

    Edwin had always considered himself as a genius, the strength he possessed was proof of that. He had long left his younger brother inherited the title of duke, meditations and training not giving him enough time to take care of a territory.


    Every year he found himself here in this courtyard, in front of a group of children ready to embark on the warrior''s path.


    Becoming a warrior was not easy. Where a wizard has a mana core from birth, a warrior must create it himself.


    Even with the demonic crystal he possessed, it was admittedly easier to create a core, but much would fail. Some will give up this path, while others will take potions and try to start over.


    The year before, only 5 of them had succeeded in creating their core that day, but none of them had succeeded in opening their first meridian in one day. Later, four of them became rank 1 Beginner Warriors while the last one was unsuccessful.


    And although he was the son of a nobleman, potions cost far too much for his family, thus sealing his future.


    Five more of this group later became rank 1 Beginner Warriors on their own with the aid of potions. But it had taken almost a year for each of them. And not a single one had become a rank 2 Beginner Warrior.


    And here before his eyes, a genius appeared. The day wasn''t over yet, but not only had he created his core, he had also become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior.


    Certainly, he had heard of real geniuses coming from neighboring empires who managed to open two or even three meridians in a single day. But these geniuses were supported by alchemicals products far too rare for the empire in which his kingdom was located, let alone this small duchy that even the king had abandoned.


    It was the first time he had seen such talent with his own eyes, with the right potions, this Rohan could rise through the ranks quickly, and maybe this young man will eventually overtake him one day.


    Either way, this child had to survive. If time was allowed, he would become a real force.


    But he knew it. This time, unfortunately, will not be given to him. War was decided years ago, it affected the lives of millions of people. And he will be sent to the battlefield as a warrior.


    He couldn''t change that fact. But the thing he could do, however, was to personally train this genius, and make sure he had enough power to protect his life.


    He took out a bronze plate from his pocket, and patted it. A voice came out.


    "Yes, General Chrisfold? What can I do for you?"


    "Lin, come into the courtyard and pick up the young warrior Rohan, and give him an Essence Stone."


    "I''ll be right there, general Chrisfold."


    Edwin put his plate away, and after turning to Rohan who was getting up, beckoned him to approach.


    Lin was an Intermediate Warrior, and was one of the few commanders of the duchy. He knew perfectly well what it meant to give an Essence Stone. It was a magic object that even he could only possess after being promoted to an Intermediate Warrior, so he hurried to the yard to see which lucky lad will have one, and why.


    When he arrived, he saw a young man next to the general Edwin. As he had only just risen in rank, waves of mana emanated from him. So Lin knew right away that he had become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior, his eyes widened in shock. What a genius !


    He approached, and after saluting the general, he turned to the new warrior, and bowed to salute him. He knew he was a nobleman after all.


    "Is that him general? Do you want to give him an Essence Stone?"


    "Yes"


    Without elaborating further, he turned to Rohan.


    "Young Master Rohan, please follow Commander Lin. You don''t have much more to do here, and at the moment I''m stuck here watching the rest of the candidates. So I''ll ask that you be escorted home. However, I would like to talk to you and your father, Count Sharkan, so I''ll drop by tomorrow if you don''t mind. "


    "Not at all general Chrisfold, I will await your passage"


    Then, after bowing in the nobleman''s way, Rohan turned to Commander Lin, and bowing slightly again, asked him to guide the passage.


    As Rohan followed Commander Lin, he decided to ask him the question that was gnawing at him.


    "Commander Lin, what is an Essence Stone?"


    "Young master Rohan, it is a very precious stone allowing us to describe the qualities of the mana and the body of the one who uses it. It is generally used when a warrior rises in rank to note it on his personal plaque and formalize his rank. The general wants to give you one personally, so you will be able to follow your progress much more easily. It is undoubtedly a treasure. "


    His eyes were bursting with envy when he spoke of it, as it wasn''t always easy to realize whether his efforts were rewarded or not. Having this stone which was able to put statistics to describe a person was undoubtedly a divine object for him.


    He felt jealousy for this child who had barely become a warrior and could own his own stone. If he himself could have it when he became a warrior, his training would be easier to programm. But he understood General Chrisfold.


    If he could become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior in a day, he would surely rise through the ranks pretty quickly. And doing him a favor was probably a good deed.


    Rohan was guided to the heart of the castle. On the way, they passed many guards who, on the way to the commander, all stopped to greet him. Not all of them were warriors, there were only so few warriors in the duchy after all. On average, there were at least twenty new warriors each year, it shows how tough it was to become one.


    They came to a heavy door, guarded by two armored warriors with a round shield in their arm and a sword in the scabbard.


    "Open the door"


    "Yes, Commander!"


    They opened the door quickly, then alighted to the side, glancing curiously at the young man who entered with Commander Lin.


    It was not the most important room in the castle, but some rather rare and precious objects were still inside.


    The room was filled with shelves, with objects or books on them. Different chests rest on the side giving the room a storage room effect rather than a treasure room.


    They walked towards the back, and arriving in front of another door, the commander took out his medallion to insert it in a slot. The door opened with a click.


    "Please wait a moment here young master Rohan, you do not have permission to enter this room."


    Rohan waited behind the door a few minutes before the commander came out with a black plaque in his hand.


    It was much faster than he thought for something so precious it would almost make a commander drool.


    "Isn''t it too easy to go in and grab an item from this place Commander Lin? Aren''t you afraid someone will steal it?"


    The commander let out a small laugh before answering.


    "Don''t worry young master, only the duke, the general, the duchy Protector wizard and a commander can enter this room, and the commander with this permission changes every month. Plus every item is magically marked, if they walk out of here without permission, everyone would know. "


    Then he held the object out in his hand.


    "This is the Essence Stone, you just have to put your thumb on this mark and the stats will be displayed on it. This item was made by the wizards of the empire specializing in runes, it is not something ordinary that''s for sure!"


    "Thank you, Commander!"


    He took the object and looked at it. It was a rectangular object, the size of a hand and the thickness of a finger, black in color. The material was unknown to Rohan, but it was rough, like stone. There were also some runes engraved on it.


    He followed the commander''s instructions and put his thumb on an engraved circle.


    Suddenly, data in red appeared on the black stone.


    Race: human


    Age: 13 years old


    Constitution: 1.64


    Mana: 1/10


    Spirit: 11


    The commander approached to explain the meaning of these stats to him.


    "A constitution of 1 represents the strength of a normal adult, usually an adult who is a rank 1 Beginner Warrior has a constitution of 2. For your age, such a value is very good."


    "For the mana you have, 10 is the limit that your core can withstand, creating more meridian makes the core more stable and allows it to store more. As you should know, after using your mana, you will automatically recover it with time, at the moment you only have 1 mana point. Usually for a new warrior of rank 1, he recovers one mana point per hour. "


    "Spirit is how easy you are to manipulate mana and focus. You can think of it as a description of your potential. A person reaching a mind of 1 is already out of the ordinary, your future is already¡­ already¡­ "


    He couldn''t finish his sentence, his eyes fixed on the number characterizing the young man in front of him. He couldn''t believe what he was reading there.


    At first glance he had thought it was a 1. Even he himself had a mind of 0.8, so he thought it was already exceptional. But 11? This value is simply not possible. He could only think of one reason, but it would require an investigation from a wizard.


    Either way, the person in front of him is a genius among geniuses.


    "Young Master Rohan, please never divulge these numbers, such a value is way too high, it might freak out many people and attract attention, something we don''t want at this time!"


    Rohan slowly moved away from the man in front of him who was looking at him with bloodshot eyes.


    "It''s only a few numbers on a card Commander Lin, no one will care about it. I have no reason to divulge these numbers to anyone anyway. "


    * cough cough *


    Lin bowed slightly to apologize.


    "Please excuse me for my behavior, young master, I got carried away by seeing this number. I will report it to the general, it will not change anything for you except maybe give you more resources. My task is now finished, I''m going to ask for a carriage to take you home right away."


    "Thank you very much, Commander Lin"


    Rohan bowed back and put the precious item back in his pocket with a smile.


    It has been a very good day for him.. With the help of a red crystal he became a rank 1 Beginner Warrior and without doing anything he acquired a rather interesting magic item. How could he not be happy ?

 Chapter 3 - A Magic Warrior

    A horse-drawn carriage passed through the streets of Riveras, the largest city in the Duchy of Barnes. The roads were only wide enough to let two carriages pass without any interference, but even so, this one didn''t slow down at all.


    After all, the Duke''s coat of arms was in plain sight, and no one dared to even slow down the person inside.


    Inside that carriage was Rohan, playing with a black plaque in his hand to try to occupy his mind, unable to help but groan from time to time.


    He wondered at one point if he had insulted the driver''s mother or something. It was as if he was trying to roll over all the stones he saw on the road on purpose.


    Without being able to do much about it, he pulled out of his pocket a bronze token that Commander Lin had given him before he got into the carriage.


    It was a badge to prove that he had officially become a warrior. To be able to put it under his name, all he had to do was to activate the Essence Stone and connect the two. Thus appeared on the token his name and a 1, signifying the rank he possessed.


    While this was simply done in seconds for him, most people who become warriors or rise in rank are forced to wait an infinite amount of time before an official takes the time to update their status. Not everyone has an Essence Stone in their pocket after all.


    After a journey which seemed to him more and more intolerable, the carriage finally arrived at its destination. He opened the door without waiting for the driver to open it for him or put on the step, and leaped straight to the ground with a light step.


    In front of him was one of the largest mansions in the city. It was one of the secondary residences belonging to his family. Count was the title representing the most powerful nobles after that of the duke of course, and although they had their own domain, a residence worthy of the name in the capital of the duchy was an obligation.


    After dismissing the coachman, he entered through the large iron gate, nodded to the guards who had bowed, and walked towards the abode.


    After the young master Rohan stepped away from the portal towards the building, the two guards raised their heads and looked at each other with an expression of disbelief.


    "Did I see that? He did have a warrior''s insignia on him, right?"


    "I believe he succeeded in becoming a warrior at the Duke''s castle, I even saw a 1 on the medal!"


    * sigh *


    "It must be a genius. If he ever trains with us like he does every morning, he''s going to put us in misery now ..."


    As the guards got scared for their future training, Rohan came to the door of the building. The door opened and a butler stepped out to welcome the young master.


    "Welcome back, young master."


    His eyes flickered over the badge attached to the warrior''s chest and a smile stretched across his lips.


    "Congratulations on becoming a warrior in such a short time, young master, I''m sure the Count and Countess will be happy with this news."


    Rohan entered the building and headed for the stairs with the butler at his heels. A mocking smile appeared on his face when he heard the last past.


    "Ha! The count will be surprised, that''s for sure ! The countess however, will be more interested in parties or whatever it is that she attends. No need to waste time telling her, Jonas, send someone to prepare a hot bath instead. My body is numb from all over because of my promotion, and I''m not even talking about the coachman who was presumably after my life."


    "Immediately young master."


    "Ha and find someone to tell the news at my brother, and invite him with father to eat for tonight if they are available, otherwise too bad."


    "It will be done, young master."


    "Damn I almost forgot, warn my father that Edwin will drop by tomorrow to talk about something and he has to be present. Either it''s to give us some money, or it''s to ask us some, I don''t see any other reason."


    After finishing here, Rohan entered his room and closed the door behind him without giving his butler time to respond.


    Jonas was used to his master''s manners, which hardly suited a nobleman when he was at home. He had been his personal butler since birth, so the two had a pretty special relationship.


    He wondered for a few seconds who he was referring to when he spoke of a certain Edwin. As he made his way to the servants'' room, he suddenly stopped.


    "Edwin! General Chrisfold, of course!"


    He shook his head, laughing, then continued on to his work. It was still early in the afternoon, so if he wanted the young master''s family to be present for the meal, that was going to be tight.


    At normal speed, a horse would need 3 hours to reach the count''s domain, so he should send someone deliver the message now.


    He knew the young master hadn''t eaten yet, so after sending someone over to take care of the bath and take care of all his chores, he went to the kitchen to have the cook make something.


    Night began to fall. In the courtyard of the Duke''s castle, Edwin stood in front of the children with a smile on his face. The demonic core was put away a few minutes ago, causing the mist of mana floating in the courtyard to disappear.


    This year has been a good year. Of the thirty present, seven have succeeded in creating a core, including one who has become a warrior. One of the best groups in decades.


    The six of them who created their cores now just have to create their meridian, and although not all of them will necessarily succeed, there will still be additional warriors defending the Duchy before the end of the year.


    He sent the children home, his job finally over. As the last person stepped out of the courtyard, his smile vanished like snow in the sun. Lin had brought him the value of Spirit of the young warrior Rohan, this amount was undoubtedly disturbing.


    He decided to take it into account now and go to ask advice from one of the only people who could help. He sped off to the stables to retrieve his horse. A warhorse feeds on the best seeds and hay, a mount made for battle.


    He charged outside the castle and headed for the tall tower looming in the distance, the only one in the city and even in the whole duchy, the tower of a wizard.


    The tower was the tallest building in the city, even the watchtowers surrounding the city did not reach such a height. There were a few openings serving as windows and a simple wooden door allowing entry inside.


    He dismounted from his horse and headed for the door, no one would dare steal the horse of the most powerful man in the duchy, let alone before the terrifying tower of a wizard.


    After knocking on the door, a man opened it. He was one of the apprentices, not even a rank 1 Beginner Wizard. But he was still one of the few people in the world apt at becoming a wizard. He looked surprised to see Edwin at this time of day, as the sun was no longer visible.


    "General Chrisfold, what an honor! What can I do for you?"


    "I need to see Wizard Madrick, it''s very urgent."


    Even though he was known as the most powerful in the duchy, he knew very well that it was wrong, as only the owner of this tower deserved this title. So he made himself as humble as possible while upholding his rank of general.


    "Come in, I''ll let him know."


    The interior of the tower was simple, the ground floor was only a large room serving as a living space for all the apprentices of the tower. Three of them were currently present, in front of a board hanging on a wall. They bowed to the general before resuming their conversation.


    Edwin waited standing in the middle of this room for five minutes before the apprentice came back to guide him toward the top of the tower.


    They climbed a spiral staircase that circled the tower and passed a few doors, one door marking a floor.


    Edwin knew that the first and second floors corresponded to the dormitories of the apprentices while the third and fourth corresponded to rooms for some experiments. Not knowing anything about it, he was not particularly interested. T


    he fifth and sixth floors corresponded to the living space of a rank 4 Beginner Wizard and one of a rank 5 Beginner Wizard respectively, disciples of Mardrick, while he himself lived on the seventh and last floor.


    Arriving at the top of the stairs, the apprentice knocked on the door, opened it and let the general enter before closing the door and going down again, all without a noise.


    Before Edwin was a middle-aged man, with a pepper-and-salt beard gnawing his cheeks and wearing a gray wizard robe. You might think that Mardrick was only ten years older than Edwin, but in fact he was almost a hundred years old, while Edwin was only sixty.


    Raising the ranks considerably increased the lifespan of a person, however the lifespan of wizards will always be higher than the one of warriors.


    It was even said that there were wizards over a thousand years old, while the famous Old Monster of the Empire, a rank 16 Supreme Warrior, was only 400 years old, and was nearing his end.


    After General Edwin and Mage Mardrick greeted each other, Edwin told him what had happened that morning. Mardrick followed the story while stroking his bearde with wide eyes.


    "A spirit of 11 ... terrifying. An average wizard usually has a spirit of 5 thanks to the manastone he has since birth. I know why you are here. You want to know if he is a wizard¡­ With such a number, I will want to say yes, but the only way to verify is to ask the kingdom to send the court wizards to check if he has a manastone. You realize, of course, that this is definitely not the time to get their attention."


    "I suspected that, isn''t there another way? Make him learn a spell or something ?"


    The mage shook his head, sighing.


    "The only method to activate the manastone is to first make it absorb mana. For that you have to send mana directly into the head. So if he truly has a manastone, then everything is for the best, but if he doesn''t, he might die, or worse. And it certainly wouldn''t be the first case of a mentally crippled genius because someone thought he was an apprentice with a mighty spirit. "


    His implication was obvious, without a way to prove that he did have a manastone, the risk would be far too great. The only way to find out would be to involve the kingdom, and to involve them now would be a terrible idea.


    "Haaa. Guess there''s nothing we can do then."


    "No need to think about it Edwin! He still became a warrior in one day and it isn''t something that can be done with a high Spirit alone, he definitely has talent in the warrior path. So give him some ressources, and after we win the war, we will be able to test him.. If he really has a manastone, he would potentially be able to become a magic warrior. A true powerhouse from this duchy, able to follow the warrior and wizard paths and be much more powerful than you and me !"

 Chapter 4 - Meal With Family

    While the two most powerful men in the duchy were in the middle of a discussion, Rohan welcomed his family.


    His father, Roland, was a rank 7 Intermediate Warrior and was one of the Duchy commanders. He had blond hair and a large stature. He was an impassive man in public but warm in private and it was almost a characteristic of the family and was known in the noble circle.


    He came from a family of warriors who had earned their title of nobility by waging wars for the kingdom and acquired impressive feats of arms over time.


    Even if the status of his family had grown considerably when he became an intermediate warrior himself, a title of nobility was not necessarily given with substantial lands and the duke had back then given them the lands of a baron.


    This was the most he could do, for an estate the size of a county had to be given under the approval of the kingdom and this one will never agree to give so much power to a new noble. It was already worthy of praise that the duke gave this family lands.


    After marrying a baroness whom he loved dearly, they had two children together. The first was Luke, who had failed to become a warrior. He didn''t try more after failing to form his core, and instead chose to focus on managing his futur lands as the heir of the family. The second one was Rohan, who became a rank 1 Beginner Warrior at thirteen.


    Unfortunately, Rohan''s mother abandoned her duty as a mother toward him, and was only concerned with potential social ties and going to participate regularly in balls or other such evening. She was also preparing Luke to be a good heir.


    That was why Rohan hated her so much, to him she was just a parasite who was thirsty for power. But since his father didn''t say anything, he kept his feelings to himself and his butler.


    "Bwahaha! Look at this! A genius, a real genius in the family! If you keep going like this you will become an advanced warrior with no problem! You may even become a Supreme warrior, imagine! The power of the elements, hahaha I can''t wait to see that! "


    It was at least the tenth time that Luke, Rohan''s big brother, had repeated something like this since they had started eating. Probably more, but Rohan had stopped counting a moment ago. Luke had taken his father''s blond hair, and was sitting near his brother whom he loved dearly.


    Since they were younger, Luke always pampered his brother. He was not blind, and he knew that for a reason, their mother was ignoring Rohan, almost as if he didn''t exist for her.


    He kept congratulating his brother to be able to become a warrior. He was of course a little bit jealous that he wasn''t the one to have this talent, but he was still fine with it.


    It was said that in some empires the sight of a novice warrior was commonplace, but in this poor helpless empire, it was exceptional to cross one in the street, let alone in this duchy.


    The count was sitting in the main seat, watching his children with a thin smile. Normally they did not discuss when they were eating at the table, they were nobles after all.


    But he knew very well that these two were not worried about such frills, as Rohan never cared about such custom in the first place, and Luke was everyday forced to live with a noble mannerism by his wife.


    The evening continued like this for a while, before sleep caught up with each of them and they all went to bed.


    Dawn was approaching, and a new day arrived.


    Rohan woke up as the sun was rising. He pushed back the curtains to sit down and stayed that way for a few seconds, still drowsy asleep. He smacked his cheeks with his hands and hurried up, otherwise he was going to give up all goodwill and go back to the dreamlands.


    He stretched and walked out of habit where his leather armor was. He began to dress and put on his armor in the dark, only a thin light of the rising sun illuminating the room. He had put it on so many times that he could do it with his eyes closed without difficulties.


    He left his room and found Jonas waiting for him outside his door with a tray in his hands. He smiled and greeted his master.


    "Good morning young master, for your breakfast please find some sausages accompanied with scrambled eggs, as well as a fruit juice squeezed only a few minutes ago by myself."


    Rohan could not stop sighing at this sight he was used to, he was about to run straight into the courtyard, but changed direction and headed for the dining room.


    "Again huh? Is there a day where you will leave me in peace in the morning?"


    "Not while I''m your butler, young master."


    Rohan rolled his eyes, and glanced at the tray Jonas was carrying.


    "I might do better to change it as soon as possible then, look at this, we''ll be able to feed at least five people with the amount you prepared."


    "You won''t find a better butler than me in the whole Young Master Empire!"


    He continued by bulging his chest.


    "Plus, by becoming a warrior, you are now going to need to eat a lot more! No matter how much you take all the potions or whatever you want, you won''t become more powerful if you don''t eat enough, young master!"


    "If you say it, if you say it."


    They arrived in the dining room, and after putting down the tray, Jonas left the room without a sound.


    Shortly after Rohan began to eat, the door opened again and he saw the count enter the room. So Rohan stood up and bowed to greet him.


    "Father."


    "Rohan."


    He paused before seeing the leather armor his son was wearing. His eyebrow twitched a bit but he decided to ignore it. He knew that although his son did not respect the manners of nobles in private at all, he respected them in public. In his way.


    He then decided to ignore the outfit he was wearing at the table and sat down across from him.


    "You are going to train I guess? Remember your body is still weak from yesterday, it needs time to get used to the mana. Don''t kill yourself to the job."


    "I''ll take note of it, father."


    The door opened again and a butler brought food for the count, before exiting. Like that, the meal took place in silence.


    Once having finished his breakfast, Rohan left the room and walked towards the courtyard, it was time to practice a little.


    As he approached the courtyard, he heard loud voices coming from it. By the time he finished eating, the sun had already risen well, so some of the guards were in full training session.


    About ten guards were present, all running along the field under the orders of their captain. When they saw Rohan arriving, they all gradually came to a stop in front of him before they bowed. Only the captain spoke.


    "Good morning, Young master, would you like to join us?"


    It had been a few years since the young master joined them every morning to train with them. At the beginning, he was only ten years old, and had a rather weak constitution, so he held the role of mascot.


    The soldiers thought he would give up quickly, but he kept going every morning, and although at thirteen he was far from comparable to real trained soldiers, he had nonetheless become one of the best of his age.


    That said, that was the past, now that he had become a warrior, he was maybe only thirteen, but he could beat them one by one with nothing more than his physique, if we exclude the captain.


    "For the fifty or so time captain, call me Rohan on the training ground. Go ahead I''ll follow you, you will see today what it means to have mana."


    With a big smile on his face, Rohan sensed that today was going to be a good day. He wasn''t going to be the first to crash to the ground with fatigue like a weak worm.


    This is how a memorable training for the guards took place. By order of the captain, they all started running again.


    As Rohan ran behind the soldiers, he realized that he was not at all slower than them, on the contrary, he felt he could accelerate without too much effort. His endurance has definitely increased.


    He also understood why he didn''t see his father train himself, this warm-up wouldn''t do much for him anymore. He wondered how his father was doing.


    Did he have to race a horse for a whole day before considering being exhausted? What about Edwin? Even sprinting for a whole week toward the kingdom''s capital might not be enough to tire him out.


    After running, everyone went to retrieve a wooden sword. Rohan took the one he usually used, it was made for his stature and was light. Of course, he should have known, it was now way too light!


    "Rohan, please, take this training sword, it''s heavier than the one you have, it should fit you fine. I prepared it earlier in case you wanted to train."


    Rohan turned around and saw the captain hand him a sword. He took it, thanking him and stood next to the soldiers.


    For an hour, they chained movements that they had already learned by heart. Rohan had learned for a long time and had been replicating them every day for three years. Although these movements were far from perfect, they were decent.


    In any case, that''s what he had thought. He realized that the control he had over his body was much more obvious than before. He thus tried to perfect the various movements of attacks and defenses.


    After finishing, the captain walked up to Rohan and offered him an idea.


    "I see you are still having a little trouble controlling your strength, if you don''t mind, what do you think of a duel against one of the soldiers?"

 Chapter 5 - Strengthened Blow

    The captain designated a soldier in the group who moved to a rack to retrieve two wooden shields before giving one to Rohan and equipping his own.


    The other soldiers had moved to the side to watch the show. It was not the first time that a match against the young master took place, on the contrary. But today, the result might be different.


    The captain remained close to the two fighters, he will serve as a judge and stop the fight if he considers that one of the two has lost and will prevent any possible accident.


    Rohan fitted his shield, it was nothing more than a heavy wooden plate used for training, definitely not the best defense. But that was enough, he felt ready, he was going to win.


    The captain, seeing that the two combatants were ready, did not wait any longer, and launched the fight. Rohan stepped forward with his shield, he circled the guard to judge his movements, and suddenly launched the assault.


    He stepped forward quickly and gave a blow with his shield to disturb his opponent''s balance. The force of the shock caused the soldiers to take a step back, while Rohan took advantage of this opening to slash his sword diagonally.


    The soldier stepped aside to regain his balance and positioned his shield at a specific angle to decrease as much damage as possible. Rohan jumped back to avoid the guard''s counterattack.


    He knew who the guard in front of him was, he was one of the best of this group of soldiers. He was definitely good, but with this exchange, he realized the differences between a warrior and a normal human, he was going to win.


    As his foot touched the ground after his leap, he speeded forward to launch another attack. He struck at the slightest opening, forcing his opponent as much as possible on the defensive, and dodged as soon as a counter attack was launched.


    The soldier, receiving the blows, absolutely had to pay attention to his position. His opponent may have been only a 13-year-old, but the blows of a warrior were no joke, his shield-bearing arm was becoming numb from the shocks.


    This dance continued for a few moments, until an attack from the guard moved towards Rohan. He didn''t dodge this blow, it was that movement he was looking for, and as the blow approached, he didn''t back down.


    He stepped forward, raising his shield. And just before the impact between these two forces, Rohan pushed his shield towards the blade with superhuman force, deviating it from the initial path. The guard, not expecting it, was swept back by the rebound of his blow.


    Rohan, seeing the best possible opening, rushed forward and planted his weapon at the exposed chest. The soldier tried to react and parry with his sword, his shield being too far away, but he only managed to slightly deflect the blow, and the wooden tip stopped at his right shoulder. If it was a real sword, he would have lost his arm, unable to move it.


    The spectators screamed and applauded, it was a very good fight. The soldier stepped back and bowed to Rohan.


    "Young master, you have definitely become stronger, thank you for this fight."


    "Thanks to you, it was a good fight."


    As Rohan was about to take off his equipment, the captain stepped forward, a strange glint in his eyes, as if he had found a pearl.


    "It was indeed a good fight, do you want to have a sword duel against me after a little break? I think that would benefit you. I''m indeed a rank 3 warrior, but what do you think of judging our sword plays?"


    "Oh? Why not? Let me freshen up a bit beforehand and we''ll be good."


    After a few minutes, Rohan and the Captain were standing face to face, with nothing more than a sword in hand. The soldiers were gathered around, without making the slightest noise. The captain began to speak.


    "If you allow me, I will put some pressure on you, after all it is under the pressure that we evolve the most. Are you ready?"


    As Rohan nodded, the captain rushed towards him.


    Fast ! In a few steps the captain was on him and attacked with his weapon. Rohan could only defend himself in extremis and stepped back. But that was only the beginning, a sudden storm was flying over him. He dodged a few but was forced to parry or deflect most blows.


    The force of the blows was incredible. The captain might only have been a rank 3 warrior, but each blow, each movement followed without pause as if he was a battle god.


    Rohan concentrated, he couldn''t stay on the defensive forever.


    Suddenly he dodged a blow and launched his own bottom-up attack. Usually this kind of blow was not effective, it was better to use gravity rather than going against it to launch an attack. But using his strength, Rohan launched this attack to surprise his opponent.


    The latter responded by taking a simple side step, and the blow touched nothing but emptiness.


    But Rohan did not let himself be destabilized and immediately recovered before starting to hit left and right. Each of his blows was easily parried, as his opponent seemed to see his every move with disconcerting ease.


    He couldn''t touch it, so he had to go faster, to hit harder. He continued to attack, tried to increase the pace, to put more strength in each of his strokes. An attack to the right, a thrust, to the left, a horizontal slash, then diagonal, and we start again. Faster. Stronger.


    He felt a tingling sensation down his arm. Heat radiated from his chest. More precisely, from his core in the middle of his chest.


    The captain had a strange expression on his face. He was right, he thought he saw a reaction to the young master''s mana when he was fighting against his soldier. It was for this reason that he had called for a duel. But how was this possible? Normally it took months of training to successfully use your mana!


    Suddenly the heat rose, Rohan felt like an explosion coming from his core. Like a volcano erupting as all the lava entered its arm.


    His mana exploded towards the meridian, filling it completely before merging with his right arm, giving it phenomenal power. He gave a blow from above. This blow was much faster than the others, a faint glow coming from his arm.


    The captain had no choice but to use his own skill, strengthened blow, to meet his young master''s sword with his own.


    The two wooden swords met. A thud, followed by a cracking sound, was heard throughout the courtyard. Two pieces of swords flew through the areas before falling to the ground. The shock was far too violent for training swords of this quality.


    Rohan looked back at the broken sword still in his hand and the shards on the ground with a blank expression. The captain threw the pommel to the ground, and with excitement all over his face, bowed deeply to Rohan.


    "Congratulations young master for having managed to use your mana. It had personally taken me four months before I managed to use it in combat."


    Rohan turned his face to him, and tilted his head to the side as if he didn''t understand what he was talking about.


    Suddenly his eyes widened. It took him a few seconds to figure out what had happened. He had succeeded in using strengthened blow, the capacity of the warriors given by the meridians. He returned his gaze to his hand, his mana had already dissipated.


    It would take another ten hours or so before his 10 mana points were recovered again.


    After all, it wasn''t the skills of the Beginner Warrior that made them so fearful, but their sheer power. Of course, it was only for the beginner ranks, as for an Intermediate Warrior and above, they were beings far more powerful with much more mana.


    As the captain had said, normally it would have taken him several months before he could use his mana. Several months of meditating and learning how to guide his mana in the meridian to then diffuse it in all the arm.


    It was supposed to be long and laborious. And yet he had done it in a day, just because he was frustrated that he couldn''t hit his opponent.


    The training came to an end, the guards returned to their activities while Rohan was going to wash to remove the accumulated sweat, it was still necessary to be presentable in front of a general. On entering the building, his butler, Jonas, warned him that his brother had already left for the estate, he had his own duty.


    Rohan entered the bathroom where a bath had already been prepared for him. He stripped off his leather armor and clothes and laid them casually on the floor, before stepping into the tub naked.


    Sitting cross-legged inside, he closed his eyes and focused on his body. He had already examined himself yesterday to know when would be the best time to start opening the second meridian. Like most warriors, he had decided he was going to open a meridian towards one of his legs so he would be able to use the skill charge, allowing him to speed up for a short time.


    Due to his promotion from the previous day, the inside of his body was still weakened, and forcing an opening with mana will have to wait until he is back in good shape.


    He deduced that he would have to wait at least a month for his body to be fully recovered, and apart from the physical training, he would not do anything else this month. He nodded with a smile and lay down in the tub to relax quietly.


    At the beginning of the afternoon, five horse riders presented themselves in the residence of the count. One of them was of course the general Edwin Chrisfold while the other four were his personal guards. They dismounted and, guided by a servant, came to a room where Rohan and his father were seated.


    They got up when the five men appeared, and the count invited them to sit down. Only the general sat on the sofa while his 4 guards remained standing behind him. Before starting the discussion, three cups of tea were brought in by a butler.


    After dipping his lips in the drink, the count spoke.


    "So general Chrisfold, tell me, why did you want to see us today? Does this have anything to do with the promotion of Rohan?"


    Edwin put the mug on the table and glanced at Rohan before looking back on Roland. He was a commander, so in theory he could give him orders, but what he was going to talk about had little to do with the military. So he treated him with his title of nobility.


    "It does indeed have something to do with his promotion, Count Roland. In fact, I wanted to come and take him on as an official disciple, that''s what I decided yesterday when he became a rank 1 Beginner Warrior. That said, that won''t be possible within these days.


    We''re all way too busy, and I imagine you will too, I will not be able to guide him. Plus, he already has the method to rank up. So I am going back on my decision, I will wait until the war is over. Rohan, after this war, I would like to take you as a disciple, and lead you on the path of an advanced warrior."


    Roland and Rohan''s eyes lit up at the same time. Rohan''s family only possessed the method to become an Intermediate Warrior, he did not know how to ascend beyond. This offer was masterful.


    Rohan stood up before his father had time to say anything, and bowed to his future master.


    "It will be my honor to be your disciple, General Edwin."


    A big smile appeared on Edwin''s face and he laughed before adding.


    "Hahaha, great, great. It''s decided then!"


    He turned to one of his guards behind him.


    "Give me the gift"


    The soldier then gave a leather bag to the general, who put it on the table. He looked at Rohan who had sat down and was patting the bag.


    "I can''t take you as a disciple right now, but I can help you anyway.. The content of this bag is for you, it will help you for your future promotions. It is not given to everyone to be able to own this kind of product hahaha! "

 Chapter 6 - Potions

    General Edwin took out three vials from the bag and put them on the table. One of them contained a transparent liquid with a slight white color while the second contained a liquid of a bluish color. And finally the last one contained a weak golden color.


    What these 3 potions had in common was their transparency. Sign that these potions were very common.


    Although they were common, that was in comparison with other potions, and they were nonetheless rare and very expensive for the common people.


    Edwin prepared to explain the usefulness of these potions, he started with the bluish one.


    "This is a weak mana potion, it was concocted by wizard Mardrick himself. It allows you to recover 10 mana points, so it is useful for beginner and intermediate warriors but also for beginner mages. For any rank above, it is not that useful, but well, it''s good enough.


    To make potions more powerful, you need rare plants that cannot be found in the kingdom, even for me I can only be satisfied with these potions. I put ten of those in the bag, you can do what you want with them, either keep them to take during a fight, or you can speed up your training."


    He switched to the white potion.


    "This is a slightly rarer potion than the first. It is a weak recovery potion. It heals the body from mana corrosion. It cannot really be used to actually heal a wound, but it does allow you to slightly increase the speed at which the body heals itself.


    After your promotion, you should wait about a month before resuming training because of the mana. With this potion, waiting a week should be enough! I put two in the bag, the first for you to take now, and the second to be taken with the last potion I put for you. "


    With that, he gently took the golden potion in his hand.


    "This potion is extremely rare, it is a weak mana compression potion. After taking it, creating a meridian is much easier and a meditation session will have multiple times the normal effect.


    It is a divine potion for a novice warrior, but it has practically no effect on vortex creations for Intermediate Warriors. Even so, it is still a highly sought after product. The only downside is that it tends to do some mana damage to the body, because it compresses the mana and explodes it toward a meridian, so you have to take a weak potion of recovery at the same time.


    This is the only potion of this type that I have, I had kept it for a few years but it is useless to me, so I will give it to you. "


    Rohan stared at the potions in front of him in shock. He knew these potions, and he also knew their price. A low mana potion was sold for around 100 gold while a low recovery potion was sold for 200 gold, and someone still had to be found to sell it.


    The last one, the weak mana compression potion, just wasn''t on the market. He didn''t dare imagine what price this potion would have.


    "General Chrisfold, this is too much for me, I cannot accept so much."


    The general''s gift was simply amazing, you should know that the house they were currently in and the land around were not worth more than 1000 gold! And 5 gold was enough for a family of four to live normally for a whole year.


    The general laughed and put the potions back in the bag. Then he pushed a bag towards Rohan.


    "Take them. Anyway they are useless to me, I have no interest in keeping them. And you are not going to refuse the gift of your future master right?"


    Rohan stood up and bowed deeply before this man''s generosity.


    The three continued to talk for a while. Then, seeing that it was getting late, the general got up. It was about time to go. The count and his son walked him and his guards back to the door. After he left, Roland turned to his son.


    "Well, I''m also going to have to go back to the estate, my homework won''t wait until tomorrow. What are you doing? Are you staying here or are you planning to come back to the estate?"


    "No, I''m fine here, I''ll continue my training quietly, until the time comes."


    The count''s gaze darkens somewhat on this remark.


    "You have two years left to get stronger, to become at least a rank 2 warrior, and if you can push to rank 3 it would be even better."


    "Two years? I thought we still had at least four or five years?"


    "No, the duchy cannot wait that long, the lands are dying faster than we thought. And the kingdom acted as we imagined: it stopped selling us food. The people are starting to become difficult to restrict. We do what we can to prepare everything in secret, but the kingdom risks noticing it at any moment. A revolution is not so easy to hide. "


    Back in his bedroom, Rohan enters to put the bag on his bed. Although he was a nobleman, Rohan had always appreciated simplicity, and his bedroom followed this precept perfectly.


    As we entered the room, a bed was against the middle of the left wall, a wardrobe for clothes on the right wall, a rack for his armor and nothing else.


    He took the white potion out of the bag and sat down in a meditation position on the floor. There was no point in waiting, so he might as well take it as quickly as possible.


    He uncapped the vial, and a faint white smoke came out, bringing in a gentle and sweet smell. Without hesitation, he raised the potion to his lips, and threw his head back to drink it sharply.


    He felt the liquid flow down the esophagus and, a few minutes later, a feeling of coolness invaded his body from top to bottom. He felt like it came from his stomach as a source, and this freshness reached every part of his body, passing through his arms, legs and even his head. He felt himself being purified from within.


    This freshness did not take long to disappear, but the feeling of purification remained, as if a weight had been removed from his body.


    He examined his body again and found that the mana wounds were now healing much faster than before. In view of the speed, he judged Edwin''s approximation to be correct. In a week, he will be perfectly recovered, and will therefore be able to start his second promotion.


    After he finished examining himself, he turned his eyes to the vial he had in his hand. At first glance you might think it was a rounded vial of normal glass with a cap on the top. But something made Rohan very curious about this one.


    There were a dozen of these vials in the bag, and yet when he had lugged the bag around, no ringing could be heard. It wasn''t that he had worn it without shaking it once either, he wasn''t well known for taking care of his things, Jonas could attest to that.


    Besides, putting such a large number of glass potions in a simple leather bag was risking disaster.


    He didn''t see anything special when he looked at the bottle, so he pulled out another potion to experiment. He banged the two bottles between them. No sound was heard.


    He tilted his head to the side, he didn''t understand. He tapped the empty vial with his finger, and a characteristic sound of glass was heard. Yet when the two potions collided, nothing happened. A truly surprising object.


    He capped the empty vial and threw it on the ground, he did not put all his strength into it, but still enough to break a normal glass. However the expected result did not arrive, or maybe it was, as the vial bounced on the ground and let itself roll a few centimeters before stopping, without any cracks.


    A truly surprising object indeed! Could this be the first magical object Rohan has in his possession?


    The idea seemed a little disappointing to him when he thought about it, but he remembered that he already has an Essence Stone, which was supposed to be very precious. He felt better for a second, then he suddenly thought about the price of the potion.


    It wasn''t because of this special vial that it cost so much right ?! Couldn''t they just put it in a normal vial?


    "These wizards are really born with a silver spoon in their mouths!"


    After Rohan, son of a count who lived with money and everything he wanted since his birth, complained about the money wizards had, he picked up the empty vial and decided to keep it safe. He will not let this treasure go away !


    He put the potion away in his hand and put the bag in a corner. According to him, he wouldn''t need it for quite some time, as his training would probably go without difficulties.


    During the following week, Rohan got up at dawn, somehow, to go and train with the guards. Jonas waited for him every day with something to eat before going, of course. He was also practicing the strengthened blow skill against the captain, his mana filling up every day.


    After morning practice, he spent the rest of the day sitting in an armchair, juice in one hand and a book in the other. History book, fiction, or more specialized knowledge, he had always spent his time reading, and that since he was born. What better thing than reading ? nothing of course !


    Some afternoons, he was going outside to train his horse riding skills, as he was not particularly good at it. But he didn''t train more than a few rounds, before going back to his reading session.


    If most of the warriors who had to spend their whole day training hard and taking lots of potions just to hope to promote themselves, saw how this guy was spending his days, more than one might have vomited blood.

 Chapter 7 - Second Meridian

    The long-awaited day has arrived. Rohan stood up as usual, and after eating what his butler had prepared for him, he walked to the courtyard to train with the soldiers. Like each of the previous days, he continued with a duel against the captain to train his swordsmanship and sharpen his reflexes.


    After that, he learned how to use his skill properly. It was a skill that was going to be used in the middle of a fight, so he needed to get used to it as much as possible. Using it once a day already severely limited the workout, so he had decided that he would use it every morning.


    Anyway, he only had to wait about ten hours before his mana was full again.


    His day did not change particularly, after training he spent his free time between meals, reading and relaxing quietly.


    After that night fell, he sat cross-legged in the meditation position. A book was placed at his sides, open on a drawing of a man with 5 lines running through the body. These lines were connected to a core in the middle of this one.


    This book was describing the method to open a meridian. Although he already knew it by heart, he didn''t want to make a mistake as the way he opened the first was an exception.


    The idea to use the moment when the core was created, to gather the mana through his right arm in a way to facilitate the opening of the first meridian was written in this text. But that was exactly what it was, a simple helper to ease the task, he didn''t think at this time that he would be able to open it all at once.


    But this time would be different, the task would be much longer, as most warriors needed several years. Even though he was confident, he had reread this text during the day to be sure he was not missing anything.


    He closed his eyes, and he focused on the inside of his body. More precisely where its core was placed. It was a transparent pearl, glowing slightly, with a white cloud floating inside. It was his mana. A link was attached to this core and went to the end of his right arm. It was his first meridian.


    He had already decided earlier to form his second meridian towards his right leg. So he started without waiting any longer.


    He gathered the mana cloud and tried to control each particle to move them where he wanted. He had noticed it during his promotion to a warrior, but he had a disconcerting ease in controlling it. He could move his mana as he wished without much difficulty.


    Yet he knew that his brother had needed quite a while before he could control it just a little, and in the end he didn''t succeed. Rohan deduced that this facility was explained by the high value of his Spirit.


    Commander Lin had told him something about it. He hadn''t fully listened at the time, but he remembered the creepy face this commander had made when he saw the value of his Spirit.


    He put those thoughts in the back of his head, and focused back again on the task. The aim was to concentrate his mana as much as possible and send it in one direction to create a tunnel and consolidate it with mana.


    So there were two parts. He first had to dig by sending his mana under high pressure towards the wall of his core and, while resisting the pain, make sure to maintain the beginning of the meridian by hardening the mana.


    So he began, he gathered his mana and compacted it into a ball, as concentrated as possible. When he felt he could no longer compact his mana, he sent it with all his might towards the wall of his core, where the meridian will be attached. All of his inside shook from the shock, and the mana began to dig through.


    Cold sweat ran down his back. The pain was definitely less severe than when he created his core, but as it was him who controlled it directly, it was quite psychologically tough.


    As a tiny hole was created, he infused his mana, and as the mana entered the inside of his body, he used the corrosion to create a passage. As the path lengthened to his right leg, his mana was constantly being drained into the creation of the meridian.


    It wasn''t long before his 10 mana were fully used. This ending his session, he observed the results.


    In the center of his body stood a transparent pearl, the glow observed previously was now almost nonexistent. The mana cloud inside the pearl had also disappeared. A link, attached to the wall, went to his right arm, it was his first meridian.


    Another link, attached to the wall in the same way, was directed to his right leg. But it stopped a short distance away, as it will take a lot more sessions to be able to fully open this meridian.


    With this experience, he thought he understood how he had managed to open his first meridian in one day. With his superior mana control, he had absorbed far more mana than necessary with the help of the red stone that Edwin had pulled out, making sure that one session was enough.


    He examined the end of the meridian that he had just built, with the length that he had just traveled, he judged that he only needed a hundred days to fully open his meridian. It was definitely quick.


    Rohan wanted to know how long this session took, so he looked at the candle that was on the table not far away. He judged that a little over an hour had passed. With a little more practice, he should even be able to shorten the necessary time.


    As he rose from his position, it occurred to him that he had just slightly increased the mana capacity he could withstand, even if the amount was tiny, maybe the Essence Stone will be able to detect it?


    Without waiting any longer, he took out the famous black rectangular stone, and put his thumb in the place that was made for it. Data appeared:


    Race: human


    Age: 13 years old


    Constitution: 1.68


    Mana: 0 / 10.08


    Spirit: 11


    Not only had his constitution increased by 0.03, but his mana had also increased by 0.08! His increase of 0.01 to his constitution was probably due to the fact that he used mana to use the strengthened blow skill.


    He had indeed read that the mana used, merging with the body, would make it slightly stronger. An increase of 0.08 to his mana was certainly not very interesting on its own, but having accurate data was always a plus.


    When it would reached a total mana capacity of 20, its second meridian will then be fully formed. If he increased each day by 0.08, then he would need 125 days of meditations. It was much more precise than what he had predicted beforehand.


    125 days to become a rank 2 Beginner Warrior without any resources, potions or outside help whatsoever. If he took the training out of his warrior skill and decided to meditate twice a day, he could even divide that number of days by 2. If he wasn''t a genius, then no one in the whole world would be one!


    Rohan shook his head to chase away the fantasies and thought about what he was going to do. After creating another meridian, his body would be even more resilient, undoubtedly resulting in less successful meditations in the future.


    But even taking this fact into account, he knew that if he continued like this with just one session per day, he would definitely be a rank 3 Beginner Warrior during the next 2 years, if not a rank 4 Beginner Warrior. Indeed, he would participate in the war, so the stronger he was, the better. But there was a limit to that.


    If he was too strong, he would have to fight against the strongest of the enemies'' side. According to him it was better to know how to use his skills perfectly rather than rushing his rise in rank to be unable to fight in the end. That way, he will not die a miserable death.


    So he decided to continue like this, with one session per day, and without the use of potions. He was going to save the mana potions for use in combat, it would be much more useful. And for the other two potions, he will use them to form the fifth meridian, towards the skull, which was the most difficult of all, and also the most dangerous.


    The days that followed were all the same, setting up his routine. By dawn he was training physically and getting used to his skill. The rest of the day he didn''t do anything special, he read quietly and rushed his butler Jonas to buy more books, or get some from the main estate.


    In the evening, after the meal, he spent less than an hour in meditation, then went to bed. The next day he did it again.


    During this time, he didn''t really go out of the location, except for training with a horse, but his family would come by from time to time.


    His father was way too busy with the war preparation, so he didn''t have time to move around, but Luke did come in every now and then to see Rohan.


    Since Rohan''s only practice time was early morning and late evening, his brother saw him only sprawled out in a chair all day long, a book in his hands, and his favorite juice on a table.


    It wasn''t even worth talking about his mother, according to Rohan, she had probably forgotten about his existence. Not that he was interested, as he had more or less forgotten her as well.


    So, time passed at a disconcerting speed, and suddenly, a little less than a hundred days had passed.


    Today would be the day when Rohan, after being the fastest in the kingdom, or even the whole empire, to have become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior, would become the fastest to become a rank 2 Beginner Warrior.

 Chapter 8 - Rank 2 Beginner Warrior

    Rohan was sitting in his room. The sun had already set for a while and only a weak candle flame was lighting the room.


    Rohan held the Essence Stone in his hand, and looked at his statistics.


    Race: human


    Age: 13 years old


    Constitution: 1.93


    Mana: 19.87 / 19.87


    Spirit: 11


    Every evening since he had started meditating until today, his sessions had lengthened. At first, it did not last more than an hour, then as he got used to it more and more, the time decreased to about forty minutes.


    However, there was one fact that he hadn''t taken into account: his mana was increasing as he was forming more and more of his meridian.


    So his sessions ended up lasting a little longer and now lasted over an hour. In return, the length of his meridian was increasing faster and faster every day, so he didn''t have to wait for the 125 days originally planned.


    The only problem he had was that his mana regeneration was always the same, only 1 per hour.


    And so, these few days, his mana was never filled to the maximum because he always used 10 of it in the morning in the training of his skill Strengthened Blow.


    And in the evening, he used all the mana he had left for his meditation, so he had nothing left and only had the time to regenerate what he needed to unleash his skill the next morning.


    Because of this, he didn''t use his skill against the captain this morning as he had to save his mana to be sure to be at his maximum for his promotion as a rank 2 Beginner Warrior.


    Sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, he focused on his core. The mana cloud was slightly thicker than when it was only 10.


    He squeezed it as much as possible and, rather than shaping it into a ball, formed it into an oval. This was a common way described in the texts, otherwise the meridian would widen due to a mana ball twice as large as before.


    After he finished gathering his mana, he threw it into his meridians and passed through his whole without difficulty.


    It was already a good sign. It happened sometimes, when the meridian was badly consolidated, that it collapsed in some places, injuring the warrior and forcing him to start again at the beginning.


    His compressed mana reached where he had stopped the day before, and with the same method as ever, he began to work. It pierced through the body, and at the same time, Rohan was using his mana to build up the meridian.


    After a while he came to the spot marked on the drawing of his book. He used the rest of the mana to tie the meridian there, which was at the sole of the foot.


    Suddenly, a tingling ran through his entire meridian. A wave of mana rushed through the opening he had just created from the outside, and came to strengthen and stabilize the link, giving it a faint glow of light, like the first meridian.


    The bond he had created was now fully open and could attract outside mana. The mana coming from outside then rushed toward the rest of his body, and with a feeling of heat through all of it, Rolan suddenly felt he had begun way stronger. He had formed his second meridian!


    Rohan suppressed his glee and hurried to look at his stats.


    Race: human


    Age: 13 years old


    Constitution: 2.56


    Mana: 0 / 20


    Spirit: 11


    He had finally become a rank 2 Beginner Warrior, a smile lit his face. He would now be able to use another capacity. The skill Charge.


    It also costs 10 mana and would allow him to gain speed over a short distance. Very useful to surprise an opponent. A normal rank 2 Beginner Warrior usually had a constitution of 3, but considering he was only 13 years old, such a build was already exceptional.


    Now that he had fully opened his meridian, his mana regeneration had also doubled, from 1 to 2 mana per hour. He would still need ten hours to regenerate all his mana, but his training would be at least doubled compared to before.


    His body being all the more reinforced by the mana, the creation of his third meridian will probably be slowed down. But he still had plenty of time, so he didn''t particularly worry about it.


    The next morning, Rohan was in the yard for his daily training. The captain of the guard stood in front of him with a sword in his hand, while the other guards who were not on duty were around to watch the show.


    They were used to it now, every morning they watched the young master polish his attacks against their captain, and become more and more skilled in his wielding of his skill.


    Even the soldier who had fought him before was now unable to last more than a short time. And it was only after a few months.


    Rohan weighed the sword in his hand, it seemed so light now. But he will do with it, he will swap his training sword after having defeated the demon in front of him. It had been at least three months since they had duels against each other, and Rohan got trashed every time.


    The captain was deliberately restricting himself to train him, it was true, but still, Rohan wanted to wash away the frustration he was feeling.


    His opponent, no, his archenemy, didn''t know he was a rank 2 Beginner Warrior, he didn''t know he had more strength, and he didn''t know that he could use the Charge skill.


    Today was the only possible day where he could beat him as easily as possible, so he had to put all his energy into it, he had to be a true warrior, he had to put all his being into this fight.


    He had to bet everything on the surprise''s element.


    The duel began.


    Rohan took the initiative and struck blows with his sword. His opponent was parrying them easily with a simple movement, Rohan having put in the minimum force possible to hide his true strength.


    After parrying the blows, the captain launched a counterattack, his sword slicing through the air as it moved towards Rohan''s throat.


    Rohan jumped to the left and struck the flat of the sword with his own in an attempt to unbalance his opponent. Without waiting for the result, he stepped forward and threw his sword toward his rival. Unfortunately his thrust encountered nothing but air.


    A shiver ran through his spine. He let himself be carried away by his blow and rolled forward without thinking, before getting up to turn around.


    The captain stood there, a smirk, pulling his sword back towards him.


    "Your instinct is really above the norm."


    Rohan concentrated, it was now or never. He was having a hard time restricting his strength to that of a rank 1 Beginner Warrior, this exchange had to be the last if he was to take him by surprise.


    He rushed forward and swung his sword on his right, he took advantage of the rebound of the parry to bring his arm back and hit again and again. For a few seconds he smashed in all directions, looking for an opening while the captain was on the defensive.


    Suddenly the power of his blows multiplied and Rolan put all his strength in his arm. The captain, who hadn''t expected such an increase in strength, was forced to take two steps back.


    His expression changed, to give way to an expression of shock.


    But it was too late.


    Rohan took advantage of this moment. He condensed his mana and sent it to his second meridian, heat radiating down his right leg as a faint glow enveloped him.


    He put his foot on the ground, and propelled himself forward, leaving a foot mark on the ground behind him. This was the first time he had used the Charge skill.


    The distance between the two shortens in an instant. Before even stopping, Rohan used the rest of his mana to send it into his first meridian and used Strengthened Blow and sent a full powered hit towards the captain.


    The captain didn''t have time to react properly, he didn''t have a good position to use the Charge skill either, so his only possibility was to meet the blow that was coming on him using his own Strengthening Blow, and deflect the force on the side.


    That''s what he did, or at least it was what he had planned. As the two blades were about to meet, Rohan canceled his move. From the start it was only a feint!


    As his foot touched the ground and Rohan resumed his support, he changed the direction of his sword, passed through the opposing guard, and threw a thrust towards the captain''s prey. His blow had lost the power of his skill but it was still fully sufficient.


    The captain had not seen this situation coming. As the point of the sword landed on him, a joyful smile lit his face. The young master of the family he served was a greater genius than he had hoped, and it filled him with joy.


    Even if taken by surprise, the fact that a young rank 2 Beginner Warrior could beat a rank 3 Beginner Warrior who had full experience was still commendable.


    As the point of the sword rested on his opponent''s chest, Rohan let out a sigh. He had really put it all into this attack, but it was worth it.


    He took a step back, and lowering his weapon, tried to catch his breath. He heard a laugh, and looking up at the source of the noise, he saw the captain in front of him.


    "Congratulations on your promotion as a rank 2 Beginner Warrior young master, you will definitely be the greatest warrior in the duchy within a few years!


    Not to mention the speed at which he rose through the ranks was exceptional, just the way he fought was amazing. He was only 13 years old, and his combat experience was horrifying.


    And yet not only was he able to come up with such a strategy, but more importantly, he was able to perform it in the middle of a fight.. And that, according to the captain, was much more frightening than his rank up speed.

 Chapter 9 - Birthday Night

    In the family castle, which was in the middle of their estate, everyone was rushing. The servants hurried to finish cleaning the rooms, while others rushed to decorate the main hall. Cooks do their best to prepare the best dish of their lives.


    The guards put on their most resplendent armor as the principle captain of the guard lectured and amnosted them to be perfect. The main butler moved from room to room to check that everything was perfect before welcoming the convives over.


    Today was the birthday of young master Rohan. In normal times, although the birthday of the son of the count led the castle to make a buffet and invite the noble surroundings, never the things would have been done in such proportion.


    All this effervescence came from a message that had arrived the day before: The mighty General Chrisfold, rank 13 Advanced Warrior, and his brother, the prestigious nobleman possessing the Duchy of Barnes, Duke Chrisfold, had sent a message saying that they would like to be be present for Rohan''s birthday.


    This news had circulated around the duchy in a matter of moments, and as a result, all the other prestigious nobles would no doubt come in the hopes of approaching the duke.


    Of course, as a rule of thumb, a nobleman would never come without an invitation, moreover, since Rohan''s father was a count, not everyone could show up like that!


    This situation being somewhat special, Rohan''s mother decided to use this opportunity to bring together as many nobles as possible. Thus, she sent letters of invitation to practically every noble family in the duchy, as long as they had either money or prestigious status.


    So things exploded like this, and Rohan, standing in his room with a dead man''s expression, allowed himself to be dressed by a maid.


    "Tell me Jonas."


    His butler, who was waiting at the side looking out the window, turned his face and focused on Rohan.


    "Yes young master?"


    Rohan, with his special ''I want to kill everyone involved'' expression, stared at Jonas in the eyes.


    "I had no idea it was my wedding today."


    "It''s because it is not, young master."


    "So maybe my grandfather died yesterday and today is his funeral?"


    The servant, who continued to dress Rohan, flinched a little upon hearing this sentence, but reprized herself in the process. Jonas, meanwhile, had no reaction.


    "Neither it is, young master, he has been deceased for many years now. You were also present during his funeral if you can remember."


    "So can you tell me what''s going on today? Why am I dressed like a doll for my fourteenth birthday when everyone doesn''t even give a shit? Hell, I don''t give a shit about it either ! "


    "The most powerful nobles of all the duchy have been invited, so you have a duty to be presentable before them young master. Moreover, if I may say, you are now fourteen years old. To put you in the greatest light and to bring you to court women should also be your duty for tonight, young master. "


    "Ha! And what a feminine kind, tell me! Each is more ridiculous than the next, spending their time talking about the gossip of the nobleman next door or the new rejuvenating potion that costs more than an estate. The last time I talked with a girl of my age about a book I had read, I thought I was going to murder her. "


    The maid, livid, almost dropped the fabric in her hand. She tried her best not to listen to the conversation, but it was not as easy as it may seem.


    "Besides your judgment for these women, young master, old ties with people of your age could be beneficial to you later, you can for example start with those who were with you on the day of your promotion. What do you think about this excellent idea, young master? "


    "Bha, of course, children who have been brainwashed from birth to be spitting portraits of their father, or even their great grandfather, and who have taken the path of being warriors to please their daddy darling. Definitely better than spoiled rotten princesses."


    The maid, with trembling hands, got up and took a step back.


    "Young master, the outfit is finished, would you like to look at yourself in the mirror to see how it looks on you?"


    "Sure, why not, it''ll waste our time before I must go."


    The dress he was wearing came down to his feet. It was a classic outfit for nobles, pale green with yellow edging. It fit him perfectly, and highlighted his fit body. At first glance, the quality of the fabric was high, his family had to pay the price for it.


    "Look at this, why don''t I have some magic lights on it, just to get even more attention?"


    *sigh*


    "You did a good job, thank you. You can go now. "


    As Rohan prepared to leave his room and head for the hall, he put his warrior''s badge on his chest. A warrior always had to show his status.


    Jonas raised an eyebrow when he saw the number 1 displayed on the badge, but refrained from commenting. It didn''t make much difference whether there was a 1 or 2, and he knew that at least the reaction of the guests would be less exciting, exactly what Rohan wanted to evade.


    The sun had already started to set, and the guests were starting to arrive. The names and titles of each individual were thus shouted from time to time in the large decorated hall.


    And when the nobles who arrived were friends of the family, or the family of a count, Rohan and his father went to welcome them together.


    The room filled up, and different status groups had already settled in. Large tables had been moved earlier, and on top were placed various dishes, drinks, which each guest was free to help themselves.


    "The Duke of Barnes, and his wife, Duke Chrisfold and Duchess Chrisfold."


    "The Protector of the Duchy, General Chrisfold."


    As the servant''s voice echoed through the room, the ambient hubbub immediately died down. Each guest turned towards the main entrance.


    It was very rare to see the Duke at this kind of buffet, so every nobleman had done their best to be present.


    It was always complicated to know when to arrive in the room, you certainly shouldn''t enter after the Duke and Duchess, it might be frowned upon, but arriving too early could also be evidence of too low a status.


    Where it was rare to meet the Duke, it was almost impossible to see the Protector of the Duchy, so all the guests wondered what were the possible links between the Chrisfold family and that of Rohan.


    Before anyone could recover from the idea that they were in the presence of the most prestigious family in the duchy, another servant arrived with a man dressed simply in a gray robe.


    "The Protector of the Duchy, Wizard Mardrick."


    A silence even heavier than before engulfed the room. Even Roland was shocked. Never had a wizard deigned to participate in a simple nobleman''s buffet.


    His wife, elegantly dressed in a dazzling dress, was overwhelmed with joy. She motioned for Luke to take this opportunity to approach this individual.


    Although Wizard Mardrick and General Chrisfold both had the same title of Protector, the latter was just a ''simple'' warrior. The wizards were much more mysterious, especially in this small duchy.


    Rohan hurried with his father to welcome these most powerful men, and accompanied them inside. The evening had officially ended and the night began.


    Rohan left his father with the duke, and wandered from guest to guest, a cup of fruit juice in his hands. He would just exchange a few courtesies with people, nothing more, and leave them between them.


    Rohan spent some time like that politely greeting all those who had taken the trouble to come before thinking about leaving. ''I mean, I talked to everybody so I can go now right ?''


    But, as he wanted to find an excuse to leave this cursed place, out of the corner of his eye, he saw his butler, Jonas, pointing with his chin at a group of people to signal him to go toward them.


    This group was where the sons and daughters of the noblemen were having fun. He had especially avoided these people earlier when he was greeting the guests.


    With a sigh of resignation, he decided to go. After all, Jonas wasn''t totally wrong, bonding could still be useful. And who knows, maybe he was going to have a good time, and even make a few friends !


    As he approached this group, he heard an obnoxious and unbearable laughter reaching his ears.


    Well that was it, at least he had made the effort to try. Then, seeing that the night was well advanced and that no one was paying attention to him, he was about to slip away discreetly. But as he approached a side door, suddenly, a voice called out from behind him.


    "Rohan!"


    Turning around, he saw a young man, presumably his age, standing there, upright as a stake with an expression of superiority on his face.


    "Yes ? Maybe we know each other ?"


    Calling him by his first name like that was already a lack of politeness, more, for some reason he did not explain, he wanted to slap this person. Maybe it was because of his expression of the typical nobleman who looks at the peasants like cattle and rapes his maids at night.


    He didn''t really invent the last part, he had already heard this kind of discussion between young noble sons, it was apparently a common activity. One of the reasons why he did not come closer to these bastards.


    Otherwise he would already be arrested and may be executed for murdering several nobles. Truly, he really looked with disdain at these pathetics nobles.


    His deep disgust must have been shown on his face, as the person in front of him got angry.


    "How dare you look at me like that ?! I remind you that we were in the same group to become warriors a few months ago! Not that I expect a false nobleman to remember it.. I am Mileim, son of Count Gourdo. "

 Chapter 10 - Nothing Happened

    This Mileim''s faint burst of voice began to attract the attention of people nearby. Those who heard what he said shook their heads while others chuckled coldly. Some secretly agreed, but no one would say it out loud.


    A family of peasants who became noble by merit of war. To the noblemens coming from a family of noblemens for generations and generations, these opportunists were just false nobles.


    Having said that, to say it out loud, especially in the person''s own castle, was sheer madness. Insulting a nobleman''s title was no easy feat, especially when the person doing it was just a nobleman''s son, as he didn''t have a title yet to back him.


    Rohan tilted his head to the side. Who was this moron? It was then that he saw a badge hanging on his chest, a warrior''s badge, with the number 1 written on it.


    He guessed immediately what was going on. This thing in front of him probably wanted to be commended for his good job and so he came looking for a brawl to show everyone that he had become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior.


    As Rohan nodded to himself to congratulate himself on his reasoning, Mileim started to get annoyed.


    "Hee! You are going to answer me yes? You are too scared, is that it? Did you see that I was a warrior of rank 1 like you and you feel threatened? Ha, you poltron! I declare you, Rohan, supposedly a genius, in a duel !"


    He removed his glove from his left hand, and then threw it in the face of Rohan, who dodged it impeccably with a single step.


    The nobles around were totally blown away by what was going on, and in a few moments everyone in the hall was drawn to this scene.


    Throwing down your glove to declare someone in a duel meant that the duel that would take place was going to be a fight for honor. The fact that Mileim threw the left at him, and not the right, was also a sign that he didn''t respect Rohan even a little bit.


    Honestly, Rohan really didn''t care about his so-called honor, plus he found the practice of throwing his glove ridiculous.


    He would have stepped on this glove before leaving while spitting on the face of this guy if he was alone, but the problem was that there was an audience. He didn''t really have a choice here, otherwise the honor of his family would be at stake.


    "Sure, why not, let''s have a duel now."


    So, he agreed and with those words, he activated his charge skill. Kicking his foot to the ground, he found himself in front of his opponent in a breath of time. Then he used Strengthened Blow.


    Now imagine. An explosive speed of acceleration coupled with an overpowering blow.


    He tightened his fist and sent it directly into the stomach of his victim. This one didn''t even have time to make a sound, or even to react, as a shock echoed throughout the hall. His face, livid, showed the horror he felt. His mouth, rounded in shock, spat blood. His body, propelled back, crashed a few meters away.


    The mouths of all the nobles of the duchy, the most powerful men and women, virtually controlling millions of lives, were now wide open.


    Suddenly, a cry resounded.


    "MILEIM !!!"


    A woman pushed people in her path as she rushed over to her son wriggling in pain.


    She looked in the direction of Rohan, who stood impassively with his hands behind his back, in hatred.


    A man appeared beside him and staring at Rohan, pointed at him with a finger trembling with anger and declared in a loud voice.


    "You attacked and seriously injured my son, the son of a count, you better explain yourself !


    Roland hurried to the stage to defend his son, but before he could arrive, Rohan answered him in a monotonous voice.


    "What are you talking about? Nothing happened at all, are you too drunk ?"


    The man, probably Mileim''s father, exploded in anger at the words.


    "How dare you lie in front of all these witnesses !? Did you only ..."


    But before he could finish his sentence, Rohan had already cut him off.


    "If you assume what happened, then this individual declared me a duel. Which I accepted and ended up wounding him in a fierce duel. But if you admit that, it also means taking full responsibility for what your son was saying earlier. Between an injury during a duel, and an insult from an untitled person toward a whole noble family. Which do you think is the most serious ? "


    Seeing that the man did not answer, he continued.


    "So? Did something happen or did nothing happen?"


    Mileim''s father, his mouth open in shock, stood there staring at the young man in front of him, a thin smile floating on his lips. What a demon!


    Nearby, as the scene was resolving itself, three people were watching curiously. These three people were the Duke, his brother Edwin, and the wizard Mardrick.


    Mardrick spoke to the other two with a smile.


    "So this is him, a bit too violent for my taste. But definitely clever!"


    "I didn''t think he would reach Rank 2 in such a short time, how is this possible ? maybe he used all the potions I gave him ? Maybe I should provide him with more resources ?"


    Edwin, who realized he had underestimated this boy''s potential, couldn''t help but think to himself. It must have taken him two or three years to become a rank 2 Beginner Warrior, whereas Rohan had done in less than a year!


    "Edwin, Mardrick. How do you feel about leaving him out of the war? If he has time to grow up, he can definitely become a pillar of the kingdom, and represent our duchy."


    Before Edwin could answer the duke, Mardrick shook his head.


    "It will not be possible, if we fail, we will all die anyway, whether he participates or not. The only solution would be to send him to another kingdom, but we would lose interest. And above all, we are already outnumbered, we will need every available warrior, we can''t leave him out of this war. "


    Edwin sighed at the remark, the sight of such a genius made him want to see how far he would be able to go, but Mardrick was right, they weren''t able to choose their soldiers. And being the son of a nobleman who participated in a rebellion, whether he participated himself or not, his death was already decided if they ever failed!


    The duke, seeing his brother''s gloomy face, spoke out.


    "We have no choice, the kingdom is determined to let one of its duchies die. Food will run out. I have received a report telling us that only a third of our plantations can be harvested this year. We have millions of people to feed, and the kingdom doesn''t even want to sell us anything anymore. If we don''t do anything, our duchy will be in fire and blood, and you can bet the kingdom will step in at the end to reap the glory. "


    The more his dialogue continued, the more his voice was tinged with anger. He clenched his fist so much that his joints turned white. He felt a deep anger, a rage towards this kingdom, which, for the control of a poor duchy, did not hesitate to put the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals at stake.


    That is why a few years ago, when the production of food had started to decline, and the kingdom had withdrawn all trade, all the nobles of the duchy had gathered. Some disagreed, and others were undecided. But an overwhelming majority knew they had no choice.


    It was a famine crisis with deaths littering the streets followed by direct surrender to the kingdom, or it was war for their lands.


    During these years they had all prepared. Blacksmiths created swords, armor and shields day and night with the small quantity and quality of materials they had. Mediocre at best, but vital.


    Stocks of arrows were created every day. Rations had been set aside for the war. And soldiers were being trained. And all this in the greatest secrecy.


    All the nobles present this evening were involved. Barons, viscounts, counts, it was no longer a matter of title. In each territory, everyone was preparing for war, their only call for survival.


    The kingdom as well as two others were the vassals of an empire. They were technically different countries, but everyone considered this bloc as one country, the one of the Empire of Elyria. A territory controlled directly by the emperor and three others ruled by kings.


    The empire did not care about the internal affairs of the kingdoms, so this war would only be against the kingdom: there was little chance that the empire would intervene.


    The night was over, the various guests were starting to go out and return to their horse-drawn carriages. Some would go straight home, but most would just sleep in a hotel in town.


    Rohan stared at the pile of items in front of him. On the front was a black leather armor, reinforced with metal at the level of the torso and the spine thus protecting the vital parts. Black leggings and a helmet were placed next to it, also in leather.


    It was the gift given to him by the Duke and General Chrisfold, while Mardrick had given him various potions, thus increasing his stock.


    His father, meanwhile, had offered him a steel sword, one of the best qualities possible, especially at this time with the enormous demand for iron. The blade was 80 cm long to end on a sharp point, and the handle allowed it to be used with one or two hands, with a steel guard to protect them.


    Along with the sword, his father had also given him a ribbon. A long purple band, allowing him to tie his hair in the warriors'' method, the purple symbolizing the color of his family.


    His father had looked moved as he handed him that sword and the band. It was something that Roland wanted to give to his son when he had become a warrior, but he had preferred to wait for his fourteenth birthday.


    His gaze resting on the strip in his hand, Rohan asked Jonas who was standing behind him, with a monotonous but deep voice.


    "Tell me Jonas, should I be happy about these presents?"


    "Of course, young master, they were brought to you by people who care about you. Why wouldn''t you be happy with them?"


    "Why ?"


    A mirthless laugh erupted from his throat.


    "War, Jonas.. War is approaching, and its share of horror with it."

 Chapter 11 - War

    The office was plunged into darkness, only a candle lit it somewhat from the corner of the room.


    An old man sat with his back to the window, through which the black night sky could be seen, concentrating on writing on a wad of papers. The quill in his hand kept moving, sometimes he scribbled something, sometimes crossed out, sometimes returned to the ink pot, and the movements began again.


    The only other movement was that of his other hand, swapping one sheet for another and forming different piles.


    The desk in front of which the man sat was filled with these sheets, notes describing and recording all the things that were going on in the Duchy of Barnes.


    On the old man''s left was a shelf full of books, which listed decades of reporting.


    To his right was a gigantic map, covering the entire wall. Although it was not very precise, an entire empire was described in it.


    Starting from the northeast to the center, and covering almost a third of the total territory, was the lands directly controlled by the empire of Elyria.


    Completely to the west and covering three-quarters of the left side of the map was the kingdom Storona, controlling a rectangle-shaped territory that bordered that of the empire.


    To the east, under the empire''s territory, was the kingdom Daksina, which descended to the bottom of the map and was shaped like a comma.


    To the south, under the kingdom Storona, and going back to be stuck between the empire and the kingdom Daksina, was the kingdom Prasthana.


    The latter had a difference with the other territories: there was much more detail. Dotted lines cut this kingdom into five parts, with one slightly larger than the others. These were the different duchies. Four being controlled by dukes while the last was controlled by the king himself.


    The Duchy of Barnes was located in the south of this kingdom.


    If we were talking about what was off the map, then to the south were a few small countries, forming a coalition. These lands being of extreme poverty, nobody deign themselves wanting to control them.


    To the east was the ocean. A sea monsters infested place that men were unwilling to venture into, with many legendary creatures in the deepest parts. Only the inland seas were passable. To the west and north were other human countries, kingdoms and empires.


    The old man, who had his white hair tied back, had lifted his head to look at this map. He couldn''t help but sigh, as he was only a poor duke of one of the worst duchies of the poorest Kingdom possible. But even then, he was still loaded with multiple problems.


    * bang *


    Suddenly, a crash echoed through the room as the door swung open. A warrior entered unceremoniously, breathless, with a letter in his hand. His face was pale.


    "Duke Chrisfold! It''s urgent, very urgent!"


    The Duke, who had frowned at the intrusion of this man, motioned for him to approach immediately. For a warrior to be breathless and ready to collapse for running, there was something really urgent.


    The warrior approached, and with a trembling hand held out the letter to the Duke, who grabbed it with a sharp movement.


    He took his letter opener and opened the envelope on which a seal was engraved. It was that of the intelligence department of the duchy. The duke feared the worst.


    He took the message inside and unfolded it to read it. He only read half of it before his face turned pale. He stood up suddenly, knocking his chair upside down, and banging the ink bottle that destroyed all the documents on his desk.


    But he didn''t care about anything but the letter as he was still focused on reading the letter, his hands shaking.


    He crushed the message against his desk in a fit of rage, and yelled at the warrior still present.


    "I want all the nobles of this duchy here right now, do you understand?! ALL! Not tomorrow night, not at 10 o''clock, NOW! Whether they are drunk, having an orgy, with family, or in their bed, I don''t give a damn. I don''t want a single missing noble, is that clear ?! THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR !!"


    The warrior, terrified by the Duke''s reaction, fled as quickly as possible to the barracks. Arriving inside, he transmitted the orders and a few minutes later, all the soldiers took their horses before spreading in the whole duchy.


    A great upheaval affected the Duchy of Barnes that night.


    The Duke, again alone in his study, knocked once more on the table. Unable to control his rage, he threw everything on the ground with a wave of his arm.


    After calming down a bit, he turned to put his chair back on its feet, only to collapse on it, as if all life had left him.


    "We are doomed."


    In one room was a large rectangular table. Dozens of nobles were present, each representing their family and were seated around the table.


    At the end of the table was Duke Chrisfold, sitting on the main chair for this assembly in the middle of the night. Directly to his left and to his right were General Chrisfold and wizard Mardrick, respectively, who had already been briefed on the situation.


    The commanders as well as the counts of the duchy were seated after them, on the same level. For the other noblemen, the further one was sitting away from the main seat, the less important the status of the person was.


    That is why Roland, one of the only two counts who were commanders as well, was sitting directly to the left of General Chrisfold''s chair. He was actually wondering what could be so bad that the Duke had gone looking for everyone in the middle of the night.


    The duke spoke. He was much calmer than before, but he himself knew very well that it was only a facade that might not last long.


    "Well, with everyone here, and each of you wondering why you''re here, I''ll be blunt."


    After a weak pause during which he looked into the eyes of each of the nobles, he continued.


    "The king of Prasthana, our beloved king, knows about our rebellion."


    As the words left his mouth, exclamation sounds erupted in the room, eyes widening in shock and fear.


    "SILENCE."


    The noises ceased instantly. It was not the Duke who had spoken, but his brother. The mana infused into the voice of an Advanced Warrior awakened and calmed everyone instantly.


    "Stop behaving like children, at least have the dignity of being silent as a nobleman!"


    The Duke, hearing his brother''s criticism, thought back to his reaction in his office. His expression didn''t change, but for a moment he thought about silencing the warrior who had noticed him somehow.


    "Duke Chrisfold, what do you mean by that? How can the king know about it?"


    "I''m getting there. I got a message earlier in the evening."


    He took out a letter and put it in front of him. Although it was crumpled, and even torned in a few places, no one pointed it out.


    "This one comes from one of our agents who infiltrated the capital of the kingdom. He is saying in this letter that he has seen one of our agents, a colleague, a man who fights for our duchy, bringing a message to the king. So he was captured to question him about this message. What message do you think this man could have given to the king himself !? "


    His voice grew louder towards the end, he tried his best not to let his anger escape, but he honestly wanted to cut off someone''s head.


    The nobles seated around the table couldn''t believe their ears, a betrayal!


    "Duke, maybe this message is not genuine, maybe it is a lie to make us act in haste?"


    Hearing these words, some of them could not help nodding their heads.


    "And how stupid are you ?! Can''t you think for a moment ?!"


    The burst of voice silenced this noble in stride. It was the wizard Mardrick who was speaking. And although he was not really a nobleman, he was at least the older one in this place. It was without taking into account that he was arguably the most powerful one as well.


    "Whether it''s genuine or not doesn''t matter! If it''s true, then it is in our interest to start the war on the spot, otherwise the kingdom will have too much time to prepare. And even if it is wrong, then someone outside of this duchy knows about our preparations, and he could tell the king whenever he wants, and we won''t even know. In any case, if we delay the war any longer, we''re over. "


    An intense silence ran through the room. Roland understood what the wizard was saying, and he actually agreed. If they didn''t go to war now, the risk of having to face a kingdom prepared was far too great.


    They were to launch a lightning attack in the heart of the kingdom without giving it time to reunite the armies of the other duchies, or it was just over as they had no chance of victory against the whole country.


    Their times were now numbered, every nobleman was in the know.


    A commander suddenly spoke.


    "Duke Chrisfold, if any of our men really betrayed us, I don''t think he''s all alone, but above all, there''s a good chance a nobleman in this room is behind the whole case."


    "Even though this is true, we certainly don''t have the time or the means to point our fingers at each other. There is a traitor in our ranks, but he will be able to do nothing more than give information to the enemy. He did not have time to muster his armies, so this information will be useless to him. We therefore have no choice but to do with it and launch the assault knowingly. "


    The duke rose from his chair, and, looking at each individual, declared to them in a loud voice.


    "Today marks the day of the revolution. For our citizens, for our rights, and for our lives.. Today, the Duchy of Barnes declares war on the kingdom of Prasthana."

 Chapter 12 - Leaving For War

    Rohan examined himself in the glass. Despite his young age of fourteen, he was already the size of an average adult, and the black reinforced leather armor he wore underscored his warrior build.


    His black hair was tied back, held in place by a simple purple ribbon.


    Before putting on his leather gloves, he picked up the Essence Stone and activated it to observe its status.


    Race: human


    Age: 14 years old


    Constitution: 3.1


    Mana: 26.4 / 26.4


    Spirit: 11


    Over the months he had continued to train as usual, and his body had developed well. He was now on his way to becoming a rank 3 Beginner Warrior.


    He pulled out his warrior badge and connected it with the black stone. The 1 that was written on it then disappeared to make way for a 2. He had never changed it before today, seeing no interest in it. He then hung his badge on his chest and put away the Essence Stone.


    He picked up the leather bag that was left in a corner and which had different potions in it, the ones Edwin had given him, but also the ones Mardrick had offered him for his birthday.


    He had already thinked about how to organize his potions. There were, after all, too many of them inside, and carrying a bag with too many potions was going to bother him more than anything in a fight.


    He had therefore chosen, rather than leaving a few potions here, to put it in a second bag that he had prepared beforehand. One will be strapped to his horse with the bulk of the stock, while the other will be the leather bag he will use during a fight. In this one, he chooses to only place 10 mana potions, the others being no more useful than that.


    He also put the Essence Stone in there, as it was an important object, and also put some bread that his butler had already prepared. He placed the bag on his lower back, slightly to the left, so that it was the easiest to access, without hampering his movements during a potential fight.


    He retrieved his sword and scabbard from his bed and tied the last one to his hip, before putting on his gloves.


    He retrieved his helmet, put it under his left arm, and picked up the larger bag that was on his feet to put it over his shoulder. This bag was prepared by Jonas, and a lot of stuff was in there including a few rations, and the rest of the potions.


    He was now ready.


    Ready to go into battle.


    He sighed, and turned to his open door. He crossed it in a few strides, and, coming out of his room, fell on his butler Jonas, who was waiting there.


    Strange things to see on his usually paralyzed face, sadness and regret could be seen in his eyes. Sadness to see the young master go to war, and regret for not being able to accompany him.


    "Fuck it, you should save this face for my funeral you know."


    As he continued on his way toward the entrance of the building, he spoke with his butler following him.


    "Take care of the mansion, I''ll be back in not too long. And I promise you if at that point I see even a speck of dust, I''ll actually change my butler."


    "Don''t worry, young master, there has never been a better butler than me! The mansion will be resplendent."


    "Haaaa, goodbye to the good life. Can you imagine? I wouldn''t even be able to drink fruit juice there, it''s going to be boring as hell."


    "Don''t worry young master, I put a bottle of juice in your things, you will have some for the next few days at least. I also put some books that you have not read yet, I''m sure you will love it young master! "


    "Hahaha, beautiful! I''ll have enough to occupy myself between two battles spent seeing deads, blood and guts flying all around me. I''m almost in a rush to be there!" He paused, and, almost outside, handed his helmet to his butler. "Here take my helmet and follow me outside, the departure is close."


    "Yes young master!"


    As they exited the building, in front of them was a group of soldiers equipping horses. The captain kept bellowing orders. When he saw the young master come out of the mansion, he walked over and bowed to greet him.


    "Good morning, young master. Your horse has been prepared with care, all you need to do is to tie your things to it, and it will be good."


    He motioned to one of the soldiers who were nearby to take care of Rohan''s belongings. As the latter handed him his bag, he answered the captain.


    "Hello, captain. How soon are we ready to go?"


    "In five minutes, young master. Me and your guards are ready to follow everywhere! We will defend you at the risk of our lives, do not worry about it!"


    "There will be some rules during our wonderful holidays captain. And the first one is: ''Prioritize your life and once it is safe, then at that moment you can think of coming to save me'' is it understood? I don''t want meat shields following me, I want soldiers who fight with me and not for me. "


    Rohan walked over to his horse with his butler Jonas and the captain at his heels. This horse, already saddled and carrying his things, was a very good quality horse and easy to handle. He was trained to go on the battlefields, and Rohan had already ridden it a few times.


    Although most of the warriors didn''t like to use mounts in battle, they were still a good way to get around. Anyway, Rohan was only a beginning warrior, so a horse will always be useful to him in battle.


    For an intermediate warrior though, a horse was more of a heavy weight than anything else. They were practically as fast in running speed, and being on a horse meant they couldn''t use their Charge capacity and lost some of their agility.


    The only thing a horse provided was additional mass when a cavalry charge was launched, but with the strength that these warriors had, it didn''t add much.


    To an advanced warrior, a horse was completely useless and only served as a means of locomotion. Never will one of these warriors use one in battle.


    As Rohan mounted his horse, Jonas spoke up.


    "Remember young master, you may be a warrior, but please watch yourselves!"


    "Don''t worry, Jonas, I plan to slip into the ranks and fight only normal soldiers. As soon as I meet a warrior, I flee immediately. Come on, give me my helmet, captain, whenever you want."


    "Well received, young master."


    This is how Rohan, accompanied by a dozen guards, headed out of the city.


    Arriving on a plain a few kilometers from the city, tents dotted a large area. Horsemen kept arriving from all over the duchy. Carts, carrying stocks of food and water, could also be seen in the middle of this camp of an impressive size.


    Rohan and his guards walked towards the center, where the noble area was.


    Arriving there, a soldier moved towards Rohan, and when he saw the crest on his chest, bowed before bringing him to the tents of the counts, where his was already installed.


    It was large enough to hold several people upright without any problems.


    As he jumped off his horse, he found himself face to face with another warrior. The latter''s gaze remained for a moment on Rohan''s badge signifying that he was a Rank 2 Beginner Warrior.


    "Rohan, let''s forget what happened between us, today we are going to war, so we are comrade. After all, we will fight for our duchy!"


    With these words, he turned around and entered the tent next to Rohan''s. The latter, a little lost, tilted his head towards the captain who was behind him.


    "Captain, do I know this one?"


    "Hmm, young master, he is the count Gourdo''s son, Mileim"


    "Hoo, I didn''t recognize him with the helmet on. Anyway, let''s go in, my dad must be in a meeting I guess. So we have time to rest before the big departure."


    In a large tent in the center of the camp, nine people were around a table. These nine people were the Duke, General Edwin, the wizard Mardrick and the six counts of the duchies.


    Among these counts, only two were intermediate warriors. While the rest were only beginner warriors. With the resources they had, forcing a promotion to become a warrior was not difficult, but climbing the ranks was almost impossible for them.


    The general pointed to certain parts of the map.


    "We will leave tomorrow morning at sunrise. We will follow this road, and, after seven days, we will meet in front of this first town."


    His finger moved from where he was now and followed a wide road to stop at the first city in the king''s own territory. It would only take less than two days of traveling on horseback to reach this area.


    But the infantry will need at least triple the time even when they will walk quickly. To stay in optimal shape without exhausting the soldiers and warding off possible problems, he had planned seven days.


    "We will have to launch the assault as quickly as possible, there is little chance that there will be a big defense, and the longer we wait, the more risk there will be. Moreover, it is a small town, it is certainly not made for defense. So it will fall without difficulty. After a day, we will continue on this road to find this second city. It is only two days away. The defense will undoubtedly be heavier. But we have a thousand warriors, the kingdom will not have had time to muster enough defense."


    He pointed to a road on the king''s lands heading towards the second city. From the sight of this journey, it was clear that they didn''t just want to conquer territory. What they were aiming for was the capital of Prasthana, where the king was living, and that was their only target.


    The general ended by pointing the finger at this capital.


    "From this city, we will only have a short distance to reach the capital. We will take a simple one-day break in front of the walls, and we will launch the assault. The defenses of the capitals will be far more heavier than the other two cities, and there will be many more defenders.. At this point, we will lose everything, or win our way out from this famine."

 Chapter 13 - Blood

    The sun was beginning to rise, and the light was illuminating an army which was dismantling their camp.


    The soldiers folded up their tents, put their things away, and loaded the carts and their bags.


    Today was the great departure, the first great war that the duchy will have known in decades. This war won''t even be against orcs or other monsters in war against the Human race. No. It will be against their own kingdom.


    Some were excited to fight. Others were terrified of entering a battlefield. But no one wanted to run away. Not that they have the choice in the first place, but even so, all of these soldiers had families in the duchy. And they had all realized the lack of food. The prices had skyrocketed, and the quantity was barely sufficient. War was the only solution.


    Rohan was on his horse, next to his father and surrounded by their guards. All those who participated in the war were either trained soldiers or warriors. The latter numbered a thousand, made up of the youngest and the oldest. There were virtually no warriors left in the duchy of Barnes.


    The nobles, their guards and a trained cavalry formed a troop of a thousand cavalrymen, while nearly ten thousand infantry followed behind them. Then, at the rear, were the caravans carrying various materials, rations, consumables and more.


    All in all, a twelve thousand strong army was moving in column towards the first battlefield. Of those twelve thousand, nearly one thousand were warriors of rank 1 or higher, but only a handful were intermediate warriors while only one was advanced rank.


    For the neighboring duchies, when the news of this armed force heading for the kingdom reached them several days later, cold sweats appeared on the faces of the various dukes. A thousand warriors was definitely something terrifying. Even the kingdom probably did not have such power.


    But this was normal. The Duchy of Barnes had been preparing for years, and thanks to the demonic core which was their greatest treasure, they ended up having this impressive number of warriors.


    And so, for almost a week, a routine settled down for Rohan, as if he was on a simple trip.


    In the morning he got up, put on the bits of armor he had taken off for the night, helped his guards dismantle the tents, and mounted his horse. Then he rejoined the troop of horsemen and marched in step.


    There was a lunch break, so he got off his horse and ate the rations they had. He did not forget to drink a fruit juice that his butler had prepared for him, to brighten up this frugal meal. An hour later, the march resumed.


    Before the sun set, the troops stopped and the soldiers prepared camp while Rohan pitched his tent. So the night passed, and an identical day took place.


    Only one point had changed.


    On his horse, Rohan held the rein in his left hand and let him walk following the others, while in his right hand, an open book was held.


    The day before, with nothing to do but follow the road and count the clouds, he had almost died of boredom. So he had decided to take a book. As his horse was well trained, he had no difficulty in leading it to follow a group.


    The days passed like this with nothing unusual disturbing the army, no attacks, no messages from the kingdom, nothing.


    Nothing, until that moment. In the middle of the morning, the troops suddenly stopped at the orders of the commandement.


    Rohan looked up from his book. In front of him, a few kilometers away, was their first target. Meadows filled with small houses surrounded the walls of this city. These were not very tall, maybe four or five meters high. This city was definitely not designed to defend itself against an army.


    Orders were screamed right and left, before the army started to move. A break was given, during which each soldier ate their ration and prepared themselves: the assault was planned to be launched in the early afternoon.


    Hours later, thousands of soldiers stood in formation outside the city, all set. Tension filled them as they all stared at the direction of the enemy city, their faces blank. Some of them were shaking, some of them were laughing, some of them were silent. But all of them were feeling the same emotion: fear.


    How many would die today?


    Although Rohan generally congratulated himself on knowing how to keep his composure at all times and in all places, his heart couldn''t help but beat harder and harder from his horse''s height.


    Beside him was the captain of his guard while they were in another group. The goal was to crush them with the power of the warriors.


    Not far from him was another warrior. This one, his face pale, was looking in the direction of the city with his hands slightly shaking. There was also another warrior beside him: presumably his guard.


    Mileim would also participate in the war, from this point of view, their fathers were surely alike. Because although they could certainly play with their personality to prevent their son from fighting and to be here, they had chosen to give them the taste of a real war.


    Oddly, seeing this young man ready to faint in any seconds, Rohan calmed down and his breathing slowly resumed. His face became impassive again as usual.


    The strategy put in place was very simple. Send the infantry to take control of the gate, open it, then send the charging cavalry into the city. Rohan was among the second group of horsemen to enter the city, so he would be practically in the front line, but much less in danger.


    On the enemy walls, movements of soldiers could be seen: they had already known about the battle for a few days. After all, a displacement of several thousand soldiers was not easily camouflaged.


    The time had come.


    The horns sounded, and the first wave of soldiers, nearly a thousand, charged towards the city carrying short ladders to climb the walls. The sole purpose of this attack was to test the opposing defenses.


    Suddenly a rain of arrows appeared from the walls and fell on the soldiers who raised their shields in formation under the bellows of the captains. This rain mowed down many lives, but it did not slow down the charge of the soldiers, who, marching on their comrade on the ground, continued to run forward.


    A part of the soldiers continued towards the walls as a troop of archers began to retaliate and fire their own arrows towards the walls to prevent the defenders from sticking their heads out.


    General Edwin, who watched the battle and was ready to give orders to the pennant bearer at his side with any trouble, couldn''t help but frown.


    The attack was going much better than expected. There were fewer defenders than he thought. Perhaps the kingdom hadn''t had time to organize the defenses?


    He motioned for the cavalry to prepare and decided to send a second group of infantry to reinforce the first.


    Back at the wall level, the first ladders began to be put down as the archers ceased the heavy fire. Some of these ladders were pushed as soon as they appeared but there was simply too much to handle, and a few minutes later the first soldiers of the Duchy arrived at the top of the walls.


    The real battle began.


    The soldiers drew their swords and entered the fray. Immediately, a bloodbath drowned the walls in a filthy red liquid, and the clamor of fighting echoed all the way to Rohan, watching his first battle a few hundreds meters from there.


    For a few minutes the fighters on both sides came to a standstill, but it did not last long. The difference between the number of attackers and defenders was far too great. The soldiers of the duchy succeeded in pushing back the defenders sufficiently and opened a way to the control of the gate. It didn''t take long for a squad to gain control of it.


    Suddenly, the great city gate opened, sealing the fate of the defenders.


    Rohan squeezed the sword and shield he held in his hands. While the first group of horsemen charged at a run under the command of a commander, the second group in which he was followed.


    Although the door was open, the defense never stopped, and arrows flew at the horsemen. Rohan had to raise his shield to protect himself from a few of them, but it was really ineffective. Finally, none had killed anyone in the cavalry: they were all warriors with enough reflex to ward off the few arrows fired here and there.


    The distance to the enemy wall vanished, and as Rohan passed through the opening in the wall that was welcoming him, another world opened up before him. A red world, filled with blood, tears and cries, screams of pain and terror were all he could see and hear, in bewteen the flash of iron and the yelling of orders.


    The first group had sunk into the enemy formation standing behind the door, and Rohan and his group followed into the melee. Formation was really an exaggeration, as there were only hundreds of men standing there while only some of them were wearing leather armor on them.


    Rohan, followed by his captain, charged into the enemy. It was a massacre. A massacre of rare violence. The reason for such a bloodbath was obvious. The group that Rohan was in, was, after all, only made up of warriors. Opposite were soldiers, and in the end, they were just normal men.


    Rohan saw his first opponent. As his horse quickly approached this infantryman no one had yet killed, he didn''t think, adrenaline and stress causing him to act before he could.


    He aimed into the gap in the enemy soldier''s armor, and as they made contact, he struck from the top of his horse with incredible speed.


    The tip of the sword met no resistance, and was planted directly into the throat of the opponent. The latter, shocked, made a strange sound as he choked on his blood.


    Rohan took back his blade, and blood was flowing from the hole, staining the soldier in red.


    He fell to the ground, and under the impact, his helmet rolled to the muddy and bloody ground before being stopped by another corpse.


    He was young. He must have been the same age as Rohan. He was probably one of the new recruits, looking for a job to support his family. Or, he had been drafted to defend his city.


    It didn''t matter. It didn''t matter because in the end, this unknown young man paid with his own life for the mistakes of a king whose face he had never even seen.


    The sound of the battle returned to Rohan''s ears. He shook his head to separate himself from those thoughts and concentrated again. He was now on the battlefield. He would kill his enemies, and this for the sole purpose that he didn''t want them to kill him first.


    So he rushed to the next target with determination in his eyes.

 Chapter 14 - Never Forget This Feeling

    The battle ended in a crushing victory for the Duchy of Barnes. Hundreds of theirs were killed or seriously wounded, but compared to the enemy casualties, General Edwin found this result more than perfect.


    Rohan ended up killing three soldiers during this battle. The first with a blow to the throat, the second with the blade piercing his heart, and the third with his throat sliced by his sword.


    Three families would find themselves from now on with one less member. Their hatred towards the Duchy of Barnes would grow, like all the inhabitants of this city. Perhaps this hatred will spread to the surrounding towns and then the Duchy of Barnes will be rejected by the other Duchies.


    Was this the price to pay for only hoping to feed its citizens? To prevent their families from starving to death?


    Rohan had killed three men, which in the end had nothing to do with the story. Each of them was only protecting their territory in the end. If the battle started all over again, then Rohan would have killed them again.


    But that didn''t stop him from being disgusted by it, disgusted by the blood on his hands.


    After the battle, as he returned to the camp with his captain, he saw Mileim in the distance, even paler than before the battle. He fell to his knees before throwing up. He too must have killed someone for the first time.


    He was not the only one though, as many soldiers had just experienced their first battle. Some were injured, seriously or not, while others mourned their friends who died in battle.


    After all, the duchy of this kingdom had not participated in the wars against the northern orcs for many years. Also, apart from a few veterans, most were simple recruits who had not yet seen the sight of blood.


    Rohan turned away and continued on his way, the captain at his heels.


    "Young master, how are you feeling? A first battle is never easy, even if you were fighting really well back then."


    "Ha! Did you see that? I fought like a wild beast against these peasants who for the first time of their whole life held a weapon this morning. What a great battle for a rank 2 Beginner Warrior such as myself, captain! I will almost love to be tonight to find my three victims in my bloody nightmares to kill them a second time !"


    As Rohan''s cynicism and sarcasm permeated each of his words, the captain turned pale and hurriedly bowed to the young master in apology.


    "Please excuse me young master, I did not think before I spoke to you."


    "Bha let it go. Let''s go back to my father, I guess the plan is to leave a few soldiers here before we leave tomorrow morning."


    As they approached the main tent, the voices as they came out grew more and more distinct.


    The general Edwin was speaking in a loud voice.


    "We have no choice, we leave here the soldiers who fought in the front line today and we continue the journey! There was almost no defense, and there is a chance that it will be the case for the next too, the more time we lose in this hole, the more we will increase the risks!"


    "But general, the soldiers ..."


    "What with the soldiers ?! They''ve touched each other all day and you''re going to tell me that they''re exhausted maybe? Bullshit! I don''t want to hear anything more. Pass the orders, in an hour we''re back on the road. "


    "" Yes general! ""


    The commanders got out of the tent, and Roland ran into his son, waiting a little farther on. At first he didn''t want to send his son into battle, but he was already a rank 2 warrior, and he needed to know about the horrors of war. So he had resolved to make him participate in the battle.


    "Rohan, how was that battle?"


    "A massacre, nothing more, nothing less. There wasn''t even a warrior in front."


    * sigh *


    "Something is definitely strange, they should have had time to prepare a minimum. The general is right, it is better to go faster to avoid any risks."


    He stopped for a moment, and, watching Rohan''s straight face, nodded before declaring.


    "Never forget it Rohan." He paused for a bit before continuing. "That disgusting feeling you have, never forget it. No matter how strong you become, the enemies in front of you will be just as alive as you. The soldiers you killed, did they deserve it?"


    Without giving Rohan time to answer, he gave him the answer he needed to hear.


    "No. No they didn''t deserve it, Rohan. Never become like those warriors or mages who see normal humans as bugs. Respect them Rohan, for they gave their lives for their family and their city."


    An hour later, after leaving those who fought on the front lines to deal with the captured city, the rest of the troops continued on toward the second city.


    Taking the control of a conquered city was not particularly complicated. The inhabitants were all locked up at home and without any warriors, a riot will have little effect. The soldiers just had to keep this city to allow them to send food and other consumables to the main army.


    The viscount who previously controlled the city was simply taken prisoner in his own home with his family and treated without any difficulty. One of the earls was to stay behind to control the city properly.


    The second city they had decided to capture was not far away, only a few days'' walk away. These days passed without a hitch and it was not long before they arrived in front of the new walls.


    These walls were a bit larger than those of the previous city. After all, this city was quite close to the capital, so its defenses would undoubtedly be much more impressive than a city bordering one of the duchies. But even so, the sheer numbers differences will make any defense crumble.


    The army stopped and decided to camp for the night. They had advanced much faster than they had decided before the war, so the soldiers were exhausted.


    Rohan was sitting in his tent, reading a book he had read over and over again. Being in the midst of war, his meditation sessions to open his third meridian had completely stopped. He did not want to come to a situation where he would be attacked during a meditation, it would indeed be dangerous.


    He stopped reading for a moment, and went outside. Two guards were posted in front of its entrance. After all, it was still the tent in which he and his father, a count and commander, slept.


    He looked towards the city lights in the distance, where he could see the shadows of the guards patrolling the walls.


    This scene struck him as somewhat surreal. Two opposing camps, living a peaceful night a few hundred meters from each other. While the next day they will meet screaming and slashing with their bloodied swords.


    Dawn was not long in coming, and mist was wrapping up the future battlefield while the two armies were preparing for the battle.


    The horns sounded in the fog and the first wave was launched. The fight began.


    At a glance after a few minutes of fighting, the general''s expression became strange. He had expected a much more violent defense from his enemy, he had even expected to have to hold the siege until the next day. But the result was in front of his eyes.


    The defense offered by the opponents was of the same level as the previous city. What was the kingdom doing?


    He did not hesitate any more and launched the full charge.


    With poor defense against a force many times greater than them, the city soon fell, and after a few hours the battle was over.


    A report reached the general. This time, like the previous one, the only warriors there were those who were living here, and were just a couple of ones. Like the previous city, no defense had been prepared. And the only time they knew they were going to war was when the army of several thousand strong had begun the march a week ago.


    But from the agents who give the message to the Duke, until now, the kingdom was supposed to have at least thrice this time to prepare. What was the king doing ? Was it a lie and the king did not know about the rebellion ? Or maybe the king was preparing something ?


    Edwin now leaned for the second reason. For over a week now they had been at war. From the very moment they gathered near Riveras in the Duchy of Barnes, everyone knew what was going to happen.


    Such an army could never remain hidden from the eyes of the other duchies and of the kingdom. But since then, not a single message from the kingdom had reached them. It was as if the king simply didn''t care.


    A cold sweat made Edwin shiver. Suddenly he wondered if it would not be a better idea than to return immediately. He didn''t understand, how could the king not care at this point?


    He was sure the kingdom controlled less than a thousand warriors, a few hundred at most. And although their defenses were heavy, the capital was also not prepared for brutal sieges.


    After all to the south were scant lands that literally fought with pebbles and wooden sticks. To the east was another allied kingdom, Daksina, and beyond were countries that considered these lands poor. To the west was the ocean and nothing would ever come out of this area. To the north was the territory of the empire and it already possessed the kingdoms.


    So a big defense had never been really necessary.


    This is why the duchy had launched their war in the first place, without powerful sieges engines against the kingdom. Compared to the wars against orcs and other races, this one was nothing but a skirmish.


    But the kingdom''s response, or rather its lack of responses, made the rank 13 Advanced Warrior Edwin Chrisfold shudder with apprehension.

 Chapter 15 - In Front Of The Capital

    The Capital of the kingdom was a gigantic city with more than hundreds thousand inhabitants.


    In the middle of the city was a large palace, forming a no-go zone for normal citizens. An impressive tower stood next to the palace, towering over the entire city from its height.


    The palace was the place where the king and his family were residing, while only the royal guards and domestics trained to serve the king, and only the king, were authorized to live near the main building. The massive tower was the place where the kingdom''s wizards were living, and at the top was the wizard the most powerful of Prasthana, a rank 11 Advanced Wizard.


    While a rank 11 Advanced Wizard didn''t seem that incredible, it must be known that the most powerful wizard of the whole empire of Elyria was known to be only a rank 15 Advanced Wizard, unable to rank up.


    Around the palace and the tower was a protective wall, certainly not very high, but which had the merit of existing.


    Around this defended zone, the intramural city stretched for kilometers, forming a circle of tall buildings and wide streets.


    The people living inside the walls were definitely the wealthiest in the area. It was for this reason that this city could be considered beautiful. Each street was wide enough to allow several carriages to pass side by side. The closer we got to the center and the palace, the more the status of the inhabitants increased considerably.


    Protecting this city were high gray walls, about ten meters high, with watchtowers stationed at a constant distance. The wide towers were almost one and a half times the size of the wall, and overlooked the surrounding area. These walls thus formed a regular polygon with about twenty towers forming the vertexes.


    Outside these walls was the other part of the city, a much poorer part, which spread out all around. Normal citizens lived here, while the slums took up a small area. These inhabitants were regularly seen with disdain by those who lived inside the walls.


    As simply as with a well-placed wall, an overwhelming difference in status was created by previous kings. Actually, almost all the nobles who were governing a city were doing this same thing.


    And much further from the city, on the edge of a forest, was a military encampment, which had been set up a few hours ago. This camp indeed belonged to the soldiers of the Duchy of Barnes.


    The general Edwin had decided to launch the attack the next day, and give his troops some time to be in good shape. After all, the siege was likely to last several days at least.


    Suddenly the city gates opened slightly, and three horsemen came out. The soldiers, tense by the door opening, let out breaths of relief.


    These three horsemen headed straight for the camp, it was obvious who they were: probably the king''s messengers.


    Duke Chrisfold came out of his tent, and approached to see these messengers. Beside him was Edwin as well as Mardrick. It will be silly for such a stupid assassination attempt to succeed like this, so they will defend the leader of the Duchy of Barnes in case of an enemy attack.


    The three horsemen, arriving in front of the camp, did not even dismount from their horses as they waited for the Duke to arrive.


    "What can I do for you on this beautiful day?"


    Keeping a distance of ten meters, the duke spoke. He could of course have launched an attack directly on these horsemen and killed them, or even to capture them in order to interrogate them, but he did not. The king will not send an important man to a possible death like this. The loss of his honor was not worth the possible gain. So he decided to listen to them.


    The one in the middle, a young man who must have been in his twenties, spoke up, and spoke in the loudest possible voice, while the other two did not move.


    "Under the orders of your king, Duke Chrisfold, I ask you to lay down your arms immediately. You will be held responsible for rebelling against the kingdom and will be executed. But at least the soldiers under your command will not be slaughtered like insects !"


    "My king?" An expression of ridicule appeared on the face of the Duke. "He ceased to be my king the moment he chose to no longer support his own people, and let them starve to death. My people will not be slaughtered like bugs? Bullshit! If I let them depose their arms now, hundreds of thousands of my citizens are at risk of excruciating starvation."


    "Pffff, the lie of a poor greedy duke. You only want to take the throne for yourself! You dare to deny your own king ?! You deserve death! I have come especially to give you a chance to save your troops, but you are meaner than I thought! So that''s what the barbarians of the southernmost duchy look like. No wonder you have the Barren Lands as your frontiers! "


    The man kept yelling with his finger pointed toward the Duke as if he was some kind of god''s messenger. If it was another day, this guy would probably pee his pants if he dared to talk to a Duke in this manner. But like a good puppy believing that he was the one with the power here, he kept howling loudly.


    The Duke didn''t even want to talk to this fellow and his ridiculous words anymore, so he just turned and walked over to his tent. He stopped for a moment, and looked up at the rider.


    "Go back to your king, boy, and tell him he doesn''t deserve to be one anymore. This war and the thousands of people dying for it are only because of him and his greediness."


    With these words, he returned to his tent in a steady pass, accompanied by his guards. The young man, on his horse, looked indignant for a moment.


    "You! How dare you talk about your King in this way ?! Outrageous ! You are the one who chooses the outcome, Duke Chrisfold, and because of you thousands of soldiers will be slaughtered! Forward, we go back to see the king, these savages do not want to hear anything. "


    As the horsemen headed back towards town, not far away stood two people, who had observed all the exchange. One of them was a young man with his black hair tied back with a purple ribbon. The second one, slightly behind, was a middle-age man with a thin beard and black short hair.


    "You see captain, we have before us a typical nobleman who has undergone a good brainwashing from birth. Not only does he seriously believe his words, he also thinks he was perfectly fine for coming here. Look at that, he didn''t even realize that the two guards weren''t there to protect him but to prevent him from running away if he ever understood what kind shit he was in. What a sad character. "


    "If you say so, young master."


    * sigh *


    Rohan let out a sigh. He was starting to miss his butler, at least he would have answered something crispy. For days he had been enduring the blandness of the captain.


    Not that he didn''t like talking to this guy, but although he and Jonas share the same common point that both had facial paralysis, at least the latter was saying what he thought, while the former never dared to say too much.


    "Strangely enough, I don''t really see any difference between this young nobleman and those we have back home. Maybe if the King and the Duke saw their places exchanged we would always be in the same place. My father''s words on the warriors and mages who regard the others as insects seems to be more than valid for the nobles."


    He turned around without waiting for the captain''s response, having already assumed that it would look like a ''if you say so, young master''.


    "Let''s go back to rest, tomorrow is going to be a tough day."


    The sun was completely set, and the moon had hidden behind the clouds, leaving the camp lit only by torches here and there. In the distance towards the city, only torches and flames moving in the void could be seen. No doubt they were the guards who patrolled the walls.


    A heavy silence fell over the camp of the soldiers, who came here to protect their families and land. This heavy silence prevented more than one from sleeping properly.


    They had no choice but to be here, each of them knew it, but the next day there would be a battle against their own kingdom. Being identified as rebels when they just wanted to protect their lives and provide food for their families could only lower their morale.


    Rohan, for his part, had no difficulty sleeping. He would see what happened, and he would undoubtedly kill other opposing soldiers, but he had no choice. He will remember each of his victims, it was the wish he had sworn to himself. It was the only thing he could do.


    The night passed thus. And the sun began to rise quietly, without hurrying, like every day before, and as every day after this day.


    The army was in formation several hundred meters from the enemy walls, ready to launch the assault.


    But suddenly, before the horns had time to sound, the large doors swung open.


    Stress and apprehension appeared on each of the soldiers, but disappeared with a sigh just as quickly.


    Only a man out of the city.


    At this distance, Rohan had a little trouble distinguishing precisely the appearance of the man.


    He was apparently an old man, with long snow-white hair that fluttered in the wind.


    He didn''t even have any armor, just a golgen robe that seemed to fit his every move.


    Only a sword was in its scabbard, attached to the man''s left hip.


    He walked in a straight line, step by step, his hands behind his back, towards the men of the Duchy of Barnes.

 Chapter 16 - The Might Of A Supreme Warrior

    The man walked quietly, as if he was in his own garden and not in front of a whole army. The tall buildings were surrounding him as he was crossing the outer parts of the city, in the middle of the main road.


    Rohan frowned. Something was wrong with this man, but he couldn''t point out what was bothering him. He turned his head and looked at General Edwin who was standing a few yards behind him. His eyebrows were also furrowed.


    Suddenly his eyes widened, and his face paled as if he had seen a dead man come back to life.


    Rohan turned to the old man, just in time to see the one draw his sword.


    There was something surprising in seeing an old man draw his sword as he walked towards an army of almost ten thousand soldiers, including a thousand warriors. If it was another person, in another time, it was definitely something that would make more than one laugh.


    But no one was even grinning.


    An ultimate silence was wrapping up the ranks. No one even dared to move, all eyes fixed on this single man. Only the wind passing through the men could be heard, and even the horses, usually restless, were not making a single noise.


    But another thing was reverberating, like a giant bell, in the mind of every soldier: the sound of footsteps coming from a few hundred meters away. Steady. Powerful.


    Rohan''s eyes were fixed on this man. He didn''t dare to look away. It was a feeling he had never experienced before. Even when he had charged on his horse towards the enemy troops for the first time, he hadn''t felt such a thing.


    Fear. A terror that took him by the guts, and cruched his whole being by the impending doom, and made his heart beat faster and faster, until the thunderous beating of it was the only thing he heard.


    If he looked away, if he moved, if he tried to run away, then he would die. That was what his instincts screamed at him.


    The monster in human form continued to approach at its own pace.


    Suddenly their eyes met. Rohan thought he saw hell in those eyes, his body trembling without his being able to do anything about it. He felt himself leaving. He knew that if he kept looking at him, he would be unable to fight for his own life. But there was nothing he could do. Blood came out of his mouth, as if his whole body was crushed.


    "SOLDIERS !! DRAW YOUR SWORDS, BRING OUT YOUR SHIELDS. FIGHT FOR YOUR LIVES!"


    A voice erupted all around him, like the roar of thunder.


    His mind returned to him, and he shook his head. The soldiers also came to themselves.


    Rohan looked behind him. It was Edwin who had awakened them using his Aura, an ability that only advanced warriors could use.


    Although the army was awake, his expression did not change.


    They were finished. All. Whether they were running away or fighting, they were all going to die.


    Orders reverberated right and left as the soldiers unsheathed their weapons and stared in terror at the man who was still advancing step by step.


    A rider arrived near Rohan and as he aprochaoched, the soldiers around him made a passage while saluting their commander. He took up a position beside him.


    "Rohan! Are you alright ?" Concern could be heard in his voice when he saw the blood on his chin.


    "Father? Who is this man? What''s going on?" Rohan, losing his cool, couldn''t restrain himself and asked this question. Who the hell was this old man ?


    "We don''t care Rohan, you have to get away from this battlefield now!"


    "How? What are..."


    "Don''t interrupt me!" His powerful hand was resting on Rohan''s shoulder as he looked straight into the eyes of his son. "If you can make it out, flee to another kingdom, Rohan ! Do you hear me ? Forget what''s going to happen, just live your life!"


    "What are you talking about ?" Rohan was yelling back at the insane words his father was saying. But Roland kept ignoring his son.


    "There is, however, one request that I have, son, which you have an obligation to keep. After saving yourself, you will have the duty to come back to the duchy to protect your brother and your mother. Is that clear Rohan ? The family is before everything !"


    He turned to the approaching old man, now only a few dozen meters from the front line, arrows were shot at him from the rear but he didn''t even bother to defend himself.


    The arrows stopped before they could do any damage and fell to the ground, inert, as if an invisible wall was in front of him.


    "Rohan, I am an intermediate warrior. He has without a doubt already locked my presence. But you are just a little warrior among so many others, you have a chance to escape, so take it Rohan! For the name of God, Rohan, this is an order from your commander. Leave this fucking place !"


    The count seemed to be practically in despair, he just wanted to send his son as far as possible. The man in front of them was not an opponent the Duchy of Barnes could beat.


    Nearby, General Edwin was blaring orders. He was starting to have a breakdown. Why was this man here? It didn''t make sense!


    Mardrick, next to him, decided to not run away. What would be the point ? He was only an intermediate mage. He could only fly for a while, but he couldn''t travel far enough and put enough distance between himself and this monster. So he decided to fight, even if he didn''t stand a chance.


    It was at this moment that Rohan, before being able to answer his father, saw a scene that will remain in his memory forever.


    The old man, now a dozen meters from the first soldiers, made a light flick with his sword. Bright red flammes appeared and engulfed the blade he was holding. Then, with a simple gesture, he chopped at the void before him, as if he was hunting a simple mosquito.


    And then hell descended to earth.


    A gigantic wave of flame crashed against the soldiers who had raised their shields.


    Howls of pain and terror echoed across the plain. The shields turned to ashes, the swords began to melt and the armor slipped to the skins in a terrifying heat.


    Panic engulfed each of the soldiers, as no one else looked to fight.


    In a single blow, with a simple swing from right to left, this man had reduced to ashes several hundred soldiers, maybe even a thousand of them had perished here and now.


    A total rout ensued. Everyone was fleeing in all directions, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and this man. There was no commandement left. Edwin knew it was the end, so he gave the order to every soldier.


    "Scatter ! Everyone ! Get the fuck out of here !" Internally, he was thinking that maybe, some of them would be able to flee. After all, even if he was powerful, he was still only one man.


    As Rohan had his eyes locked on this scene, his father shook him


    "ROHAN!"


    He turned a blanked face towards his father, who looked at him with an expression more serious than ever. Rohan decided to ask him his question again. He had already figured out who he was, of course. How could he not? Only one individual fit this description in the entire empire. But he wanted to hear it with his own ears.


    "Father ... Who is this man?"


    "The most powerful man in the empire, Rohan. The only supreme warrior, the Old Monster of the empire, Barkley Elyria." His voice was deep. That man was the protector of the empire of Elyria, and no one from the tiny place was expecting this legend to come here.


    He turned to the captain and his son''s guards.


    "Captain, escort my son, flee and fuck off from here, do you understand?"


    "Yes, count! I will use my life and the lives of my men to defend the young master. Young master, we have to go."


    Before this war, Rohan had always prided himself on being a calm person, who could make the most logical decisions no matter what. But his head, right now, was spinning, the situation having exploded in just a few minutes and left him completely lost.


    He looked his father in the eyes. Rohan had always had a strange relationship with his family. His father had never really taken care of him. His mother had forgotten his very existence. And his brother only saw him a few weeks a year at most.


    Yet he didn''t really hold it against his father, everyone made their choices, and sometimes those choices just happen to be limited to one possibility.


    The eyes of the man in front of him were firm. A resolution that very few men could have in their life. Rohan stifled the tears that began to flow, turned around to face his horse and fled at full speed with the captain and his guard.


    Roland was certain at that time that he was going to die, so he would not try to flee. His life will end today, he knew it. He also knew that despite what he told Rohan, his son''s chances of surviving were very slim. But it didn''t matter. He will occupy the general. It will waste his time, even if it would only be a few seconds.


    He looked away from his child, and looked at the monster that was wiping out hundreds and hundreds of lives.


    "SOLDIERS."


    Around him were a troop of cavalry composed entirely of warriors. It was his personal guard. Those who had fought with him against the gobelins for many years before. All of them were Beginner Warriors. And all of them were ready to sacrifice their life, with that of their master.


    He drew his sword, and as each of the warriors followed suit, pointed it at Barkley.


    "FOR THE DUCHY !"


    With these words they charged straight towards the enemy, a strong cavalry with dozens of Warriors. The charge shook the ground as their war cries echoed through the field of flame.


    Further on, the mage Mardrick began to point his hand toward the enemy and used his mana to hurl ice javelins and wind blades at the flame demon. He used all his mana without restraining anything. He was already a dead man walking anyway, there was no point at being stingy.


    Beside him, a man drew his sword and rushed towards the enemy with an absurd speed. General Edwin, the most powerful man in the duchy, had to attack with all his might, and gain as much time as possible to allow his men to flee.


    "FOR OUR FAMILIES !"


    As the cavalry charge came to Barkley''s level, the latter stepped aside to dodge an ice javelin as he let his mana shield take the dozens of wind blades the wizard threw at him. Then locking his eyes toward the man, he flipped the air with his sword, and a red scorching mana wave appeared, destroying everything before hitting the wizard.


    Edwin appeared at his side at this time using Charge and followed up by using a large chunk of his mana to cover his sword with it. He ended by using all his mana to control his aura, compacted it in around his blade and struck forward before blowing it up with Mana Blast.


    A dreadful impact exploded as Barkley used his own blow to encounter Edwin''s attack. Even the earth was trembling from this strike. Flames were dancing everywhere, and the hair of Edwin was beginning to ignite, before his whole being was engulfed by the inferno.


    The riders came to the target and each struck with all their might with Strengthened Blow as Roland leaped forward from his horse on impact to strike with a Mana Blast.


    "For my son."


    These last whispers echoed in this scorched land, before vanishing alongside everything else.

 Chapter 17 - Makin

    Thousands of soldiers and hundreds of horsemen fled from the battlefield as fast as they could without looking back.


    Among them were Rohan and his guards who were heading towards the forest in front of which they had camped the night before. Most of the soldiers had the same idea, they just wanted to put as much distance as possible between them and this hell behind them.


    As Rohan and his group approached the forest and decided to go around it on the left, a hissing sound was heard in the sky.


    Rohan turned his head to the noise on his left. Someone not far from him screamed with all his voice.


    "Arrows !!"


    A gigantic rain of arrows had appeared from the horizon and fell to the ground, mashing the lives of the soldiers in the process.


    Rohan was defending himself with his shield as he could but he couldn''t protect his horse. This one fell under the amount of arrows as it''s neighing of agony echoed with the other horses around Rohan.


    He jumped off the back of his horse before this one crushed his leg in the ground. And at the same time, the captain yelled at his group as they defended themselves as much as possible with their shields, unable to protect their mount.


    "In the forest, we abandon the horses, forward!"


    As they entered the forest to get as deep as possible inside, Rohan turned just in time to see an army appearing in the distance as horns sounded signaling their arrival and freezing the blood of the already routed soldiers. .


    "Faster, run with all your might!"


    The captain and Rohan could have run faster and left the common soldiers to their own spells, but behind them was an approaching cavalry. It was better to stay together to defend themselves a minimum.


    They continued to run, tapping on their last reserves as the sounds of the horsemen chasing them grew closer and closer, when suddenly a chasm appeared in front of them. The deep fissure was almost tens meters large and was extending out of the sight of the group.


    Below them, about ten meters down, a river was flowing at an impressive speed, digging in the damp and mossy rock.


    "A warrior might be able to survive the fall, young master, but normal soldiers won''t."


    "I guess we have no choice then."


    With that, Rohan turned and drew his sword to face the enemies who were getting closer and closer.


    "Master Rohan."


    Rohan, surprised by these words, turned to the captain. The latter approached and put his hand on the shoulder that he no longer considered this young man as the son of his master, but as his own master.


    "For almost five years now, you have been training with us each morning. I have seen you growing stronger and stronger each day, until that day you beated me in a duel. I was shocked, and maybe even a bit frustrated. But I was also very happy. Since that day," He put more and more strength in his grip as he continued. "I have decided."


    The noise of the enemy cavalry was becoming more and more clear.


    "I will sacrifice my life for you if I have to, Master Rohan."


    Their silhouettes could be seen through the trees as they approached the group.


    "Because not only did I swear it to your father, but it is also my oath to you today."


    But the captain didn''t care about the enemies.


    "I, the rank 3 Beginner Warrior Makin, I swear loyalty to you and from that day on,"


    His eyes were locked on Rohan as his expression was more serious than ever.


    "My life is for your life."


    And with these words, he did what any servant would never do to their master.


    He pushed him into the void.


    Rohan, with a stunned expression on his face, fell back towards the river a few dozen meters below him, his eyes looking at Makin who was turning around while drawing his sword.


    The last thing he could hear were the orders Makin, his first servant, was giving to the soldiers before launching a charge against the enemies.


    Then nothing, just a huge shock. He felt his back hit a ground as hard as rock, to suddenly feel that ground turned to mud and then enveloped him, swallowing his whole body.


    At that moment, a crushing current swept him away and swung him like rubbish in the direction of his choice.


    Rohan couldn''t do anything but try to keep his head above the water, while trying not to wash his lungs with the splash of water and foam all around him.


    After several minutes, other problems appeared: rocks, rocks were on the way to the river, and more exactly on the way to Rohan.


    After taking the first head full force, he did what he could to try to catch the next. But the current was too strong, he found it difficult to move himself, and each impact was more violent than the last.


    Although he had tough armor and a body reinforced with mana, the blows nearly knocked him unconscious on more than one occasion. So the only thing Rohan could do was to concentrate on trying to dodge or mitigate the impacts.


    His fight continued like this for a while, at which point he couldn''t tell how long had passed, maybe a few minutes, or maybe well over an hour, before all of this could be stopped.


    It was stranded on a bank, a simple patch of grass surrounded by trees that only let in a few rays of sunlight.


    He had lost his sword in the river, along with his helmet and shield. His purple band was tight in his hand while his black hair under his head was scattered all over the place.


    He was lying on his back, breathing heavily, his gaze lost in the treetops leaning over him as if they were laughing at his fate.


    He raised his hand in the air and fixed his gaze on the ribbon.


    He now had nothing. Just a warped armor on him that was dripping with water. A soaked bag with a dozen potions in the currently unknown state as well as a book which has been broken down into crumbs inside, and maybe some pieces of bread.


    And this ribbon. A simple long piece of purple fabrics, which could possibly be found anywhere.


    He pushed the thoughts out of his head and stood up. Staying here doing nothing was no way out, and something had to be done.


    He walked for a while, dripping with water, in a direction he had chosen at random. Then suddenly it shattered. Everything.


    He hit the large tree opposite him. Once. Twice. Again and again. He let his rage flare up in broad daylight as his hands crashed against the trunk.


    "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!"


    His voice echoed in the forest, scaring away a few birds and echoed a little further away.


    He leaned back against the tree as if it were his old friend, before sliding down to sit on the floor, legs outstretched and head against the trunk, staring into space.


    Endless sadness and pain could be seen in his once childish eyes.


    He thought about what had happened until that day. The departure for the war. The walk, long and boring. The first battle, his first battle, bloody and filthy. The second battle, just as horrific as the first, nothing having changed. And the last battle, simply a trap.


    The appearance of the white haired warrior surrounded by devouring flame came to Rohan''s mind. One man. That was all it took to wipe out years of preparations. How many were dead this very morning? He couldn''t tell. He thought back to the arrows and the army that had appeared in their backs.


    The king had planned everything, he had chosen to sacrifice two cities in order to exterminate all these rebels.


    He thought back to his father who had let him flee. To Makin, his first servant, who had pushed him to save him.


    Although the former had never really been there for him, he was still his father. He remembered that during his birthday, when he looked moved as he handed him his sword and ribbon. Unfortunately, this sword now rested at the bottom of a river.


    The second, meanwhile, had trained Rohan since he was ten years old, and even before that. When he was young and he had decided to go and live on his own in the Riveras estate rather than stay in the family estate, Makin somehow became his personal guard.


    And now there he is, with nothing, in the middle of a forest.


    He had to leave the kingdom, he had no choice. He certainly wasn''t important, and he didn''t put himself on a pedestal thinking his life was in danger.


    But he was the son of a nobleman who had participated in a rebellion and who had taken up arms against the king. That''s why he had no doubt that he would be wanted, like all the other nobles who managed to flee like him. If only for the image of the king, they will all be wanted until the end.


    Oddly at this point, the image of a pale warrior bending down to vomit entered his head. What was his name again? Had he managed to escape?


    He thought about his brother and his mother. What would happen to these two? Would they be executed? Or forgiven? Maybe they will simply lose the title of nobility and be banished from the kingdom.


    And Jonas? Rohan was hoping that at least he could get out of it. In fact, deep down, he probably prayed more for Jonah than for the rest of his family.


    Anyway, there was nothing he could do right now. He had nothing, he was weak, and the moment he shows himself, he will be hunted down. So although he wanted to heed his father''s words, his family will have to wait and only rely on them even for a while.


    Rohan stood up. It was time to really go this time around. He pulled his long black hair back, and tied it with the purple ribbon he held in his hand.


    He chose a direction he thought was towards the nearest kingdom, Darsida, and, still dripping with water, began his journey.

 Chapter 18 - Fighting A Cat

    After a few days of walking during which Rohan had hardly rested, he finally came across a small village surrounded by fields.


    At first glance he noticed the difference with his duchy: the abundance of resources that we could see. Even a person like him who knew nothing about farming other than a few lines he had read here and there could immediately see the difference. That said a lot about the state of the lands in the Duchy of Barnes.


    After continuing for a few minutes, he entered this village. It was more of a meager hamlet with ten or so huts rather than a village, but there was still an inn in the center of it, which was worth mentioning.


    But, before entering there to eat and to have information on the place where he was and where to continue, he remembered a crucial fact.


    He had no money!


    The only things of value he had on him were a dozen potions. The problem was that each of these potions could be used to buy the whole village, so he was left with nothing to be able to buy anything.


    He then decided to do the only thing he could do at the moment: beg.


    What about the honor of a nobleman? What an honor? Rohan didn''t care. And eating bread that had been soaked in water for a few days was starting to make him irritable. If it weren''t for his warrior physique and the mana that strengthened him, he would probably right now be crawling on the ground, starving.


    He tried his luck, and entered the building.


    The darkness inside contrasted with the glare of the sun outside, and narrowing his eyes to get his eyes used to for a few seconds, Rohan noticed that a handful of people were already inside.


    Without worrying about those people who had all turned to stare at him, he walked to the bar where a man was waiting.


    The innkeeper stared at him with his eyebrow raised. After all, although Rohan had been dried from all water since he took the road, his armor was still scuffed and warped in many places.


    However, despite a rather strange appearance, he considered this person seriously. This young man in front of him was not just anyone, he saw it in the way he moved. In the way, he ignored the people around him, and the dangerous sparkle in the young man''s eyes. What did he live through to have these eyes ?


    So he decided to talk politely.


    "What can I do for you young traveler?"


    "I don''t have a single piece of copper with me."


    With these words, the image the innkeeper had made of the man who just entered cracked before shattering completely.


    "I just want some information on where I am and in which direction the kingdom of Daksina is, and if you were ever good enough to give me food, I will be eternally grateful to you."


    Immediately after hearing this, all the people around explode in a peal of thunderous laughter.


    The laughter of the villagers who were seated at their tables echoed around Rohan. But he didn''t care, without showing the slightest expression, he continued to look the man in front of him in the eye, waiting for his answer.


    Normally, this one would have kicked such a beggar out of his establishment with a kick in the ass.


    But for some reason he didn''t explain, the man in front of him intrigued him. He looked young, maybe 16 or 17. Damaged leather armor, scuffed all over the place, who knows what he had been through?


    And those eyes. They seemed to be profoundly calm, but on looking more closely, a strange glow could be detected. A mixture of sadness, rage and something else, something more dangerous.


    The innkeeper couldn''t put words to his thought, and Rohan didn''t notice it himself yet, but that something was a thirst for power. An irresistible thirst for power.


    So the man made a choice he would never have made in normal times, and without saying a word, went into the kitchen.


    A few minutes later, he returned with a bag in his hand. Inside was dried meat, water, bread and cheese.


    He handed it to Rohan who thanked him with a smile on his face. As Rohan tied the canvas bag behind his back, the innkeeper told him where he was.


    Luckily he had been heading in the right direction so far, and the Kingdom of Daksina was only a few weeks'' walk toward the east at most.


    After thanking the man, he left the village and resumed the road without stopping.


    Sometimes he followed small roads, sometimes a dirt road, other times he created his own in the tall grass, or else followed small paths. But he never set foot on a main or large road, because he couldn''t find one in the first place, and then because it was better to remain discreet.


    He was in a forest, heading straight east as the rays of the sun pierced the treetops to reflect his back. The night will fall soon.


    At that moment, as he wondered if it was time to take a break, roars echoed in the distance.


    He stopped, and listened.


    He knew that they couldn''t be magic beasts, and that they were only animals. The Barren Lands were just south of this realm, and the amount of mana in the air was said to be one of the lowest on the continent. So there was hardly any chance that an animal could evolve into a magical beast.


    Suddenly, as he scanned his surroundings, the bushes to his right shook, and a large four legged black beast came out with a light jump.


    The beast had a muscular body with powerful forelimbs, and his yellows eyes were watching Rohan intently with its pink tongue licking its lips.


    Its black pelage was contrasted by its bold white stripes forming a unique pattern.


    A tail about half the length of his body was floating behind as the beast moved slowly one step after another.


    A black tiger.


    "Fuck."


    Rohan''s eyes were widening at the sight of this creature which was practically his size. Without hesitation, he turned and fled as far as he could at full speed.


    But the beast was not going to let him run away like that, and follow after him at an impressive speed.


    "Shit, go away stupid cat !"


    Rohan ran as fast as he could, zigzagging between trees and through bushes, but nothing helped, the tiger was reaching him quickly.


    He didn''t have a weapon, and even if he did, the fight would be tough. So he did with the means he had, and untied his scabbard from his belt. It was the only thing he had on him that could be of any use.


    With the beast only a few paces behind him, he passed a tree to his left, and rather than staying on the defensive, he changed dirrection and bypassed this large tronc to attack the beast from its flank.


    He used Strengthened Blow and struck with all his might.


    The creature, surprised for a moment, twisted in the air and threw its paw on the scabbard. A terrible screech was heard as the claws cracked the wood of the scabbard.


    But Rohan''s blow didn''t stop there, and his improvised weapon, now possessing a sharp edge, grazed the ribs of the beast, which hissed in pain.


    After landing on the ground, Rohan jumped back and pulled a potion out of his bag. He opened the vial with his teeth and without waiting more, swallowed the contents in one gulp.


    One skill was using 10 mana and he only have 26 so he could only use a skill twice, so the weak mana potion will become his lifesaver here.


    As his lost mana was regenerating from the weak mana potion, the black tiger pounced on him, the gash he had received being only shallow.


    Rohan threw himself to the ground to dodge the claws that grazed at his armor. He rolled, then getting to his feet, used the Charge skill to rush towards the animal''s back.


    This one turned around at an incredible speed with a roar of fury. How dare this weak human resist him?


    Rohan struck with Strengthened Blow the moment the tiger had turned, and aimed at the mouth of the animal.


    The tiger hadn''t expected such speed from its prey, it leaped aside with a reflex but it was not enough to dodge the blow.


    With a yelp of pain, a gash appeared on the beast''s head, and punctured one of its eyes. Blood and slimy liquid spilled over the ground and Rohan, as the tiger growled in rage and pain.


    Rohan exhaled and immediately took three potions from his bag one after the other to drink two at once, while he blocked the third with his teeth, preventing himself from drinking the liquid.


    He picked up dirt with his left hand, and, without further ado, threw himself back into the assault as he changed the direction in which he held his shattered scabbard to hold it upside down.


    He used Charge to throw himself to the animal''s left. The beast had expected it and jumped towards the place where Rohan was going to arrive but this one threw the earth in the eyes of the animal, threw its head back to drink the potion and used a second time Charge when his right foot touched the ground.


    He immediately changed direction and appeared directly in front of the tiger, allowing him to easily dodge the hit the black tiger had thrown at him.


    And as he came straight in front of the animal''s mouth at full speed, he tightened his grip around the stake that his scabbard had become and planted it with all his might into the tiger''s head using Strengthened Blow.


    The stake entered his eye and sank inside several centimeters with a horrible howl of pain. The force of the impact sent the beast to the ground as Rohan followed with it, never loosening his grip on his weapon.


    The tiger continued to struggle for a few more seconds with Rohan restrening it with his legs before ceasing to move, breathless and inert.


    He was finally dead.

 Chapter 19 - Bandits

    Rohan was sitting, catching his breath next to the inert beast. His gaze was fixed on it, he had ended up using four of his potions to kill the creature, but he didn''t care. He had survived and now had a bag of meat to deal with.


    He remembered reading a hunter''s book a few years ago, and it described different methods of skinning, butchering and dismemberment. But he currently had three issues to resolve, before he could attempt to skin this creature.


    The first was that he had never skinned anything in his whole life, the lack of experience would make the task unbearable. Especially when in front was a beast with such very resistant skin. Even using Strengthened Blow, it wasn''t easy to pierce through it.


    The second was that he had nothing at all to skin. He turned his gaze to the only weapon he possessed: his scabbard which stood upright, stuck in the eye of the beast. Butchering this beast with a sharp piece of wood was certainly not going to be an easy task.


    The third and final point was that he had only read the book out of sheer curiosity. He hardly remembered anything that was written there! The only thing he was sure of was that magical beasts had a core at the level of its heart.


    Magical Beast Cores were generally very popular, but were not that expensive in most of the continent. But in the south, so close to the Barren Lands, magical beasts were extremely rare, practically a myth, making the acquisition of these cores practically impossible.


    These cores, of different qualities, contained a large amount of mana that was easy to absorb. So warriors and mages could use them to increase training speed. It was for this reason that there were many more warriors to the north, as access to these cores was much easier.


    Without further ado, he set to work. He snatched his scabbard from the beast with a sharp blow, and turned it over on its back with his foot. He leaned down, and holding his makeshift weapon the closest to the sharp end, he thrust it into the tiger''s chest.


    He didn''t try to skin it, he knew he wouldn''t get anywhere with the means he had, but he wouldn''t leave without the core of this monster. With such a size and power, it must definitely be a magical beast !


    After intense minutes of effort spent insulting a handful of gods, Rohan finally put his hand on the heart of the beast. A red organ that was drowned in red disgusting blood was in his hand.


    He planted his scabbard in it and opened it in half.


    But there was nothing. With an incredulous expression, he began to butcher the heart and cut it in many small pieces. But he couldn''t find anything among the bloody pieces.


    He looked away and returned his gaze to the carcass of the beast. A muscular body, almost two meters long, even three taking into account the tail. A height comparable to his. Powerful limbs ending on murderous claws. A short scratch on the side, a cut on the eye level, a bloody hole instead of the other eye, and another gruesome hole at heart level.


    "Don''t tell me¡­ This thing is not even a magical beast ?"


    Rohan irritably threw away the pieces of heart, again in his hand, and cursed out loud. After calming himself, he was now considering whether he should drink another potion of mana or not ?


    Since he had started towards the neighboring kingdom, he had never resumed his meditations, so his maximum mana was still 26. He would not dare to do them in the wild in this way under any circumstances, if a beast disturbed him during this time, he would risk ending up badly injured before a fight even began.


    Intervening while a warrior or mage was in meditation was a big taboo: a simple little distraction could cause you to lose control over mana and seriously injure yourself.


    So he decided to get out as quickly as possible without drinking more of his potions. Night was going to fall in a few moments, and the farther away he would be from this place and the smell of blood enveloping the area, the better it would be.


    He already had only 6 mana out of his 26, and it would only take two hours before he could cast one of his skills.


    Even though all of his mana was regenerating, getting attacked by another beast would be catastrophic and he didn''t want to test his luck.


    Like that, he continued his long walk toward the east, crossing the forest in the middle. In the evenings, before the sun had completely set, he would climb a tree to get through the night without a random attack.


    Getting woken up with drools on his face and claws in the jugular wasn''t exactly what he liked.


    That was one of these times when the sun was setting, and he was there, on top of a tree, looking at it. He opened the bag of food the innkeeper had graciously offered him, and, thanking him in his head again, began to munch on a piece of dried meat.


    The days went on like this, walking tirelessly to reach the next kingdom, never meeting any living souls.


    Until one day, following a road snaking through the interior of the great forest, he suddenly heard the sound of voices in front of him.


    The closer he got, the louder and louder the noises grew, until the clash of weapons and yells could be heard distinctly.


    Rohan paused for a moment, before deciding to go take a look. He moved to the side to enter the edge of the forest, and advanced discreetly while staying lower.


    After a few minutes spent pushing aside the branches and being careful not to step on branches or roots, the scene was visible to him.


    A caravan of several carts, maybe five or six were positioned in a column. Around these, a fight was taking place. About ten people, most likely mercenaries who were defending the caravan, were fighting against twice as many bandits. Dead bodies were already on the ground.


    Inside the carts, other people could be seen, and even children were in it, trembling and hiding in their mother''s arms or in the middle of objects.


    It was obviously a merchant caravan.


    But what shocked Rohan the most about this sight was the rank 1 Debutant Warrior who fought among the bandits. He knew right away that he was only rank 1 in the way he used his strength. Much stronger than a normal man, but much weaker than Rohan. The mercenaries didn''t stand a chance against him.


    Rohan looked down at the piece of wood with a sharp point colored with dried blood that had once served as a scabbard. Should he go help them?


    He returned his gaze to the fight, the mercenaries continued to defend themselves as best they could, but they were beginning to fall under enemy force.


    "Hahaha, bunch of weaklings!" The warrior laughed as his sword dug into his opponent''s limp stomach. "Kill them all! Keep only the fat bacon alive!"


    * sigh *


    Rohan sighed in his head as he thought about the shit luck he had. First a black tiger, a beast in that lost hole that was supposed to be as rare as a god''s teardrop, and now a band of bloodthirsty bandits.


    But he still couldn''t let them slaughter a bunch of women and children. Plus, as a rank 2 Beginner Warrior, he should be able to pull through without worry.


    He continued to move to the battlefield, still hidden among the trees and behind the bushes. Then suddenly, when he had come close enough behind the enemy''s back, he rushed towards the nearest bandit.


    As he was about to strike at the enemy''s neck with all his might, time seemed to slow down to the limit.


    Did he really have to kill him?


    That was Rohan''s thought as he watched his arm move on its own, inch by inch towards the man who was still unaware of the impending danger.


    A wave of flame reducing hundreds of men to ashes burst into his mind. The screams and tears echoed in his mind.


    "Never forget that feeling of disgust you felt when you killed that man." These were the words his father had said to him.


    He strengthened his resolve, and continued his blow, only slightly changing the trajectory of his weapon.


    A painful howl came from the man''s throat as the scabbard Rohan held shattered his right shoulder and collarbone. He collapsed to the ground in shock and pain, and dropped his sword which fell to the ground.


    Some of the bandits turned around hearing the sounds, and when they saw a young man with an appearance that shouted the fact that he had lived for weeks in a forest picking up a sword, they all burst out laughing.


    One of them, nor in combat against a mercenary, approached with a broad smile showing his rotten teeth.


    "Hehe you think you''re tough eh little boy? You wanna dance with me?" He spread his arms as if to invite the young man, and glanced at his companions for a laugh. "Come on, I''ll show you how ...!"


    However, keeping your eyes on your opponent was one of the most basic rules. And this bandit, apparently unaware, couldn''t finish his sentence correctly when his arm flew in the air before falling to the ground with a thud.


    He stared at his bloody stump, shocked at the turn of events, before screaming in pain, kneeling on the floor.


    Silence settled among the mercenaries and the bandits for a few seconds, leaving the scene to two individuals. The first wriggling on the floor with his right side shattered, and the second kneeling, holding his bloody stump and hanging over it while cursing and sobbing.


    Rohan didn''t even look at him anymore, he continued on his way towards the other bandits, passing by, at an even step.


    It was his response.


    He would destroy them all, but he would not kill them. During the war he could not do otherwise because he was surrounded by his countrymen and the enemy, restricting himself was not possible.


    But there he was all alone, and the difference in strength meant that he could go at his own pace.


    But if he needed to kill. Then he will do it.


    Not for his life, but because he has something to do before dying.

 Chapter 20 - Battle Against Bandits

    As Rohan advanced towards the bandits still fighting against the caravan''s mercenaries, the enemy warrior, presumably the leader, stepped forward with a broad smile.


    "Look at that, a little guy who likes to play the hero." He yelled over the noises of the thundering battle with a gib grin on his face. "You''re all alone man. Do you think you can be the difference by yourself? What a lovely pig."


    But Rohan didn''t answer. A good part of the bandits were still in combat, it was necessary that to strike quickly.


    He rushed towards the bandits leader and struck with his sword, forcing the enemy warrior on the defensive. A storm of blows descended on him as the bandit tried to parry each of the blows with his weapon.


    But the power of the blows was phenomenal and the face of the leader went white. A warrior ! And one more powerful than him. Maybe rank 2 or even 3.


    He didn''t have time to think that he felt a gash appear on his cheek. He hastily backs away, his face shocked. Who was this person?


    He glanced quickly behind him. The bandits continued to fight against the mercenaries. Victory was close at hand, but the warrior before him was a significant variable.


    He motioned to two of the bandits behind him.


    "You two! With me, we take this guy apart!"


    The two bandits, shocked for a moment by their powerful leader''s request, rushed toward Rohan. Each of them was taking the left and the right while their chief was taking the front.


    Rohan''s heartbeat was speeding up. He had expected it, but seeing three armed bandits rushing towards him dreaded him a bit.


    He fixed his gaze on the attackers, and concentrated as best he could. Time seemed to slow down as he saw their every move. The movement of the legs, the shock of the heel on the ground, the armed arms swaying, the hair bouncing under their movements, the mouths open to their battlecries, the eyes fixed on him, and the weapons approaching dangerously.


    The world seemed to be covered with a gray veil as Rohan remained there, observing this scene, as the only noise he could hear was his heart beating in his head.


    Suddenly time sped up. Rohan attacked to his right with lightning speed and sliced ??off the bandits wrist. He used Charge and propelled himself to appear to his left and dodge the bandit leader''s hit, before striking his weapon diagonally. The man on his left tried to parry the attack with his own weapon, but the blow was too powerful. A bone in his hand shattered by the shock, and Rohan''s blade pierced his jaw, slicing his face and his tongue in two.


    Rohan regained his balance, and used the Strengthened Blow to chop horizontally towards the bandit leader. This one tried to deflect the blow, but he didn''t even have time to use his own skill as the two swords met. He was thrown back as the power of the blow numbed each of his muscles. He couldn''t breath more than one time when the young man was already in front of him and attacked again and again.


    He was starting to tire himself, his muscles were starting to lose strength. Gashes appeared on his armor, and slashes appeared on his skin. It wasn''t long before the enemy blade landed on his throat.


    The clamor of the fighting suddenly stopped. The cries of pain from the one with his severed hand and the bubbles of blood squirting from the throat of the other had attracted the attention of combatants on both sides.


    But the sight of the badly battered warrior who dropped his weapon to the ground in front of the young man''s bloodied sword left them all dumbfounded.


    After a short time where everyone didn''t really know what to do, the bandits came back to their spirit, and suddenly they decided to flee. After all, there were only a dozen of them. There were still a handful of mercenaries left, this monster had just neutralized five of them, and among them was their leader, a rank 1 Beginner Warrior. Of course they will not think to fight anymore !


    The battle was thus over, and sighs of relief could be heard from the seven mercenaries still alive. All of them were quite badly messed up.


    Several hours later, the bodies were piled up inside the forest, the wounded bandits were tied up and would be handed over to the authorities in the next town.


    Meanwhile, Rohan was nearby, talking to a merchant. He was a bit wrapped up, brown hair at ear height stuck to his face from the sweat. He was a young man with red cheeks. The clothes he wore were colored yellow, orange and red. It might not be the most expensive fabric, but the intention to present it that way was evident. It was of course the "fat bacon" that the leader of the bandits was talking about earlier.


    "Thank you again for your help, Warrior Rohan! Without you what would have happened would be much more terrible."


    "It''s my pleasure mister Delia, I was just passing by, but, why did these bandits attacked your caravan?"


    "Hmm? What do you mean, it was only lowland bandits who wanted my goods of course! This is not the first time that such a situation has occurred! In fact, some months ago, when I was in a nearby kingdom..."


    Hearing what Delia was telling him, he couldn''t help but roll his eyes in his head. Did he take him for a fool? A group of twenty bandits in this lost forest was already substantial, but above all a warrior among them? Even if he had a family of 80 people to feed on his own, he would have no difficulty in being able to do so. All wealthy families wanted to hire a warrior as their personal guard, and the pay was of course excellent.


    So, there was hardly any chance that this group was a real bandit group, and someone must have hired them specially to attack this merchant trailer.


    But that wasn''t really Rohan''s problem, so he didn''t give a damn about it.


    They continued talking for a moment, and Rohan took the opportunity to ask what he had: where was he?


    So he realized that he had already been in the territory of the kingdom of Daksida for quite a few kilometers! In a way, he was now safe.


    "Ha you know, Warrior Rohan, traveling on the road is never easy! I remember a while ago ...."


    The merchant continued to talk for a long time, of the towns they had visited so far, the people they met, the dangers avoided and the gossip gleaned left and right. He was talking so much that Rohan believed at one point that he was going to throw his glove at his face.


    Unfortunately this reminded him of the duel he had with Mileim.


    "... And so in Balford Cemetery, I heard that a woman had been seen bringing the dead back alive! Do you realize? If so ..."


    What had become of this Mileim anyway? Was he dead during the battle? Had he managed to flee and save his life?


    "... So, what do you say about it warrior Rohan? Do you agree?"


    "Hey? Sorry what?"


    "I asked if you were okay to come with us to the next city! Having a warrior by our side will greatly improve our morale and protection!"


    "Yeah, sure. It will help me greatly actually!"


    "I can even help you out if you need something." Delia bowed his head toward his savior. "After all, you saved our lives today, and I can''t thank you enough for that."


    "That''s fine mister Delia, you were just lucky that I was here. But actually, I think I need your help."


    "Oh? Tell me! No matter what you ask me, I''ll do my best!" His smile grew bigger as he bulged his chest.


    "Right now, that''s not a huge demand that I have. If possible I''ll just like a place to live and make money for a few years. Do you think you can help me?"


    Delia rubbed his chin as he thought about what he could do. He was certainly a merchant, but he was always considered to be too honest of a person to be a good merchant, at least that was what his father had told him. But he was by far one of the smartest. This is why he is seriously considering this man''s request. Such a powerful warrior should have no trouble finding what he asked for.


    Only one reason occurred to him, and that was that this man wanted nothing too official, and wanted to hide himself as much as possible.


    Delia immediately thought of a man. This one owed him a favor, from several years ago. He would have a place for the Warrior Rohan to live, and he would give him a job to work. It seemed like the best idea!


    "Warrior Rohan, don''t worry, I have the solution for you! As soon as we get to Blanche, I''ll introduce you to someone. If you''re not against a little work here and there, then you will have a place to live and a salary without any problem! " Delia turned to face Rohan, slapping his closed fist on his chest. "I swear it to you in my merchant honor, that''s definitely a good deal!"


    Rohan was thinking in his head that a merchant honor would probably not be worth anything, but he refrained from commenting.


    "Great, I trust you mister Delia."


    A few more hours passed before the caravan resumed its journey. The injured were treated to the best of their ability while the dead were left behind in the forest, where the beasts will leave nothing but bones.


    Only the equipment had been kept, and if one of the mercenaries ever knew the family of one of his former comrades, then he would take care of bringing back this sad news.. For others, however, their existence will be forgotten in this place, and their families will always be waiting for them, in vain.

 Chapter 21 - Blanche

    Blanche was one of the largest cities in the kingdom of Daksida. The merchant caravan had crossed the forest in a couple of days before reaching it, and in front of them was the outer part of the city.


    A wide road led to the western city gate several hundred meters away, embedded in a great wall with a height of about ten meters. Around this large road were different districts and large buildings, in which lived those who did not have enough money to settle inside the city.


    After all, the space inside the city of Blanche was limited, and with the inhabitants always more and more numerous, as well as those coming from far away to find themselves unable to enter inside the walls, the city kept expanding until now, thus creating an outer part.


    Of course, the count ruling the city could have chosen to build a new wall further away to protect his ever-growing population, but that would cost him way too much money. It was a choice made regularly by the nobles, as they didn''t want to waste so much money on a useless wall.


    As the caravan began to move into the town, shouts and yells could be heard from all around the place. Surrounding this road which was one of the most frequented ones in the whole city, various shops were benefiting from the density of people.


    At the head of the caravan, sitting at the rear of the cart with his legs swinging in the void, Rohan eyed the people who lived nearby curiously.


    Back at his duchy, he didn''t have the habit to tour the city in which he lived, so the scene before him was not something that he had seen frequently.


    What did shock him though, was the absence of guards? There were people everywhere; they were entering and leaving shops; they were looking at stalls; some were walking quickly in a hurry to go somewhere while some were just strolling around there. But even though there were no guards, there wasn''t any chaos either.


    But, apart from the lack of protection, this city seemed to be pleasant to live in. The people walking around seemed happy. A few children could be seen in the distance as they played running after each other before Rohan saw them plunge into the adjacent streets.


    After a few minutes in which the merchant caravan was trying to get across the large road and pass through all the people around there, the carts finally stopped before the large entrance of the inter-city.


    The large doors were always open during the day, but as soon as the sun set up, the guards would close them. This way, it was impossible to cross the wall during the night.


    The gates were surrounded from both sides by two big towers rising in the sky.


    The white walls, a few meters tall, were separating the intramural city where the richest citizens were living.


    It didn''t mean that all the inhabitants inside the walls were rich, it just meant that they were a bit richer than the other ones.


    There, the merchant Delia walked out of the main cart and headed toward the guards. After a few words exchanged between them and a purse full of coins landing on the outstretched hand of the gatekeeper, the carts soon moved again and crossed the large doors.


    The inner region of the city was virtually the same as the outside one, at the difference that the streets were cleaner, and patrols could be seen from time to time. The caravan was continuing its path toward the center of the city.


    Meanwhile, in one of the largest buildings in the outer-city, a handful of men stood in a line in front of a man.


    This man had black hair, cut in a way that those seeing it could think it was done with a sword. He had a rough square face as if it was graven from a stone.


    "Explain to me exactly what happened and why the warrior is not with you before I whip and send you all to the mines for the rest of your life." His throaty voice filled the ears of the men.


    He had a calm tone, but the men in front of him couldn''t help but shiver.


    "Um," one of them said, "to tell you the truth sir, we don''t know how it did happen, we had everything ready ..."


    *CLAP*


    The man clapped his hands against the desk in front of him and cut off the monologue the fool was about to start.


    "Get to the point, before I decide to cut out what makes you a man."


    Sweat was running down the back of the one who had decided to talk. Why had he decided to speak first?


    "Err ... We ..." Seeing the dangerous glint in the man''s gaze, his speech came out of his mouth faster and faster. "We launched the attack on their convoy and everything was going as planned. Then there was a warrior who landed out of nowhere, and he beat the leader in a few movements. We had no choice but to flee."


    "A warrior came out of nowhere? What was he like? That fat Delia couldn''t have foreseen this attack though?"


    "I¡­ I don''t think so sir, he was a young warrior with dark hair and a completely messed up leather armor. He looked like he had been living in the forest for days."


    "Okay." He paused for a moment to think. He didn''t like unexpected situations like this one, so he decided to remove this unknown element. "Search the whole city to find him. If he hasn''t arrived with Delia then it''s all good, but if he''s in this town and you can''t find him, the mines will be far from the worst you will have to go through. Do you understand me correctly?"


    ""Yes sir!""


    "So go, and don''t draw attention to yourselves if you find him." He waved them off with an irritated gesture and, as the door closed on the last bandit, he let out a sigh into the empty room.


    "Always more complicated. But this damn city will be mine."


    Rohan on his side was sitting on an armchair with a cup of tea in his hand. He had been surprised when the convoy had entered a large estate: he had then realized that the man he had taken to be a simple Marchand was the son of a viscount.


    There were two types of nobles. Some were given land, in which case they lived in the main town in the heart of the territory they controlled. For example, the father of Rohan, although a count, owned land of barons, and the family domain was in their city which he governed.


    There were also the nobles who had no territories. After all, there were only a limited number of lands while the number of nobles kept increasing.


    This was the case with Delia Noir''s father, the Viscount Noir who lived in Blanche.


    In front of Rohan was Delia, also with a cup of tea in hand, this cup has become without its knowledge his savior. The viscount''s son was talking so much that Rohan wanted to strangle him, but luckily, as his murder cravings reached a dangerous level, Delia paused and dipped his lips in the cup of tea.


    After a few seconds of comfort well-deserved, Delia resumed his monologue.


    "So, where was I? Ha yes! The count! The count who rules this city is dying, that''s no secret. I mean, he has already lived a rather long life! If I myself could live that long that would be incredible! Ha! How many beautiful women I will have around me, and then the children too! It is important to have a lot of children, you know! I have even thought of the first names of some, the first being .. . "


    Rohan lowered his head and looked at the bottom of his cup. Empty. The total void. His gaze was lost for a moment before emerging again.


    "... Aiden being the last name I will choose! So as I said, the count is dying, but the problem is that he has no children! Well, he does not have any more, but I do not have the whole story. From what I know he had a son, but he died of some accident. But the point is that the heir is not easy to decide, so their family is cut in half behind two people. "


    He stopped to drink a sip of tea, and seeing that Rohan had no more, called a servant to serve him. Rohan was welcoming this pause with relief. He could have summed up everything Delia had said in just two sentences. Well without the names of his future children, but who cares about that?


    "And why am I telling you all this? Well because in this city there are two viscounts. My father, Viscount Noir, and Viscount Macker. You will have understood quite quickly Rohan, two families of viscounts in the same place can only wreak havoc. Well, there are other noble families of course, but they''re only barons. For example, there is the family ... "


    Since when had he started calling Rohan without honorific? He tried to think about it, but, remembering the amount of information he had swallowed, he ended up refraining from doing such a foolish action.


    "... but the most important point is that in the family of the viscount Macker, there''s a demonic girl. I''m telling you, she''s the devil in person! I''ve also heard that she''s working with gangsters. She''s the daughter of the viscount, so of course, no one will say anything, and it''s not like we have any proof. But here is all I know¡­"


    Rohan was looking out the window. There, a green garden could be seen. Trees trying to intercept the sunlight, but ultimately failing, were standing of all their height, while a little field of flowers was growing under them. He turned his face toward Delia.


    "... and all this ultimately led to an internal war between our two families. We each support a different member of the noble''s family, so obviously, it''s not pretty to see."


    All this time for this? Rohan was in a full breakdown.. The count has no direct heir, so he has the choice between two people, and these two people are each supported by one of the two viscounts of the city. Why use a dozen names of his future kids and the description of 46 generations of baron families to simply say that?

 Chapter 22 - Horim

    "It''s ... It''s an armory isn''t it?"


    Rohan was somewhat stunned by this turn of events.


    With Delia, they had chatted for a good part of the day. Well, chatting meant here that one was in an external monologue while the other bored, made an internal one.


    After this discussion, Delia proudly told him that he knew perfectly who to ask to find a place to stay and have money.


    Sure, that viscount''s son could have just hired him as a guard or whatever, but he knew Rohan wouldn''t like that, with the way he had asked him for help. He wanted to go incognito and draw attention to himself as little as possible, and that, Delia had understood.


    So the two took a cart pulled by two horses with the Noir family crest on it before arriving in front of this place.


    One thing that should be noted was the absence of noise. They had sunk into a corner of the city in the middle of alleys wide enough to allow a single cart to pass. And only a few individuals could be seen from time to time.


    In front of them was a large building of gray stone, two stories high and a larger of tens of meters. To his left was a crossroads while on the right was another house, stuck to the building.


    There was a sign above the front door: a simple hammer and an anvil. After all, apart from nobles and other special cases, few people could read. So, it was pretty clear what the function of this building was, but Rohan felt compelled to express a doubt.


    "Absolutely !" Delia answered him with a smile on his face. "The blacksmith inside is from the Empire of the Holy Goddess. I don''t really know his story, but let''s say that at one point he needed to flee his homeland. And it turns out to be me who brought him back here! He''ll take you without a problem, so you''ll have your home and money. I''m awesome, aren''t I? "


    "Delia." Rohan had started calling him by his first name since he was doing the same. He rubbed his temples to try to understand what was going on in the mind of this man. "You suspect I do not know about forging, metals, or whatever, right? What do you want me to do in this place?"


    Delia, as if he was not listening at all, walked past and took the initiative to enter the building. Having no other choice for the moment, Rohan resigned himself with a sigh and entered after him.


    The interior was that of a basic armory. Weapons of all types hung on the walls. Swords, one or two hands. Sabers, with straight or curved blades. Axes, with one or two blades. Spears, short or long. Shields, in wood or steel. Maces, with or without pikes. There were all the weapons a person could look for.


    On the racks located on the sides, there were heaps of swords, obviously of lesser quality than the ones on the wall.


    Leather armor sets could be seen on one side, while no heavy steel armor was visible: the resources needed to make this one were too great.


    A wooden counter stood towards the back of the room, with a few weapons resting on it. Across the counter, a single weapon was hung on the wall.


    A sword. Even at this distance, Rohan could tell it was a masterpiece. It was a double-edged blade, with writings inscribed in the middle. He couldn''t tell what kind of languages ??they were, as he had never seen it before.


    The hilt of the weapon was golden in color and slightly curved, while the pommel resembled a dragon''s head, still in that gold color.


    As Rohan and Delia walked into the room, faint banging metal sounds began to be heard. These came from behind one of the two closed doors that stood behind the counter, on either side of the magnificent and imposing sword.


    "Still forging, this one." Delia''s murmurs entered Rohan''s ears as they made their way to the door. He tilted his head to the side, staring curiously at the person walking in front of him.


    He was a blacksmith, wasn''t it normal for him to spend his time forging?


    As Delia squeaked open the door, the sound of metal against metal suddenly grew much louder, as if this simple wooden door could diminish the sound of the interior.


    Behind the opening was a stone staircase that seemed to descend into the depths of the earth. No light illuminated this passage, so the two visitors stepped forward, stomping with their feet in the dark.


    The further they advanced, the louder the hammer on the anvil resonated in the passage, making Rohan frown. Even Delia''s monologue was more tolerable than this.


    Finally, Delia opened the next door with another creak, followed by a burst of light that chased the darkness, and a large room appeared in front of Rohan. A breathtaking heat wave entered Rohan''s lungs as he inhaled, forcing him to cough.


    In this room several meters deep, a forge had been set up. A large hearth fire settled against the back wall in which a crackling flame was burning, while a chimney was embedded in the wall, presumably throwing the smoke out.


    In front of this hearth-fire were anvils, while on the side a large table contained various tools. Hammers, pincers, and other tools Rohan couldn''t recognize.


    In a corner of the room were various piles of metals, steel, iron, shot, and the like, while swords lay carelessly on the floor, abandoned to their fate.


    And in the center of the room, standing behind one of the anvils, a hammer in his right hand and a pincer holding a piece of reddened metal in the other, a middle-aged man was continually banging the metal in front of him as sparks burst with each stroke.


    Delia picked up a pebble from the ground, and before Rohan could react, threw it at the man.


    The hammer hung in the air for a moment, before the sweat-soaked man looked up from his work. His black hair and beard were peppered with dust, and his sharp gaze, shrouded in wrinkles from squinting too much, was fixed on Delia''s.


    "Ho? Young master Delia, do you need some things?" The man had a deep voice, a little gruff, and seemed slightly annoyed to be interrupted.


    "Horim, in return for the debt you owe me, I want you to take care of Rohan as an apprentice. Pay him, feed him and give him a place to sleep. In return he will work for you, what is it? what do you think? " Delia stood there, his hands behind her back like he owned this place.


    Rohan had a dumbfounded expression on his face. It was strange to be there, as a spectator, when someone was selling him as if he was an animal.


    Horim the blacksmith, meanwhile, frowned before letting out a sonorous sigh. For the first time since the start of the conversation, he turned his gaze to the young man behind Delia.


    He no longer had his armor chipped, and he no longer looked like a beggar who had lived in the forest for three years. A simple sword was at his hip, over a black robe.


    It wasn''t really that he liked black, but it was that other colors bothered him. He had therefore asked for this color when Delia had inquired about it in his home.


    As their eyes met, Rohan thought he felt a tingling sensation in his eyes for a few seconds, then nothing, as if it was only his imagination. Their gaze separated and the blacksmith spoke to the viscount''s son.


    "I can''t really refuse you young Master Delia." With that, he put his hammer on the anvil and rubbed his hands on his leather apron as he approached. "I do indeed owe you a favor, so I accept." He stopped right in front of Rohan, a happy smile on his face. Happy, but clearly forced.


    "Very good! Perfect! Well I would like to stay for a while, but I have to do so I''ll let you get to know each other!" He turned to Rohan playfully. "Don''t forget to come from time to time, Rohan, you will always be welcome at the estate!"


    "Thanks, I''ll think about it."


    "..."


    As Delia was leaving, the most intense silence engulfed the room. Then the sound of footsteps on the stairs faded to let in the distant sound of the door opening, before closing.


    Suddenly, the smile on Horim''s face faded, and with uncommon speed, he grabbed Rohan by the throat before he had time to do anything.


    What was going on? What did this blacksmith want!?


    "Noble asshole." Rohan was now lifted into the air as his throat was crushed by extraordinary force. "I can see it in your pitiful eyes that you killed!" Horim''s muffled voice filled the room as his tone grew more and more dangerous. "Who was it, you fucker? Your maid who wouldn''t let it go? A villager you didn''t like? Did you have fun, you dirty motherfucker?"


    Rohan couldn''t breathe, no matter how hard he tried to struggle, there was nothing he could do. A gray veil descended on the world, covering all the colors of the room. Black dots appeared and disappeared from his sight.


    No!


    He mustn''t pass out, he tried to get rid of these black spots, but there was nothing he could do. A rage began to rise in him. The moron in front of him was going to kill him for nothing. But there was nothing he could do. And finally, he passed out.


    Horim widened his eyes in surprise. He let go of the young man who collapsed to the ground like a rag and looked down at his hand.


    There, fine cuts could be seen. It was nothing, a scratch from a cat would have had the same effect. But Horim himself was stunned by this sight.


    All the professions that use mana in this world share the same problems. This was also the case with Horim who was a paladin.


    Everyone could feel the mana around them, but no one could see it. Most importantly, no one could manipulate mana outside of their body.


    Of course, you could open your skin pores to absorb mana to become a warrior, for example, but it was only when the mana entered the body that it could be manipulated by someone.


    When one became an advanced warrior, one could use the aura and "control" the ambient mana. But it was all a hoax. The principle of the aura was in fact to use its own mana, to mix it with the one around you to control a greater quantity.


    But he had felt it. He had no doubts about what had happened. And that was what made his heartbeat incredibly fast.


    This young man, collapsed in front of him, could control mana that did not belong to him.

 Chapter 23 - Start Of A New Life

    Horim was standing in his bedroom, leaning over a simple wooden table. Above, a large map holded by his large hands was spreading on this simple furniture.


    This map was describing the entire southern part of the continent. It focused almost entirely on the Barren Lands, which took up more than three-quarters of the paper.


    Of course, not everyone could own such a map! Even Duke Chrisfold in the Duchy of Barnes could only get one describing the Empire of Elyria, and it had cost him dearly.


    Depicted at the top of the map, was the Empire of Elyria to the west, with its three vassal kingdoms, with the ocean to its left. To its right, with a border common to the kingdom of Daksida, another empire stood there. Even further to the right, stood a large area of ??mountain range: the kingdom of the dwarves. The area beyond these mountains was grayed out on the map. A forbidden zone.


    To the south of each of these territories, covering almost a third of the entire continent, was the Barren Lands, the location this map focused on. A deserted land, with a fauna almost nonexistent and a flora far from being varied. That was the kind of place where you could walk into a forest for hours before encountering a desert spreading in a large area.


    In the Barren Lands, there were no countries strictly speaking, only nomadic clans in perpetual wars. The smallest ones consisted of barely a hundred individuals, while the largest clans numbered several tens of thousands of inhabitants. But one thing was inevitable due to the lack of mana: there was very little mana user.


    In the middle of these lands, standing with all its might, was one of the highest mountains in the world: Mount Kolmos.


    There was a time when the most powerful ones on the continent knew about a secret related to this mountain, and eventually, with more and more people in the know, this secret was no longer really one.


    Instead, it had become a myth.


    The reason it became a myth was because in the heart of this mountain, it was said that there was a secret explaining the lack of mana in the desert lands of the south.


    But the problem was that no one could enter this place, and even the most powerful ones could only watch from afar. The reason was simple: it was said that to get inside, you had to be able to manipulate the outside mana, a deed that was thought to be impossible.


    Horim lifted his head from the map, stroking his beard, and thought back to the boy. He was a nobleman, he was sure of that. It could be seen completely in his way of standing and moving, someone who has had a peaceful life for a large part of his life. These kinds of habits tend to stay with the noble all their lives.


    He was also sure of something else: he had already killed someone, it could be seen in his eyes. Perhaps there was remorse in it too, but a rage that begged to explode was as visible to Horim as the light of a lighthouse in the middle of the night.


    For a moment, the image of a corpse lying in its own blood appeared in his mind. A young woman with golden hair, tinged with the red of her blood, was lying down, her lifeless eyes staring straight at him. Like an eternal reproach.


    CRAC.


    The table cracked in two before breaking like a common twig under the force of Horim''s blow.


    He sighed for a long time and shook his head to regain his senses.


    He would wait for the young man to wake up and he would quietly wait for the answer to his question. And if he doesn''t like that answer, then he would kill him without hesitation.


    Darkness. A black so intense that it seemed to attract everything around him. Rohan, who was in the middle of this void, felt nothing. He couldn''t see his body, he couldn''t see anything. In fact, he couldn''t even feel it, as if he was just a soul floating in an absolute emptiness.


    Suddenly, red dots appeared, before suddenly disappearing. Again and again. The number of points kept increasing with each reappearance, until they covered his entire field of vision.


    This infinity of dots were connecting themselves to create links, a blood red color. Then, these lines moved on their own initiative and approached Rohan, like snakes having found their prey.


    These links were starting to touch him, to stick to him, to turn around him, and when all these bonds completely covered Rohan like in a red cocoon, it started to shrink, to squeeze Rohan, to crush him under unimaginable pressure. .


    Just as he thought his bones were going to mush, he opened his eyes, and then nothing.


    The red cocoon was gone, the red lines were gone, the red dots had evaporated, and the black void had given way to light.


    Wooden planks, forming a ceiling, were in his sight as the light of the sun illuminated the room he was in.


    A comfortable bed was under his back. For a short moment, Rohan felt like he was on a cloud. How long hadn''t he slept in a good bed already? He had spent days and days sleeping in the cold of the night on trees in the least comfortable way.


    Then he remembered how he had ended up here.


    He jumped out of bed at lightning speed and found himself barefoot on the wooden floor. He raised his hands in a fighting stance and prepared himself to fight as he looked around.


    Near the bed, on a small table, was a pitcher of water. On the opposite wall was a closed door, while a window let light in behind him.


    He walked slowly over to the pitcher of water, his gaze fixed on the closed door, and when he was close enough, he took a swig of cool water.


    He sighed in satisfaction before stepping back on guard. He had to get away from here as quickly as possible!


    He stepped back to the window, and turned to look through it. This window faced the street and was only on the second floor, he could jump without problem!


    He opened the window latch as delicately as possible, without letting a sound escape.


    "You shouldn''t be doing this."


    Rohan jumped at the words and spun around. The door was wide open, like it had never been closed to begin with. Inside the room was the blacksmith, who was not just a blacksmith. He wore a simple tunic over him, as his calm gaze pierced Rohan from either side.


    As Rohan calculated his chances of escape, the man in front of him put his hands behind his back, as if he wouldn''t budge. He then asked a question.


    "Did you kill?" No emotion could be heard in his voice, but Rohan didn''t let himself be fooled, this man was very sick!


    "Yes." He decided to answer all the same, he did not dare to move, he would wait for the right moment.


    "Why ?" A slight tickle could be seen in his eyebrows, as if he was making a great effort to control his anger.


    Oddly enough, this question touched Rohan more than he thought. Why has he killed? In the end, was there really a reason? He killed during the war. Was it to survive? Not really, he had been able to neutralize five bandits without killing a single one while he was alone. Because he had no choice? He clearly had a choice. Maybe if he hadn''t aimed at that soldier''s throat at this point, he wouldn''t have killed him. Was it to save his duchy? In the end, they all played in the palm of the king and all the dead were now useless.


    So, he chooses to answer the worst possible answer.


    "There isn''t a single reason that can explain it."


    Horim widened his eyes. The painful smile on the young man''s face hit him in the stomach. How old was he ? 16, 17 years old?


    The answer he had just heard would normally have pissed him off, and he had prepared to kill the boy at the slightest dissatisfaction. But he couldn''t move now. This look was not the look of a nobleman who killed out of anger or possession.


    He breathed through his nose and turned around. As he reached the doorstep, he stopped.


    "I don''t care who you are, noble or not. You will take care of the shop every day. This room is your room, do whatever you want. Every weekend you will have a salary, and for the food, you will manage with the money you have. You start tomorrow. "


    As the last words came out of his gruff voice, he strode out of the room.


    "Eh?"


    Rohan, who had prepared to jump through the window at any moment, felt slightly lost. Then, as he was asking himself if he should just leave, a voice came from outside of his room.


    "What you''re doing ? Will you move your ass to come ? I still need to explain what you need to do, so don''t waste my time."


    He turned his face toward the window that he had begun to open earlier. The sun illuminated his face and his eyes, forcing him to squint them. He looked back inside the room. A simple bed, with white sheets on it. A little wooden table on the side, and a leather bag at the foot of the bed. In his panic, he hadn''t even thought about his belongings.


    The image of him coming back later in the night to find a way to steal it made him smile a little.


    "Well, it wouldn''t be a bad idea to rest here for a few years. First I will become an Intermediate Warrior, and after that I will go back to meet Jonas. I mean, my family, of course. I shouldn''t forget about my dear mother and brother." He crossed the room in a few steps, ready to accept a new routine.. "And with a bit of chance, their heads will not be put on spikes by the time I go back."

 Chapter 24 - Dance With Mana

    More than two weeks had passed since Rohan was working for the blacksmith Horim. He had wondered at first if he would have done better to run away while he had the chance, after all, this man was a strange one, but anyway, he was only going to stay here a couple of years at most.


    Since he had started working in the weapons shop, a new routine had set in. In the morning, after waking up as the sun was just starting to rise, he followed directly with a meditation session that lasted just under two hours, during which he used all his mana. After this session, he left his room to find himself in the corridor.


    Another door was in front of him, slightly ajar: this was Horim''s room.


    "Hmm, he still had to spend the night in his forge¡­"


    Rohan turned to his left to find himself in front of the kitchen and walked inside to eat breakfast, consisting of cheese and bread. After this little snack, he came out of the room with a plate in his hands and headed in front to go down the stairs.


    The sun was already visible in the sky and the morning had completely arrived: his work began. He opened the door in front of him and found himself behind the counter in the shop, before turning to the right to go down the second stairs toward the forge.


    Even though it was dark and no light could illuminate the path, Rohan was now accustomed to this path, so he had no difficulties descending while being blind. This time, the thunderous noise of the hammering of metal couldn''t be heard like the first time, and only the tapping of his foot against the rocky stairs was echoing around.


    He opened the door that appeared before him, and while squinting his eyes to the bursting of light, he walked inside the room. The heat was the same as always, even though there wasn''t a flame in the hearth, and it made in this place an omnipresent heavy atmosphere.


    "Master Horim, breakfast."


    If Jonas was seeing him right now, he would probably need to pick up his jaw which will be on the ground from the shock to look at his young master doing these kinds of tasks.


    Without waiting for the response from the bear who was groaning on the ground, he put the plate on the table with the other tools before leaving. Horim had the untoward habit to pass the night in his forge as if he only wanted to live here.


    But that wasn''t the problem of Rohan, as he was leaving this place to begin his job, and as he was going up, a hoarse voice came from behind.


    "Don''t forget to come to help me at the end of the day, I don''t pay you for anything."


    The job the blacksmith had given him was very simple, he just had to wait in the shop for clients to come in, and sell them whatever weapons or armor were available. With the price non-negotiable and already fixed, Rohan had virtually little to do.


    There was one problem, however, that Rohan hadn''t thought of. There was absolutely no one coming!


    In the space of two weeks, only three customers had entered, one of whom came out angry, complaining about the quality of the weapons on display here. So Rohan''s days were appallingly long. His real job will begin only before the night.


    Therefore, for the past few days, he had decided to use this free time and the space he had in the center of the room to refine his sword movements.


    He walked over to the rack composed entirely of double-edged swords and chose one at random.


    He stood in the middle of the room, and, remembering the teachings of Captain Makin who had trained him for over four years, he began to move.


    Chop, slash, thrust, parry, intercept, jab, disarm. He performed these movements one after the other as he danced around the room as if a savage battle was at work against unseen enemies. There was a supernatural beauty to observe this dance of death, as if the world followed and accompanied each movement, in a mystical rhythm.


    Makin, having trained his young master for many years, had noticed this change when this one had become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior. Being a simple feeling without really being able to understand where this divine feeling came from, he had concluded that his young master was simply a genius as never seen before. A sensation that had become stronger when he was defeated in a duel.


    Horim, however, who was watching the incredible scene that unfold before his own eyes from the entrance to his forge, felt that his worldview would shatter if he continued to observe this madness. He couldn''t see it of course, but he had no trouble feeling it, and it was this sensation that made his head spin.


    It was not that the world accompanied this dance. It wasn''t that the movements were done perfectly, after all, Horim himself could see some flaws from his years of experience.


    But that feeling came from mana. The mana surrounding Rohan seemed to follow his movements. All the mana in the room seemed to be drawn to this human who did nothing but performs imperfect moves he had learned like many soldiers.


    The mana flows seemed to swirl around Rohan''s limbs, hugging his shapes as if it wanted to merge with this being. The mana seemed to guide the blade as it sliced ??through the air.


    Horim came down the stairs behind him deep in thought, contemplating an uncertain future.


    The day continued like this, with a mid-point break for Rohan to feed on, before resuming training in the afternoon. Like the day before, no clients this one.


    In the evening, He came back to the forge, now was the beginning of the true hell.


    Master Horim was in front of the hearth while he was stoking up the fire with the bellows in his hands.


    "You took your time, didn''t you? Come on and take my place, make this fire as big as possible."


    Now, and since a few days ago, Rohan knew plenty well why he would never become a blacksmith. Just standing there, before this furnace with the bellows in his hands, he felt like he was going to melt. Sweet was all over his body as he was breathing with the mouth.


    Stoking the fire, moving the metal ingots, sweeping up the floor, and all of that without looking away from Horim, hammering a piece of metal. It was the order of the blacksmith, as while he didn''t teach him anything, he wanted Rohan to keep an eye on everything he was doing.


    Forging steel or other metal was not something that could be learned in a short time, and even though Rohan was not truly his disciple, Horim had already decided to teach this young man how to forge.


    Compared to when he lived quietly in the family home in Riveras, the effort Rohan put into his days was much more extensive. He had also decided to focus only on meditations, thus doubling the speed at which he was rising in rank. So, with two weeks corresponding to a month before, he deduces that he would go up to rank 3 in a few weeks at most.


    His days, although harsh, were mostly peaceful.


    What Rohan didn''t know, however, was that one of the three customers who had entered the store during those two weeks was one of the men looking for him. After all, Rohan and Delia having taken a cart with the Viscount''s family crest to come here, it was only fitting that it would be discovered at one point or another. One could even wonder how it had taken so long to find him.


    Inside a room, a woman was sitting on a couch, looking through the window, a cup of tea in her hand. Her beauty was heavenly, and everyone in the city knew about her for being the most gorgeous woman out there. Her long brown hair was flowing on her left shoulder, stopping in front of her chest. She was wearing a pretty-looking orange dress, slightly ajar between her thighs due to her crossed legs.


    The door of the room opened. Without announcing himself, a tall man entered, before stopping in front of his young miss, with a small table between them. Only at this moment did the woman turn her head to look at the newcomer.


    "Can''t you knock at a door when you entered, Matthew?" She sighed loudly. It wasn''t the first time she was saying him to not enter like that, but it was for so long now that she was beginning to ignore it. "So? what do you need?"


    "I have some news about the attempted kidnapping, young miss." The man, a sword on the hip and an armor on his back, was humbly stretching his hand to give a letter to the young miss, who showed an excited smile when she heard that.


    "Ho? Great! I was really curious how did this Delia had escaped this time." She snatched the paper with a fast movement before reading it thoroughly. Matthew, watching this scene, refrained a smile to bloom on his expressionless face. She was already an adult, but sometimes, she truly acted like a child.


    The letter was a rapport. A short one. The only pieces of information on it were about an unknown warrior, coming from nowhere, who had suddenly appeared to help Delia to fight back against the bandits. He was supposed to be a rank 2 Beginner Warrior, with little chance to be a rank 3, while it was confirmed that he was looking young, maybe not even an adult. The woman was surprised after reading this rapport.


    "What do you think about it, Matthew? A rank 2 warrior, maybe not even 16 years old, and nobody knows who he is?"


    "I don''t know, young miss, but I am sure that this man will be interested in this warrior, or at least, he will want to suppress him. After all, he had lost a man because of him."


    Matthew didn''t really care about this nobody, and he knew that when his young Miss before had ask this man to send a warrior and capture Delia, she didn''t took into consideration the result at all.. So whoever was this unknown warrior was not important for him.

 Chapter 25 - Rank 3 Beginner Warrior

    That morning, after waking up, Rohan did not immediately begin his daily mediation. He felt he was getting closer to the goal, and much faster than he had expected.


    He took out the Essence Stone that was in his bag, lying casually in the corner of the room, and used it to see where it was.


    Race: human


    Age: 14


    Constitution: 3.76


    Mana: 21.32 / 29.96


    Spirit: 11


    This result impressed him more than anything. It had only been three weeks since he resumed training! And even though he had decided to increase his sessions by two instead of one, such a result was still impressive!


    Looking more closely at the data, he told himself it was just downright impossible. First off, he was going to turn 15 in two months, and he had never heard of a rank 3 Beginner Warrior that was as young as him. Maybe it could be seen in the northern empires, where the mana was more condensed and better potions were available, but here? In this lost hole? It was almost inconceivable!


    But what shocked him above all was his constitution. You should know that an adult warrior who has just been promoted to rank 3 generally has a value of 4. Now, the fact was that Rohan, barely out of childhood, and still no rank 3 himself, already had a value of 3.76. And that, for Rohan, was almost impossible.


    When he was going to fully open his meridian, and connect it to the outside, a flow of mana would then strengthen his body, and as when he had been promoted to rank 1 or rank 2, his physique would grow exponentially. What does that mean? It meant that he was probably going to far exceed the value of 4 after this meditation session!


    That was why Rohan was sitting on the floor thinking. Did he misunderstand the method of opening and modify it by luck to improve it? However, that was almost impossible. The methods for opening the meridians were all designed over hundreds or even thousands of years. So there was little chance that a stroke of luck had allowed him to improve the technique. Besides, without bragging about it, he had a very good memory, there was no way he had been wrong!


    He ends up ignoring these thoughts and putting them aside, there was no point in thinking about them anymore since he was unlikely to find a reason. He put the stone away and focused, a mana potion resting beside him just in case. It was time to become a rank 3 Beginner Warrior.


    He closed his eyes and focused on his mana core. The white sphere with the mana cloud now had three links attached. A meridian that circulated to his right arm and another that went to his right leg. The last link, which will become the third meridian of Rohan in some time, went to the left leg.


    This was what Rohan had decided, he thought it was better to be able to move at full speed than to deliver blows. This will allow him to use both legs to use Charge, which will be much more efficient.


    He began to gather the mana in his core and shaped it into an oval as usual, before sending it with all his might to follow his third link. The opening of the meridian was done without problem, and the connection to the mana inside was done without difficulty.


    A wave of mana seeped into the newly created meridian to strengthen and stabilize it, only to spread throughout Rohan''s body.


    A smile bloomed on his face as a tingling and comforting sensation filled his body. It was the third time he had risen in rank, and the feeling of making himself stronger and stronger on his own was spellbinding.


    He opened his eyes and picked up the Essence Stone to check his stats. Only by moving his arm, he realized that he was much stronger than before. Rohan was now excited to know how much stronger he had become.


    As he held the stone in his hand, he remembered the words of that commander who gave it to him, when he had become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior. Knowing his stats made this stone a miraculous object indeed.


    He put his thumb on the engraved circle.


    Race: human


    Age: 14 years old


    Constitution: 4.36


    Mana: 0/30


    Spirit: 11


    "Did...did I break the stone or something?" Right now, Rohan was seriously wondering if the Essence Stone wasn''t waterproof or if some violent shock somewhat broke it when he had fallen on the river back then.


    A warrior with that much constitution was a warrior with his fourth meridian formed more than halfway. Certainly not a youngster who had just happened to break through the third rank.


    "Well, whatever."


    He stood up, feeling better than ever before. This new strength in his body was making him more joyous than ever.


    He put away the Essence stone and the potion which he didn''t need at the end and left the room to start another day.


    After he had finished his breakfast, he descended like every morning to deliver the food to Horim, while asking himself why the hell did he need to do that.


    Reaching the forge with the awful heat crashing on his face, Rohan asked himself how could this foolish bear was able to live in this hell place. He was not a normal blacksmith, that was pretty obvious.


    But Rohan was sure he was not a warrior. He wasn''t a wizard either, as he already had seen his forearms.


    It was pretty easy to guess what he was. Delia did tell him that Horim came from the Empire of The Saint Goddess. And in the opinion of Rohan, that was probably the last empire he wanted to visit.


    He had already read a few books about it, and this empire was one of the most powerful human empires in the world. One of the most powerful, and above all, it was the one with the most brainwashed people in the whole world.


    But the worst was that these firm believers of the Goddess had the means to reach any place they wanted. Churches of the Goddess were in every capital, and even the Great Empire, the most powerful empire governed by the Wizard Emperor, far in the north, did not have a choice but to be diplomatic with them. In the opinion of Rohan, they were worse than the gangrene eating up an injury.


    And in this empire, there was a group of mana users, said to be more powerful than warriors in the same rank. Paladins. The fact was, that outside the paladins, no one knew how to become one.


    Some said it was so horrible it was taboo, others said it was a gift from the Goddess, while others were gnashing their teeth about these tactical resources. Of course, it wasn''t difficult to guess what statement this empire came up with, to be a paladin, a pure soul must believe in the Goddess.


    For Rohan, that was certainly bullshit, but that wasn''t his problem either. And at the end, he could only guess that his master blacksmith was a paladin. A strange one, for sure, but a powerful one.


    He was losing himself in such thoughts as he put the plate on the table, and he didn''t even notice that Horim was looking at him with widened eyes. A monster!


    For a paladin, feeling the flow of the mana around oneself was natural, and this capacity was much more developed than a warrior''s one. That was why Horim could perfectly feel that the mana absorbed by Rohan was entering through three paths: he had already managed to open his third meridian!


    "Rohan," his hoarse voice of the morning echoed in the room, making Rohan snap out of his daydream, "how old are you again ?"


    "Eh ?" This one, somewhat amazed by the sudden question, took some time before turning his face toward his master while answering. "I will be 15 in two months, why do you ask, Master ?"


    With an astonished expression, and a mouth slightly ajar, Horim stood up and headed toward the table with a stiff face.


    Rohan shrugged his shoulders as he saw his master not answering and prepared to leave.


    "Rohan." As he was about to cross the doorstep, Rohan looked behind to see Horim with a strange expression. "No¡­ nothing, you can go."


    As he looked at his disciple going up the stairs, Horim rested in a daze for a few minutes. A young boy, 14 years old, becoming a rank 3 Beginner Warrior. A young boy, who normally was playing with a wooden sword. A young boy, who normally was playing tricks on some girls. A young boy, only a bit older than his son.


    But he couldn''t overlook these eyes. Each day, it was as if a beast inside was growing. Rage? Revenge? A lust for power? He didn''t know. But what he was sure, was that if this young man didn''t die, he would grow toward the apex of the world.


    He thought back to the map of the Barren Lands but dismissed the idea that grew in his head.


    Now was not a good idea, as a rank 3 Beginner Warrior was still quite weak. But still, Horim was now really curious about Rohan.


    Back at the shop, Rohan resumed his daily training with the same sword. Making the same move, again and again, to get used to his strengthened body.


    Suddenly, the door opened, and a group of people entered one after another. Rohan, seeing that, threw his weapon behind the counter, hoping that Horim would never know about the way he treated his sword and turned back to welcome these people with a big smile.


    "Welcome, to Master Horim''s Shop." Even though he knew that it sounded too fake, Rohan couldn''t do better than that. Even smiling like that was a pain in the ass for him. "Do you need something speci¡­"


    "Shut up."

 Chapter 26 - Power

    The smile in the face of Rohan faded away like snow in the sun, and his head tilted to the side as he tried to gauge this group of morons. He wondered how these people dare to say shut up to him. Could they not understand how ridiculous he felt each time he must greet someone like that? Could they not understand how these past three weeks were like hell to him? He was still the son of a count, and even though he was not the kind of noble that sees the others like insects, how could he bear the non-respect of these idiots?


    As Rohan was trying to not let his anger explode, the four men were standing in front of him. Leather armor, sword inside their scabbard, malicious smile, and hostile eyes, how could Rohan not understand they were here for trouble?


    "Do you need something with Master Horim ?" He squinted his eyes as he was ready to prepare to fight at any second. For him, there were two possibilities. The first one was that they have a business to settle with Him. But he was only a blacksmith who never left his basement, and if it was about his past, then these guys should know how truly powerful he was. That was why he dismissed this idea, these guys didn''t seem at all to be powerful enough to take on a paladin like his master. The second possible reason was that they were gangsters in the same organization as the bandits who attacked Delia, back in the middle of the forest. After all, some of them escaped, and they did see his face so it wouldn''t be that difficult to find him in this city.


    To answer his question, one of the men, the one who had entered the first, drew his sword from his hip and pointed the tip toward Rohan.


    "Don''t move boy, we''ll just take you away from here, just, you know, to ask you some questions. Nothing more." He approached slowly while the other three deployed themselves on the side to surround the supposed rank 2 Beginner Warrior before them. "So don''t be foolish and just come with us."


    Rohan frowned as he saw the four armed men trying to surround him. Asking some questions? What kind of question necessitated cutting him into pieces ?! Now, he regretted throwing away his weapon thinking it would be a lack of respect toward a customer. These bandits would not be foolish enough to let him go near a rack or a wall. So, he didn''t have a choice.


    "Okay, okay! Look, I have no weapon, so just take me away, alright?" He raised his arm to show them that he didn''t have anything, and was slowly approaching the one who seemed to be their leader. He could use Charge to back up to retrieve a weapon, but against four potential warriors, he preferred to play it more safely. Or, maybe more foolishly. He was now reaching the leader. "There''s no need to be angry, right? ''Cause you know, me too, I have some questions."


    On these words, with a speed much more spectacular than what a rank 2 Beginner Warrior should be able to show, Rohan used Charge. But he didn''t use it normally as he didn''t stomp his foot on the ground to propel himself, no, he used it to throw an unavoidable kick toward the nether part of the bandit before him.


    The attack was way too fast for any of the warriors to respond correctly. A loud crack reverberated in the whole shop, sending chills to the spine of every man watching the scene, and the man hit crashed on the ground, unconscious.


    He was himself a rank 2 Beginner Warrior, and his mission was only to capture another one with the help of three rank 1 Beginner Warriors. That was why he had thought it would be an easy mission, the target was only as powerful as him, without a weapon, and surrounded by other warriors. How could it go wrong? But he hadn''t expected to fight against a freak, who was not only a rank 3 Beginner Warrior but also a more powerful one. He didn''t even understand what was happening as a terrible and loud shock made his whole body tremble. Excruciating pain was crushing his whole being, and unable to emit even the slightest sound, only a dark, and eerie world welcomed him as he passed out.


    An imposing silence reigned in the shop as Rohan picked up the sword now on the floor. He didn''t even look back at the three other warriors as he advanced toward the only entrance of this building, before suddenly turning around.


    With the slight smile of a demon on his face, his back facing the door of freedom, a sword in his hand, and looking straight at his three other preys, he was now blocking the only exit.


    "Don''t move boys, I''ll just keep you here, just, you know, to ask you some questions. Nothing more." The three warriors, hearing this, couldn''t help but shudder at this slap. But they were still warriors, and even with an ashen face, they put themselves in a battle stance, ready to fight for their lives.


    Rohan was now much more serene than before. He didn''t know before if these guys were more powerful than him or not, but with the kick he had sent and their lack of responses, he knew each one of them was far weaker than him. Of course, they were still probably warriors, so he will pay attention to any use of mana.


    The gangsters looked at each other before looking back at Rohan, they didn''t have the choice, as the more time they spent here, the more dangerous it would be. So they rushed together toward their enemy.


    Rohan speeded toward his right to meet an attack head-on, he parried it with his weapon before giving a shoulder kick into the chest of the warrior. The pure strength of the blow sent him flying a few meters away as a pained grunt escaped his mouth. A difference between two ranks was truly impassable. Rohan was even starting to understand why Makin was that playful when they were dueling together.


    After sending away this bandit, Rohan turned away to dodge a blow from his left. The sound of the blade hitting nothing but the air hissed near him. He answered by a thrust with his sword, the tip in the direction of the attacker.


    Dodging, attacking, chopping, thrusting, crashing on the ground, flying away from the sheer force, groaning of pain, bleeding from injuries, the three warriors couldn''t do anything. Their opponent was way too strong, so they knew the only way to win was to use Strengthened Blow at the best opportunity. That was their only hope of victory.


    But what they didn''t know was that Rohan was only playing with them from the start. He could have long ago cut off their arms and put a term on this battle if he wanted to. But he didn''t want to do that. Firstly, his goal after that was to interrogate them, and he had long read enough stories to know that it was better to exhaust them out to make them more cooperative. Secondly, it wasn''t every day that he could perfect his movements and get used to his new strength of a rank 3 Beginner Warrior with living targets.


    After more than a few minutes in which the trio accumulated numerous wounds, the only noises that could be heard were the gasps of three men, tired out to death, bleeding from everywhere with pieces of armor falling around them. Rohan was standing in front of them, a deep breath exited his nose, and he put his sword on his shoulder. No injuries and a joyful expression could be seen on his face. He felt that he was going to love beating up people from now on.


    "So, should we stop a bit so I can ask you some questions, or do you want to continue to play with me?"


    *clang**clang**clang*


    Before he could even finish his words, three swords were thrown away and dropped on the floor with strident noises. The bandits couldn''t do anything more, this young man was a true demon, and even when they had all used their skills at the same time to attack in three directions, he easily avoided them with a single Charge, before going back to hit them again and again. They dropped to the ground following their swords as they couldn''t even stand anymore. That was truly the worst mission they never had taken.


    Rohan approached them and pointed his sword to one of them.


    "You tell me, what did you want from me ?"


    "I¡­ I don''t know at all. We were just asked¡­"


    Before he could even finish his sentences, the tip of the sword moved at a terrifying speed before cutting through the left ear of the man. A scream left his mouth as one of his ears fell on the ground with a plop sound. Blood spread from the open wound and painted his face with a disgusting red.


    Following this, and while the cries were still echoing from the side, Rohan moved to the next target and pointed his sword toward his throat.


    "You tell me. You should answer me honestly." His voice was icy, and the threat was real. He didn''t like to torture to ask questions like that, but he wanted answers. He was still angry about the attack. While he was listening to the answer the fearful bandit was giving him, he was wondering if what he was doing was a good thing. He knew that he was becoming more and more ruthless, but, maybe it was what it meant to grow in this world. After all, the more powerful he would be, the more freedom he would have, and the more right he would be. For example, who will say that The Old Monster was wrong to kill thousands of soldiers? No one, of course, and that was because of a single word.


    Power.

 Chapter 27 - Asking Questions

    Note: for those who had read the chapters I had deleted, please read again the end of the chapters 21 and 24, as I had made slight ajustement. Sorry for the inconvenience!


    In front of one of the largest estates of the city of Blanche, a young man was approaching one of the guards near the grand portal. He was young, maybe 16 or 17, with straight black hair tied with a purple ribbon. A sword was at his side, and his sturdy step echoed around him.


    "I want to talk with the young master Delia, tell him that the warrior Rohan is here." With a simple nod to salute the guard, he asked directly without losing time since he was in a hurry.


    The guard was caught off guard by these words, this man was a warrior? impossible! He glanced at his chest, only to find that there wasn''t any warrior''s emblem. With a contemptuous smile on his face, he looked straight into the eyes of the liar in front of him and spoke loudly.


    "Ha! It''s not a good idea to lie in this place, boy! Here in the estate of the viscount Noir, it''s not a place for a beggar like you!" He placed his hand on his sword''s handle before he returned to his nonsense. "I''m in a good mood today, boy, so¡­"


    "Call me boy one more time, and I''ll cut off your arm. Seriously, I''ll do it. Now stop losing my time and move your ass to inform Delia that I am here, okay?"


    The guard was stunned speechless by these injunctions. What should he do? In the end, under the imposing stare of this potential warrior, the guard decided to inform the young master Delia. Someone calling the young master without his title in front of his estate was either someone he couldn''t disrespect or a total fool, and he didn''t want to try his luck. He backed down under the look of the other guards watching a little further away with smirks on their faces and hurried toward the young master''s place.


    A few minutes later, the guard was coming back with an ashen face, and, once he was before the man he had suspected to lie, he bowed down to apologize with a shaking voice.


    "Please, excuse me for the way I treated you, Warrior Rohan, I have eyes, but I couldn''t see the truth. I''m begging you to not take it to heart." When he had announced to the young master that a certain warrior Rohan was here to see him, he knew that he had fucked up, and pretty badly when he had seen the joyful expression on the face of the young master Delia.


    "It''s fine, please lead me toward your young master." But Rohan didn''t care, and he had already forgotten about the way this nameless guard had treated him.


    The guard took the lead with Rohan behind and they entered through the large iron gates. In front of them, a large paved road stretched toward the main building located a little further. On both sides of the road, square green bushes separated the green gardens that spread out around the whole estate. Trees and other bushes could be seen a little away, and all this flora was perfectly maintained, giving a sensation of tranquility as the two men were walking toward the building.


    The paved road ended on an area of gravel, and as the crunchy sound of the shoes stepping on rocks echoed around him, Rohan raised his head to observe the three-story building standing before him.


    It was made of brown bricks, with tens of windows dotting the front while a single large wooden door was embedded in the wall. Both sides of the manor were stretching on the left and right, but Rohan was too close to the entrance to see how large the building truly was. Overall, this estate was bigger than his secondary one back in Rivoiras, but it was smaller than the main estate of the family. Well, it was probably not the one of his family anymore, but it wasn''t as if it interested Rohan.


    The guard, now paying attention to all his gestures as if the guest was a king, opened the door to let the warrior walk in, before closing it to take back his guiding role.


    Due to the impressive number of windows letting in the sunlight, the spacious main hall was so lighted up that we could think there was no rooftop. This brightness was even more emphasized by the white floor tiles spreading all over the hall. At a short distance from Rohan, a wide staircase climbed up before separating himself toward the left and the right, but he wasn''t going this way, since it was the viscount and his family''s private apartments.


    He was guided to the left where a corridor let him go through half the building before stopping in front of a door. Along the way, many servants were doing their tasks, walking all around, transporting goods, or others. After seeing a guest, they all bowed down after putting themselves to the side to clear the way, in which case Rohan nodded at each of them. It was the least he could do, and he pretty much despised those nobles thinking too highly of themselves to even do that.


    After the guard knocked on the door, a butler opened it to let Rohan enter. Inside the room, the same one that last time with the green garden at the window, Delia was sitting on a couch. Seeing Rohan, he stood up with a large smile on his face.


    "Rohan! What a pleasure to see you! Come, come, sit here!" He pointed in front of him, rustling his green golden dress, and Rohan, seeing that, wondered if he always wore this kind of clothes even when he was alone in his house. "So, tell me, what made you want to come to see me? Did you miss me already?" While Delia was laughing, Rohan was trying to control himself to not punch him. He was even congratulating himself for not jumping on him already.


    He sat down before going straight for the reason for his presence.


    "Tell me who were the bandits trying to capture you the other day. I want you to tell me everything."


    "What are you talking about ? I''ve already said that¡­" He didn''t finish this answer, he couldn''t. The look in the eyes of Rohan sent chills towards his spine and he couldn''t help but ask himself this question for a second time now. This unknown warrior, who was he at the end? A noble? He was sure of that, and maybe even one with a higher status than himself. But he had never heard of him. Of course, he had caught the news about a war in the neighboring kingdoms, with thousands and thousands of deaths from the duchy of Barnes. But it was the results made by the Old Monster, along with a great army sent by the empire. Could a warrior, and above all a nobleman, really flee and make his way up to here? He didn''t know, and that was after asking for all the news available. But his thinking was interrupted by Rohan.


    "At the moment I am talking to you, there are four warriors attached in Horim''s shop, pretty badly beaten up. Don''t you worry, I''ve already asked them some questions, I only want all the details from you. If you don''t want to help, since my life seems to be in danger, I will have no choice but to consider you as an enemy."


    Delia felt all his sweat flowing down from all his pores and his heart pounding louder and louder in his chest. He was beginning to feel a bit fizzy. Four warriors? Attached in the shop? Beaten up? What did the hell happen?


    "Okay, okay! I think it''s better to calm down a bit, you know, for the flow of blood and everything! I think a bit of tea will even be a greater solution, how could I not even propose some to you?! Tell me, what do you prefer? I have some black tea, I don''t use it much since it costs a fortune, but¡­"


    Rohan was astonished. Nothing more.


    Even with such a direct threat, he could still talk that much? Or maybe he was feeling too stressed and he was trying to hide his fear by talking? Or maybe he bought this tea some time ago and wanted to boast about it?


    While Rohan was studying Delia''s psychology, this one called his butler to serve some of his black tea. After two steaming cups of dark liquid were served on the table between Delia and Rohan, the former began to talk.


    "Okay, so you know about Elia, right?"


    "Elia? No, never heard before." Rohan was tilting his head to the mention of this name, should he know about this person?


    "This is the daughter of the viscount Macker, the one working with gangsters. Did you even listen to me when I was talking to you the other day?"


    "No, you''re talking too much." Rohan blew on the cup of tea to chase away the heat. "So? Is she the one behind all this? The warriors gave me another name."


    "Yes and no," he decided to ignore the first part and answered Rohan''s question, "back at the forest, there''s no doubt it was her that was behind all of this. If she could capture me and blackmail my family this way, that would be a great advance toward the control of the city. But she''s only the daughter of a viscount at the end, she can order around a warrior or two, but four or five? That''s just too much. And honestly, when I said she worked with the gangsters, I was maybe exaggerating. I mean, all nobles in this city have already asked them to do some....jobs. Anyway, the ones who attacked you must be working for the master of these bandits. I will repeat myself since you didn''t listen to me last time, but in this city, there are three people you must pay attention to."


    He made a little pause to drink his tea, he needed it to calm down a bit.


    "The first one is the captain of the guards working for the count. He is a rank 5 Beginner Warrior and he''s one of the most powerful ones in the city, but he shares this title with another guy. He is also a rank 5 Beginner Warrior. But the thing is that he''s only a commoner because the count didn''t want to make him a noble. So of course there will be some tension in the air, and in the end, he formed a group of bandits lurking in the outer city. You''re probably asking yourself why everyone knows about it but let it go, right? That''s because of the third one. A rank 2 Beginner Wizard, on his way to becoming a rank 3, is a really good friend of this commoner. And both of them together, plus tens of warriors, that''s just a hassle. And since the kingdom doesn''t care at all, the city is now in this situation where a group of bandits can move around as if it was their house."


    "And the name of this commoner is Bradley, right? And you''re telling me no one can do anything, even when four warriors attacked someone in daylight?" Rohan was a bit pissed off to hear that right now. Should he go himself in the middle of the night to play the hero? While he was wondering if he should ask Delia to give him a mask, this one answered.


    "Don''t worry, I will talk about it with my father." A devious smile appeared on his face.. "Let me just take the four warriors you have captured, I have my plan, and you don''t need to do anything."

 Chapter 28 - Chapitre 28: I Say, You Do

    Rohan opened his eyes, only to look at the wooden roof overlooking the room. He was still groggy with sleep, but he needed to wake up. He shook his head and slapped his cheeks. Time for a new day.


    Almost two months had passed since he was in the city of Blanche, and today was his fifteenth birthday. Or was it the day affer this one? He didn''t really knew anymore, not that he cared about it.


    After asking the questions he had at Delia, he never heard again about it. All he knew was that this one took charge about it, and that he wasn''t attacked since this day. And thtmat was enough for him, let him have his calm and quiet life!


    Like always, while the sun was beginning to wake up and enlighted the room, Rohan sat down on the floor to start his meditation. After a painful yet delightful hour or so passed at creating his meridian, he opened his eyes and let go a sonore sigh. Everything went well, without any problem.


    Or that was what he wanted to say. His problem was still growing, and he had no clue about this phenomen. He took out his Essence Stone to look at his status.


    Race: human


    Age: 15 years old


    Constitution: 4.58


    Mana: 0 / 32.34


    Spirit: 11


    Firslty, this day was indeed his fifteenth birthday. But as Rohan was happy to have find a new utility at this stone, he couldn''t help but sigh when he saw the value of his constitution.


    His mana and the construction of his meridian was normal, at least for him. The speed at which it was growing had slow down when he had become a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, but it was expected since his body was tougher with the mana stengthening him.


    The problem was that his constitution was almost the same one as a warrior ready to promute to the next rank. Such a thing should never have been possible, and that was what conflicted Rohan. But since he couldn''t do anything about it in any case, he just sighed before putting away the stone.


    After taking his breakfast he descended to give at Horim something to eat. But as he opened the door of the forge after the dark stairs, what welcomed him wasn''t the snoring he heard everyday coming from the bear sleeping on the dusty ground, but an impatient grawl coming from this so called bear, waiting in front of the door.


    "Hmph. You took your time, eh?"


    "Hmm?" Rohan tilted his head to the side. But before he could answer his master, this one continued.


    "Put that plate away, and follow me." He turned around and headed toward the furnace, before taking a leather apron. He threw it toward Rohan who took it be reflex, just after posing the plate full of food on a table. The deep voice of Horim came back in his ears.


    "Put it on, or else you will need my help to take off the molten metal from your flesh." A rare smile could be seen on his face as he was talking. "And I assure you that it isn''t a pleasing experience."


    Rohan tilted his head to the side as he wondered what was the goal here. But he still put on the protection without asking more. He could still ask questions later anyway.


    Horim took out a hammer from the table and put it on the anvil, and prepared the bellows beside him. Then, he turned around.


    "It had been more than two months since you watched me working the metal. So today, it''s your turn."


    He took a slight pause before he decided to present himself officially toward his disciple.


    "I am Horim Yargan, a rank 8 Intermediate Paladin from the Empire of the Saint Goddess. I have been a blacksmith in this city for more than three years. But before that, I was a blacksmith working for the Order of the Paladins for almost twenty years."


    A dumfounded look appeared on the face of Rohan. He knew that he was powerful, but a rank 8 Intermediate Paladin was definitely one in the stronger side of the intermediate mana users. Of course a wizard would be much more powerful, as they were the most mighty ones in the continent. But they were also extremely rare, as only the ones born with a mana stone could become one.


    The sad truth for the wizards was that probably a lot of potential ones couldn''t even know if they had a stone or not. That was why the actual wizards were almost all of a prominent status. After all, who will take the time to test a random peasant in the middle of nowhere?


    "As you could see by yourself, I only forge weapons, and no armors. I also most of the time only make swords." Horim continued without bothering about the thoughts Rohan was having. "So you will begin today! You''ll learn how to make a dagger properly."


    Rohan was starting to feel his heart beated louder in his chest. He was Excited. Excited to learn something new, to produce something with his two hands. Plus, he had seen Horim making the same thing again and again for weeks now. He was sure to succeed.


    He stood in front of the anvil near the hearth where a bright fire was crackling, a hammer and pincers in his hands. Under the vigilant eyes of his master, Rohan began his first piece of metal.


    The first step wasn''t that complicated, and as it was only a dagger, it was even more so: the form.


    With a piece of iron in the pincers, Rohan put it inside the fire as he was using the bellows to have the right temperature. But as Rohan thought it would be an easy task, the truth was quite different.


    It wasn''t the first time he had used the bellows to stir up the flame, but now that he was doing it while adjusting the heat, he understood how wrong he was. Horim, watching on the side, couldn''t look anymore.


    "Increase the intensity, what are you even fucking doing?"


    "Again! Can''t you feel that the heat isn''t enough?"


    "That''s fine! Alright, keep that way!"


    Following the injonctions of his master, Rohan was more or less doing it right. Before long, the piece of iron he had put inside the flame was heated enough with a bright orange-yellow color.


    "Okay, take it up now, you can begin to work on it."


    Rohan caught the iron ingot with the tongs before he put it on the anvil. Then, he hit it with the hammer. Again. And again. He was only an automaton at this moment as he kept hammering the piece of metal.


    "Can''t you even aim correctly? What are you even doing now!"


    The goal was to hit the metal to condense it while keeping it even and give it the elongated shape needed. But while it sounded easy to do, it really wasn''t. Even Rohan, who had seen the process each day, found it quite tricky.


    "Speed up! Are you a snail or what!"


    There was another requirement to this step. And that was to be the fastest possible. But speed wasn''t haste, and Rohan still needed to be precise and steady, hitting the iron with all his strength.


    "Fiercer! Are you a rank 3 Beginner Warrior or my grandma?"


    But to the taste of Horim, even though he was hitting with the maximum of speed he could while being the most precise possible, it wasn''t enough.


    "Put back the iron in the flame you fool, can''t you see the change in the color?!"


    Rohan followed the order. It wasn''t that he didn''t see the change of color, but how could he know at which point he should or not put it back in the furnace?


    After waiting a few minutes with the bellows, and under the yells of Horim, Rohan continued to work the iron.


    The reason why hitting the iron the fastest was because puting it too much time increased the risks of fragilating the future blade, and maybe even the risks of breaking it.


    Horim was watching his disciple, forging for the first time, with a strange gleam in the eyes. It wasn''t what he had expected at all. Rohan was a genius, he was sure of that. And not any kind of a genius, but probably the one with the most potential in the world.


    He had seen him training with his sword. He had seen the way the mana was accompanying each of his movements, giving a divine aura to the scene.


    But here and now, before him, he couldn''t feel anything. It was just...normal. Even less than normal, as Rohan had no experience about forging. After all, it shouldn''t be forgotten that it was only for a bit more than two months that he was here.


    Honestly, he felt a bit disappointed. Of course, he shouldn''t have such expectations in the beginning, but still. How could he be that godly with a sword but not with a hammer?


    After a few more minutes passed with hammering interspersed with heating up in the flames, the elongated form of the dagger finally appeared.


    "Okay. Stop here, if you pay attention to what you''re fucking doing, you''ll see it''s fine."


    Now that the form wanted was given to the metal, it was time for the next step. This one was to use the greatest amount of strength possible, in the goal to hit the iron to flatten it before folding it in on itself.


    It was this step that would later increase the hardness of the blade. The more foldings there were for the blade, the better it was. At least before the number of these ones reach 20, as after that it wouldn''t improve the quality of the blade anymore. Of course, that was only for the inferior metals like iron or steel.


    While thinking about what Horim had teached him on the folding, Rohan began the second step.

 Chapter 29 - Rohans First Piece Of Scrap

    The shrill noises of the hammer falling on the piece of iron echoed in the forge. The heat and effort made the clothes of Rohan soaked with sweat stuck on his skin. Horim, on the side with a critical eye, kept yelling at Rohan each time he was doing something he didn''t like. Which was pretty much every time he was lifting the hammer.


    Rohan had already achieved the 4th folding and was now trying the 5th one. But it was much more complicated as the foldings increased and it made the future blade much more difficult to hammer.


    Of course, since he was way too slow, he didn''t have the choice but to put back the iron in the furnace in between each folding. But it couldn''t be helped, he wasn''t fast enough, not precise enough and was obliged to take a few seconds to know where to hit.


    Actually, for someone who had been near a forge for only two months or so, it was definitely impressive. But that was all. Compared to what Horim was expecting, he felt a little disappointed.


    "Okay stop here, you will not be able to make more folding."


    Hearing these words, Rohan stopped after he had finished the fifth folding and put for a last time the iron in the furnace to molten it a bit more. Then, as the color was back to a bright orange-yellow, he hammered it again. This time, it was to form the real shape of the blade.


    Now was a bit easier than before, and Rohan struck the hot iron at constant speed. He was starting to feel soreness spreading over his muscles as the weight of the hammer was beginning to make him struggle.


    Suddenly, as he was feeling tired, it came to his mind that he was a rank 3 Beginner Warrior. The normal blacksmiths, how the hell can they do it? As he was thinking if they could possibly have more strength than him, who had almost a constitution five times superior to a normal human, Horim snarled at him.


    "Concentrate! Who do you look so puzzled, dummy? Is it because you''re too tired? Ha, speed up these movements right now, grandma!"


    Rohan let a groan leave his throat as he was hitting with all the strength he had, until the piece of metal before him was the form he wanted it to be.


    Once the blade was formed, there was still a last thing to be done: the tang. It was the part that hid under the hilt when a knife or a sword was finished. To form it, all Rohan had to do was to hit again and again, as blisters on his hand bursted under the friction of the handle.


    The heat of the forge began to drill a hole in his head. How could anyone work in this place? Who the hell decided to forge near a furnace while being in the middle of the earth? Was Horin that mad?


    Rohan kept yelling questions in his mind as he repeatedly hit the iron under the exhausting heat coming from the forge.


    Before long, Rohan ceased his movements to look at the piece of iron before him. It was a long one, with a length of 30 cm and a width of 3 cm for the blade and only 1 for the tang. He felt excited to see what would be the final result, but also anxious, as the next step would determine the quality of the blade. But before he could think anymore, the thunder of Horim''s loud voice echoed beside him.


    "What are you waiting for, you mudhead! Put it in the fucking water already!"


    Rohan snapped back to reality, and rushed to put the orange blade into the bucket of cold water near him.


    The bright, nearly yellow, hot iron entered the clear water as a hissing and bubbling sound entered through the ears of Rohan. A sea of hot smog floated in the air as Rohan was maintaining the blade inside with the tongs. Through the smoke, the bright color of the metal could be seen to decrease, to a light red, to finish on a dull grey.


    He took it out of the water after he sensed the iron had cooled down, and as he was going to take a closer look, Horim snatched it from his hands at lighting speed.


    He examined the blade which needed only to be sharpened while rotating it on all sides. He glanced at each part with a critical eye, he stroked everywhere with his experienced fingers, he felt the whole creation before him with his years of blacksmithing.


    He then looked back at Rohan. A rank 3 Beginner Warrior who was only 15 years old. Less than two years of training, and already three ranks. But even that was nothing. Nothing compared with the fact that he had a special relationship with the mana. Why? Horim didn''t know, but what he understood was that Rohan was unique in this world. He even guessed that if Rohan could better use this capacity, he would be able to transcend everything the human race had done until this day.


    He even thought back to the mountain in the middle of the Barren Lands. Maybe, just maybe there truly was a secret. And perhaps Rohan would be able to reveal it.


    But this blade before his eyes? It was truly nothing but a piece of junk. The quality of the metal was bad, nothing more, nothing less. But still, he would let Rohan finish this dagger.


    It was still a 5 foldings weapon, it wasn''t complete garbage. But a good blacksmith was able to make a 20 foldings weapon, and that was when he wasn''t a mana user. Of course he will take quite a few days before being able to finish it, and the quality would be far worse than a 20 foldings blade made in a single day.


    Actually, the best iron or steel weapons that can be made were 20 foldings ones made in a single breath. Which meant without putting back the metal even once in the furnace.


    Overall, with a little hindsight, it was possibly the best weapon made in the world by a 15 years old boy. But for a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, it was below average.


    Rohan was a little bit annoyed to see such an obnoxious expression on the face of his master as he gave him back the blade. But even though he wanted to slap him, his intermediate rank made him think if his death would be worth it.


    Now there were only two steps remaining. The first one was to clean the blade, then make a hilt and install it while the second and last one was to sharpen the blade.


    Without wasting more time, Rohan began to clean the dark grey metal to give it a clear mirror appearance that everyone knew. He had already seen Horim make it tens of times, and as it wasn''t a complicated task, he didn''t encounter any hindrance. Even Horim had stopped to bomb him with interjections.


    After an hour or so of precise work, the shiny blade appeared before his eyes. Rohan could even see his distorted reflection on it. The blade was flat with a pointed tip and the edges were slightly inclined before stopping with a smooth surface. It was truly beautiful.


    Even Horim didn''t say anything at this moment. After all, it was the first creation that Rahon had forged.


    But it wasn''t finished, and Rohan hadn''t made the hilt yet. But for this one, he couldn''t really do it alone since it was a bit delicate to do. So for this once, Horim decided to help him to make it.


    It was a classic hilt with a handle made of plates of wood wrapped with leather and wire, and a small hand-guard made of iron.  At the end of the handle, a small sphere of iron served as a pommel. After installing it around the tang of the dagger and definitively fixing it, the last thing to do was to sharpen the edges of the sword.


    For sharpening the blade, Rohan used the sharpening stone that was waiting there, with a bucket of oil in the side.


    The oil was there to aid the sharpening process by lubricating the edge and the tool used. That way, it would be easier to not rip off and break a small piece from the blade. It can also prevent an excessive hit to further fragilise or deform the metal by cooling the friction created.


    Grinding noises of iron against stone shrieked continuously in the forge, making Rohan grimaced as he was crouching above the sharpening stone. He whetted the dagger in his hand in even and rhythmic strokes while scraps as small as dust fell on the ground.


    It took a long time, and even though Rohan attempted to do his best, he knew that the whetting he had done was simply mediocre. However, he was still feeling happy. And that was because the dagger in front of him was finally achieved.


    A long double-edge blade, an iron hand-guard, a brown leather handle, and a small iron pommel. The quality of the metal was substandard at most and the sharpening was roughly made. It really was a piece of junk. But it was Rohan''s piece of junk, and it was probably one of the happiest moments he had ever experienced.


    Even Horim couldn''t help but smile softly at this sight. He would never dare to sell such a barely functionable piece of scrap in his shop, but the first work of a blacksmith always meant a lot.


    Of course, he knew. He knew that Rohan never aspired to become a blacksmith in the first place. But he didn''t mind it. And he was feeling happy to have taught him the way to forge the metal.. Who knew, maybe it would serve him during his future journey.

 Chapter 30 - I Know Who You Are

    It was now almost four months since Rohan had arrived in Blanche. After his master had shown him how to forge, his days were even busier than before.


    After waking up, the first act he did was his daily meditation. He had never missed even one seance, and had done eight months worth of meditation considering he had settled for two seances a day.


    After the meditation, he ate his breakfast before going down toward the forge with a plate in his hand. But after posing it on the table inside the dark and warm room, he didn''t go up into the shop to wait for customers. Or, more exactly, to train.


    He stayed here, and, without caring about Horim waking up in the corner of the dusty room, he headed toward the furnace. He lit the fire with a flint before he stirred up the flame.


    A few seconds later, the crackling of the flame echoed in the room as it chased the darkness and the warmth away.


    He didn''t waste any time as he took out the bellows to have the furnace at the right temperature. Then, he threw an iron ingot inside and waited for a few more minutes. Once the color of the metal turned into the bright orange-yellow Rohan was researching, he took it out with his tongs.


    His morning passed this way, as he trained to forge correctly a dagger, with Horim watching from the side. Rohan found out that hammering a piece of hot metal enhanced his capability to gauge where to precisely strike, while also accustomed him on how to use his strength. A plus for his swordsmanship which was far from being perfect.


    Then the day continued. In the afternoon, he took back his role inside the shop, waiting for non-existent customers to barge in, while he swung his sword around him.


    But that day, the door of the shop opened up. Rohan stopped the slash that was fending the air in two and turned to face the entrance, looking at the customers. Unlike the last time, he didn''t throw away his weapon, but kept it at his side. He had learnt his lesson.


    A woman entered the shop, followed by a man, obviously a guard. Rohan raised a brow, as it was a rare occurrence to find a rich woman interested in weapons. Even more so when the weapons'' shop was one of the worst in the city, hidden in a random street.


    "Welcome. Do you need anything?" He welcomed the two customers with his usual self, without trying a fake smile or anything. What was the point anyway?


    The woman walked into the shop before stopping in front of Rohan. She was a beautiful lady, with a pretty green dress highlighting her generous forms, leaving her smooth white legs noticeable at each of her steps. Her brown hair was tied on her left side, descending on her medium chest. Her face, as perfect as the rest of her body, was fully displaying a joyous smile.


    "Yes, I need you." The woman spoke with a clear yet soft voice. Rohan tilted his head to the side. Was she alright?


    He had seen a lot of these daughters of noblemen, very pretty girls with dresses as costly as this whole shop. But as soon as he had heard them talk, and every single time, all good emotions he had felt flew away toward an eerie world of darkness called deception. They were all princesses wanting everything, ordering all other persons as if they were slaves, and generally with an obnoxious laugh.


    That is why he wouldn''t feel anything toward a good-looking girl such as the one before him.


    "I''m sorry, we only sell weapons here. I suggest you go away if you don''t want any." His tone was slightly irritated as he thought about his past, and all he wanted now was to have this person in front of him leave as early as possible.


    Elia, surprised by these words, stood silently for a few seconds, without knowing what to say. It was the guard beside her who moved forward, trying to prevent himself from jumping on this boy.


    "Hold your tongue, young boy. You are talking to a member of the nobility, the young Miss Elia Macker."


    Rohan turned his face toward the man who had talked. He was a tall man with a square jaw, and a dangerous light in his eyes. If someone suspected this man to be a killer, Rohan would judge him guilty without any hesitation.


    It wasn''t the first time he had heard about this name, and Delia was talking about her every so often. Maybe an old conquest? In any case he didn''t seem to like her very much.


    He didn''t care about what the scary looking man had just said. There was often a misconception about the nobility. The son or daughter of a nobleman was just that, a child of a noble. They did not have the title of a noble. So this woman wasn''t a true member of the nobility. Of course she could use the name of his father to threaten everyone around her, but Rohan didn''t care at all.


    In the worst case he would just hide behind his master. What a joke. No one in the city would dare to show any lack of respect toward an Intermediate Paladin.


    His contempt should have leaked on his face, as the man was ready to take out his sword at any time. No one had looked at him like that for a long time. After all, he was still a rank 4 Beginner Warrior. But before a brawl could start, the clear voice of Elia took the attention of the men staring at each other.


    "It''s fine Matthew, don''t bother about it." She placed herself in front of Matthew, blocking his view from Rohan. "I just want to talk with you about an interesting offer."


    "Sorry, there is nothing that can interest me, and I think you should find a professional for whatever you want to do, not a random boy working in a deserted shop." Boredom was installing itself into his whole being like a parasite. Both these people in front of him were starting to take away his social endurance already.


    Matthew was beginning to feel pissed off about this nobody. Even though he was quite young for a strong rank 2 Beginner Warrior, his attitude was making his blood boil from anger.


    "Are you sure nothing can interest you? Even if I offer you enough potions to put you a rank 3 Warrior in less than two years?" She wore her special smile of temptation, sure to see an expression of longing in the warrior standing in front of her. But to disappoint this woman, Rohan didn''t have any change on his surnaturaly calm face.


    Actually, he was even laughing in his head. He was already a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, and he was persuaded to reach the rank 4 before two years, and maybe even halfway toward the rank 5. This offer was then ridiculous, but it did interest him. Resources to increase the speed of the promotions were all costy, even the most basique one which was the weak mana potion.


    "What do you mean by resources? How many potions are we talking about?" If he could have a stock of potions, then this offer definitely attracted him. Of course, it depended on what service he would have to do.


    "Well then, should we have a place to discuss it?"


    "Here is fine."


    "..." Elia was speechless. Was this man truly the one she thought he was? "Hmm, then let''s talk here I guess."


    She made a slight pause, before speaking about what was happening in the city.


    "I think you must be aware of what is happening in the city these days, but I will resume it a bit."


    Honestly, Rohan didn''t know at all, as he didn''t have any contact outside this shop, aside from Delia of course. But for a strange reason, each time Delia was talking, no information could travel long enough until it arrived into his brain.


    "After Delia has been attacked by these bandit warriors, his father the viscount Noir was full of rage and strongly complained to the count."


    Rohan raised a brow at the mention of this information. So it was how Delia had done it, definitely a cunning idea.


    "And after a long period and various acts here and there, the noble''s council had decided to eradicate once and for all this group of thugs. And that is why I am here, so you can participate."


    "Why me?" Rohan was finding all that a bit fishy. Even if this woman knew he was in reality a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, that would be nothing against such a group.


    "All the warriors affiliated to the city have to participate. You are not the only one. But you seem to be powerful, so I offer you an opportunity to give your help. In exchange, you will receive 20 weak mana potions and a weak mana compression potion. What do you say?"


    A few minutes later, Elia and Matthew were in front of the shop, looking at the wooden door as if they could see through it.


    "Why give such rewards to this nobody, young Miss?" Matthew couldn''t understand. Just the weak mana compression potion was enough to make him drool.


    "A nobody?" A soft laugh left her throat. "Do you know what had happened in Prasthana a few months ago?"


    "Are you talking about the rebellion of the duchy of Barnes? I only know a few things about it, young Miss."


    "Well, let''s just say that the duchy had on his hand an item that the emperor wanted to have. It isn''t really interesting."


    She waved her hand in front of her to chase away this useless part of the story.


    "But what is interesting is that I''ve looked through everything I could, after the appearance of this unknown warrior." A strange smile was on her face. "And a special piece of information had struck me. It was a well hidden one, as if the duke of this duchy didn''t want anyone to know about it."


    She was still looking at the door in front of her, an enigmatic smile on her face, and a sparkling light on her eyes.


    "In the duchy of Barnes, a young man had become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior the day he had formed his mana core, and had become a rank 2 Beginner Warrior a few months after that. The description we know about him is that he has long black hair, a stoic face, and is the son of the count. His name was then Rohan. Tell me Matthew, if a Rohan participating in such a war succeeds to survive, and suddenly, weeks after, another Rohan with the same description appears in this city. Wouldn''t it be interesting?"


    Matthew was shocked beyond words. A new warrior becoming a rank 2 Beginner Warrior in less than a year, in the poor duchy of Barnes, was really a terrifying feat. BUt a warrior becoming a rank one Beginner Warrior in a single day was unprecedented. It wasn''t a genius.. But a freak.

 Chapter 31 - Assault Of The Bandits Lair

    The night had fallen for hours in the city of Blanche. The moon, stealing its light from the sun, was lighting up a small alley.


    On this alley, a group of men were standing there, recovered with leather armors, weapons on their hip or their back.


    Rohan was among them, with an armor given to him by Elia. It was a simple one, covering the whole body, and reinforced with stripes of metal on the vital areas. He also had a simple sword on his hip, one with a much lower quality than what his father had offered him. Sadly, this blade was now probably used by fishes as a mirror.


    One of the men, the one taking the lead, spoke to everyone.


    "Okay. Now that everyone is here, we can begin our operation. As you all know about it, we have confirmation that tonight, all the warriors working with Bradley will gather in their basement. But before that, I want everyone to present themselves, and show your warrior''s insign. Especially you, I''ve never seen you before." He squinted his eyes toward Rohan. He only knew that the daughter of the viscount Macker was vouching for him, but he still had his doubts.


    Rohan listened to the presentation of each member. Contrary to what he was expecting, he wasn''t the youngest. It was a boy, not even a year younger than him, still rank 1. Or already rank 1, as the others team members treated him as some sort of genius.


    The one leading the team was the captain of the guard, and one of the two rank 5 Beginner Warriors of the city. Of course, no one will say anything about him taking the lead.


    After him, there were three rank 4 Beginner Warriors, with Matthew being one of them. Curiously, everyone was distancing themselves from him. Rohan was quite surprised to know that this murderer looking man was in fact that powerful. What would push such a strong warrior to serve a simple daughter of a viscount?


    All the other warriors forming this elite team counted for almost twenty heads, representing all the warriors living or affiliated in this city. Of course, that was without counting the ones working with the group of bandits they were going to assault, which were curiously more numerous.


    Then it was Rohan''s turn. All the eyes turned toward him, some with contempt, while others were just curious. The warriors inhabiting a city knew each other for years, and some of them even for decades as there were only so few of them. A newcomer whom they never even heard of before, maybe who had become a warrior a few days or weeks ago. That was what they were all thinking. But the instant Rohan took out his emblem to put him on his chest, a dead silence encompassed the alley.


    "My name is Rohan. That''s all." Since he had lost his emblem when he had fallen on the river back then, he had asked Delia to find him another one. It wasn''t really difficult to find one, even more so for the son of a nobleman like Delia. What was almost impossible was to activate or update it, as everyone didn''t have an Essence Stone. But Rohan wasn''t everyone, and he did possess such a magical stone. The only inconvenience was that he couldn''t hide his power if he wanted to, but it wasn''t really a problem anyway.


    Or so Rohan had thought. But as he saw the looks of the warriors in front of him watching his chest with open jaws, he reckoned that it would have been better if he had hidden it.


    Matthew, watching from the side, couldn''t help but widened his eyes when he saw the seemingly shining 3 on the emblem. A rank 3 Beginner Warrior! Plus, with the information the young Miss Elia had given to him, he knew that this boy was only fifteen years old. A monster!


    The leader of the group, seeing this, nodded his head at Rohan before taking back his role.


    "Good. Now that everyone is ready, we''ll go. Don''t make any noises, and everything will be fine. This night will be a tough one."


    He turned on himself, and, without waiting to know if the others were following him, he ran at moderate speed. Although moderate speed for him was the maximum one for the rank 1 Beginner Warriors.


    As he was running in the middle of these alleys, Rohan thought about what would happen that night. The group of bandits led by Bradley was a thorn in the foot of the count for seemingly too long. But even so, no one wanted to take action as it would cost too much. And since the kingdom didn''t want to have a say in this situation, the power struggling between the count and this commoner had stood still.


    One of the reasons was that this group was led by a rank 5 Beginner Warrior and a rank 2 Beginner Wizard. But the most important reason was that the nobility needed to have mercenaries working for money and without caring about the law. That was why this situation was a complicated one from the start.


    It was until Delia had been attacked by four warriors with one of them being a rank 2. At least, it was what everyone believed. And his father, the viscount Noir, one of the noblemen with the most influence in this city, couldn''t let such a thing happening to his only son unpunished.


    And with probably a lot of meetings and schemes that Rohan didn''t care about, all the nobles agreed to get rid of these parasites. And that was why all the warriors were here, as each one of them were working for a noble. Even Rohan, as he was paid by Elia with resources.


    Now, their goal was to rush toward a large mansion in the outer-city, believed to be the headquarters of these gangsters, with information coming from somewhere Rohan didn''t know, this night was the one where all these warriors would gather themselves. And after finding this building, what would follow was simple, they would arrest everyone inside. Of course, Rohan realized that such an ideology would be complicated, and arresting everyone was nearly impossible. He probably would have to kill.


    Thinking about that, the image of a young soldier, a spear on the throat, blood bubbling on his mouth, appeared in his mind. His heart pounded louder in his chest. It was his first victim half a year ago. He had killed three soldiers during this useless war, and he would never forget each of them.


    The idea to add new faces into this list, made him feel uneasy.


    The group continued to run while their footsteps echoed in the city. It was noisy, but no one cared about it. That was because they were currently inside the outer-city, and this one was much more lively than the inter part.


    Laugh and music could be heard everywhere, along with a slight smell of beer floating sometimes in some alleys. The night was arguably more lively that the day, while the inter city was deeply asleep.


    It didn''t take long for the group to reach their destination, and without warning, the leader stopped running. They were in the east part of the city, tall buildings surrounding them as they could see a large one in front of them.


    It was a two-storey building, blending in with the other ones around. It was such an inconspicuous house that no one could have guessed it was the lair of a powerful rank 5 Beginner Warrior.


    The leader looked each warrior behind him in the eyes. Some of them had never participated in a fight, and this one was against fellow warriors. They knew some of the targets, and maybe some of them were even friends. But they all chose to work against the law. And they would be punished for this.


    "Don''t stop your sword." Without adding more, he rushed toward the building. They knew why they were here, and they knew that blood would flow down on their blade.


    Rohan didn''t know this man. He even had already forgotten his name, even though it had been said to him a couple of times. But these words, for an unknown reason, struck at his heart, his whole being. His heart pounded in his chest, filling his ears with an appalling noise, stopped almost instantly. His mind cleared, and his hand clutched the handle of his sword. It was time to go.


    Rohan followed behind the captain of the guards, alongside the other warriors. With a loud noise exploding in the quiet night, the front door was destroyed by a kick. They dashed inside, sword in their hands, ready to strike.


    Inside the building, candles were enlightening the different rooms, and some people were currently doing their business. Some of them were drinking alcohol, while others were playing some games.


    Then a terrible crash resonated in the house, startling all the men. A shout came from the entrance as loud footsteps came afterward.


    "Kill them all!" It was at this moment the leader of the team chose to shout with a thundering voice, giving courage to the warriors.


    Almost immediately, fights broke out as the occupants of this house woke up from their daze and took out their weapons.


    After entering the building, Rohan went on his left and arrived inside a room with two other warriors at his side. There, three thugs looked at the newcomers with a shocked expression, what was happening? But they weren''t novices, and without wasting time they unsheathed their weapons and rushed toward Rohan and the others, ready to fight for their lives.


    Rohan, slightly tense, welcomed them with his own sword, powered up by the strength of a rank 3 Beginner Warrior.

 Chapter 32 - Dementia

    Rohan moved forward to encounter the enemies charging at him. He hadn''t fought for only a few weeks, but he was much more dexterous in the way he handled his sword than before.


    He parried one of the blows in a loud clash of metal. With his superior strength, he didn''t have any difficulties to repel the weapon, alongside the man wielding it.


    As one of their comrades was sent away by Rohan, the three others came near to fight the three warriors in front of them. But the outcome was evident. Four normal humans against three warriors with superhuman strength, it was already impressive to hold a fight.


    Rohan slashed at one of them, cutting off a wrist after he had bypassed his guard, while one of his companions charged with a battle cry, before piercing the throat of an opponent. The second one fought against a bandit, before knocking him out without difficulties.


    Only the one sent away by Rohan remained with a look of fear on his face. The cries of the one still conscious, without his hand, accentuated the terrible sentiment he felt. All of these assailants were terrifying warriors! Without waiting anymore, he threw his weapon away and fell on his knees.


    "Ha...have mercy! I surrender! I beg you, don''t kill me!"


    Before Rohan could do anything, one of the warriors approached him at a leisurely pace. Then, all of a sudden, he stabbed his sword inside the throat of the man kneeling with an icy look. This man, tears rolling down on his cheeks, died like this.


    Rohan widened his eyes as he watched the whole scene. He was so shocked that he stood there, rooted on the floor. He stared at the bandits still kneeling, his head looking down. Blood flowed out on his body before painting the floor of a sticky red.


    He looked up, only to see his ally cleaning his blade before walking toward another door. It was made in such a calm manner that Rohan wondered for a second if it was only him who was baffled by what he had just seen. Maybe killing someone who surrendered was just a normal occurrence?


    But the time wasn''t to think about it, and the clamors of fight could still be heard in the other rooms. The battle was still ongoing.


    He moved toward the door at the rear of the room, and met more enemies. The fights were all small one, starting in a second and finishing after a couple ones. The reason for these easy combats was because there wasn''t any warrior enemy, and this lack of defense for such a group of bandits was making Rohan frowned.


    Before long, and because the house was still a small building at the end, the battle came at its end. The team reassembled themselves in the middle of the infrastructure. No one was injured. Not even a scratch could be seen, showing how easy this battle was.


    All the bandits who surrendered or were still alive were gathered in the same room and tied up, with a warrior who stayed and kept an eye on them.


    "Something is not right here, captain, are we sure it''s the good place?" A middle-aged man took the lead to ask the question everyone had in their minds.


    The captain was stroking his thin beard, wondering what to do. He turned his face toward the one who had talked.


    "Mark, you and two others, you will interrogate our prisoners. They''re not at our disposal for nothing." He turned his face toward another warrior, the one who had killed the bandits in front of Rohan. "Jean, you take the lead. I want all of you to search this building. Break the walls if you have to, I don''t care."


    ""Yes captain."" All the warriors answered before they began the search. All but Rohan, as he suddenly felt out of place. He also asked himself why this Jean was taking the lead. Was the captain so lazy that he didn''t want to search the place with the others?


    Rohan strolled around, accompanied by the muffled scream of those who were tortured. This building had two floors, with only a few rooms in each of these. Some wooden furnitures were inside these rooms, tables, chairs, shelves, but nothing else, not even beds. A faint smell of beer, sweat and blood permitted the place, making Rohan a bit dizzy.


    As he was looking at a shelf before him, a shout came from the room next to the one Rohan was in. He rushed to the door and entered the next one, only to see a warrior standing in front of what seemed to be a cave.


    The other warriors entered as well and before long, the room was filled with these powerful men, all staring in the same direction. On the ground, a large opening, from which a staircase was seen going down.


    "Well, I think we found them." A man from the side said as he took out his sword.


    Rohan resisted the urge to roll his eyes and unsheathed his weapon, along with all the others. What they would find downstairs would be the true lair of these bandits, and the battle will be a tougher one.


    At this moment, the leader appeared in the room and with him the one named Mark.


    "Listen to me. The guys guarding this place never went down, not even once. So we don''t know what we will find. Mind your steps, and hold tight your weapons." He advanced toward the stairs, and drawing his sword, he continued.


    "Everyone, destroy these bandits!"


    With a serious expression, each warrior followed one after the other, their weapons at their hands. Rohan was among them. He knew he was strong. After all, he had fought against four warriors without much difficulty. Even if it was by being a bit cunning, the result was still there. But the young warrior couldn''t help but feel a bit tense.


    The dark and infinite staircase was going down, digging into the earth straight toward the center. Rohan, used to going down such stairs without light everyday, was feeling like a fish in water. Not the other warriors, as they were advancing as fast as snails, irritating a bit Rohan.


    As they continued to go down, a light appeared below, showing them the end of the path. The first one to reach the light was the stronger one, and the instant he put his foot in the last stair, a yell exited his mouth.


    "Enemies!" Without waiting more, he charged inside the room, still invisible to Rohan. The clamor of a fight, alongside shouts and insults bursted from the enemies caught by surprise, echoed in the staircase.


    The warriors, hearing the fight, rushed to help their leader. Once inside the light, what welcomed Rohan was tens of bandits fighting against his tonight''s allies. The room was a spacious one with doors all around, like a large hall, and he had no difficulty dashing to the side to go around the enemies.


    He wielded his sword and struck toward an opponent, but at the moment he felt mana being used by this one, he understood. All of these thugs here were warriors.


    He quickly moved to the side to dodge the blow strengthened by mana of the enemy. In his precipitation, he bumped into another one, and without the choice, he slashed at this one.


    Shouts and yells came from all around. This fight wasn''t like the one in the house, and enemies kept coming from a side door.


    Rohan gave a kick to one of his two opponents and hit with all his strength the second one. This one parried the blade but the strength behind Rohan''s blade wasn''t to be underestimated. His own weapon was repelled and injured him, as Rohan chained with a powerful blow with his shoulder. The opponent, receiving the hit in full force, flew away before he crashed onto a wall.


    "Hrg¡­" The impact let him release his scuffed voice. Rohan didn''t let him any time and was already on him, and before the man could react, a pommel smashed his face. His head hit the wall behind him, and he fell on the floor, unconscious.


    Rohan turned, just in time to counter the sword coming his way. He struck with his sword, spinned his blade around the enemy''s, made a step forward, and stabbed his shoulder. The tip pierced through the bone while the enemy howled in pain, letting go of his weapon.


    Rohan didn''t try to take back his weapon and picked up the sword his opponent had let go. With this new sword, he rushed back toward his enemy and cut off the left arm with a large blow coming from the sky, before sending him on the ground with a kick. After this fight, he turned around.


    The enemies had stopped coming and the fight was advancing toward its end. Scream and shout filled the room while the smell of blood pervaded the air. Rohan, dumbstruck before this scene, was watching as two warriors gave each other powerful blows in a terrible fracas.


    A warrior with an ax employed Strengthened Blow and decapitated an enemy, while the sword used to parry it broke in a few pieces under the collision.


    An enemy warrior appeared in a second in front of a man with Charge to stab his knife into his throat, ripping it off in a gruesome way and using the inertia to send the head flying in the air.


    The one named Jean dodged a blade before he shoved his sword into the mouth of his enemy, a faint smile on his face.


    Matthew, still his killer expression on the face, took a hit in the tight. But all he did was to take advantage of this opportunity and used his inhuman force to sink all his sword in the enemy''s chest.


    Blood was flying all around, dripping on the walls and on everyone, accentuating the madness in their eyes.


    Rohan shuddered from this sight. A fight between warriors and soldiers was horrendous. He had lived it himself when he had participated in the war for the Duchy of Barnes. But a fight between warriors, was something more terrifying, more bestial.. Like a palpable dementia.

 Chapter 33 - Fight In The Middle Of A Maze

    The battle in the large room had concluded in a bloodbath. This time, they had to fight against almost twenty warriors, while few of them were of the rank 3 and even one of the rank 4. Only some of them were made prisoners, with the others all dead.


    They had begun this assault with more than twenty warriors, but now they were less than that. Even the captain, a bonafide rank 5 Beginner Warrior, couldn''t be everywhere. In the end, a warrior wasn''t a god, and one alone was too weak to make a huge changement in a battle. At least, that was when the warrior was still in a Beginner rank.


    Exhaustion was starting to take over onto everyone as they were all catching their breath.


    Matthew headed in the direction of Rohan, and near him, began to speak.


    "You fight well indeed, but you don''t seem to be accustomed to this much blood." He respected Rohan for his talent, and also for the way he fought, but a sneer still appeared on his face when he had seen him standing there with a blank expression in the middle of the fight. "You should fight more, at the end it becomes a normal occurrence."


    "Yeah sure, I should definitely have a to-do list in my agenda, with one of my priorities being to kill 5 people each day." Rohan rolled his eyes before he went away from this psychopath.


    After a few more minutes, Mark, who had been sent on scouting at the end of the fight, came back. His expression was dark.


    "We have a problem Captain. There are a lot of paths, and each one stretches in all directions. It seems like there is a huge basement around us."


    "Hmm." The captain squinted his eyes at these words. "So that explains why there were so few of these rats here. How many passages?"


    "A lot. And they could go everywhere. Should we bring back more reinforcements?"


    "For what? To let soldiers encounter a group of warriors?" He let go a sigh. "We don''t have a choice."


    Rohan paid attention to the captain scanning the place around him, perceiving the glint in his eyes, he felt that it wasn''t going the right way.


    "Listen to me!"


    Finally, the leader took his decision, maybe it wasn''t the good solution, but he will still pick this one. He advanced in the center of the room, his boots splashing on the red liquid.


    "There is a fucking maze spreading around us. These dogs working for this Bradley are more devious than what we thought of. We can''t let them fly away! So we have no choice. We will form small teams to scout all the places, and at the sight of any individual, kill."


    This order struck Rohan in the heart as he frowned his brows. What kind of injonctions was that? Why kill if they can arrest them, are they all mad for blood in this damn place?


    After the teams were made, in which Rohan didn''t have the slightest choice, a short pause of half an hour was taken for everyone to recover their strength. Some of them even drank a potion to regenerate their mana.


    The team of Rohan was composed of three warriors. Rohan himself, by luck or bad luck, Matthew, and the last one was the youngest one. His name was Halem or something. Not that Rohan cared about it.


    The trio looked at each other for a few seconds before setting up in one of the paths. The other teams were doing the same, and soon, all the warriors spreaded in this dark maze, only lit by the few torches they had brought with them.


    The walls were made of stone, the ground was made of stone, and the roof was made of stone. All these dark rocks were creating strange monsters of shadow as the flame of the torches advanced forward. At some place, some water dropped on the floor with a distinct plick plock, only interrupted by the loud steps of Rohan and the two other warriors.


    Matthew, who had taken the lead of this small group, stopped brutally to move. Halem, trailing behind him, almost bumped on the robust form in front of him, while Rohan, closing the march, focused on whatever had made the murderer-looking man stopped so suddenly.


    "What? Why did you stop? Are the great Matthew, the Dog of Elia, scared of the dark?" Rohan had a strange expression on his face after hearing what this Halem had said. If Matthew decided to kill this young boy here and now, should he turn a blind eye, help him, or prevent him from doing the deed?


    Contrary to Rohan''s expectation, Matthew didn''t say anything, and kept staring at the distance.


    "Hey! Are you dea¡­"


    "Keep talking and I rip off your tongue before gauging out your eyes to make you eat the whole." A deep voice, with a threat almost palpable, left the mouth of the warrior as he turned his face to look behind him.


    Halem, scared to death after hearing such an eerie, even bloodthirsty voice, let a wimp sound in the dark, while he couldn''t help but shudder as he saw the frightful man before him looking toward him. But it wasn''t Halem that Matthew wanted to look.


    "Rohan, I can hear the cracking of fire in front of us, maybe a few dozen meters, but not much." Rohan leaned on the side to look at the darkness in front of him. If there really was a torch in front of them, he should be able to see it. But without waiting for more information, he extinguished the torch he had in his hand, plunging the team in the dark.


    He wouldn''t put his life blindly in the hands of Matthew, but he still believed the words coming from an experienced rank 4 Beginner Warrior. If he took the time to warn them about something, there was a not negligible chance that a shit storm was coming.


    They kept marching forward into the dark, silently taking out their weapons. At this moment, for no reason, it struck Rohan''s mind. Here he was, marching alongside two unknown people in the middle of the dark corridor inside a huge basement, at the research of all the bandits lurking inside this colossal maze. And all of that only for a few potions as rewards. Was he mad when he had accepted this mission?


    When he had heard this woman, Elia, promised him with a weak mana compression potion, he was indeed interested. After all, the one given to him by Edwin Chrisfold back in the duchy of Barnes was now probably smuggled by a random soldier who was lucky enough to capture his horse. Just thinking about all these lost potions made Rohan''s mood plummeting toward the abyss in just a few seconds.


    Muffled voice bursted from the dark. The trio stopped for a second, with a serious expression. They had found their targets! They looked at each other, and even Halem nodded his head at his companions. They didn''t know how many enemies there would be, but that wouldn''t be an easy fight in any way.


    As they advanced, a little light could be seen, stretching on the ground, trying to travel the most distance possible. It came from behind a wooden door, standing in their way.


    The trio approached to stick their heads into the door, discerning how many warriors they were inside. Laugher filtered by the wooden obstacle made their way into their ears, and strong bursts of voice seemed to fill the room. They couldn''t distinguish exactly how many there were, but at least they knew it was only a handful of them.


    With a last look, and after strengthening their resolve, Matthew barged inside the room after smashing the wooden door with a violent kick. For a few seconds, there was no sound, then, as if the time had decided to wake up, an explosion of vociferations welcomed Rohan as he entered the room, followed by the clear noises of swords being unsheathed.


    inside the room, three men were sitting around a table with the smell of beer floating in the air. Behind, there was a staircase going up, probably toward another building, and another door was on the side presumably going back into a dark corridor. The three thug-looking men, interrupted by the destroyed door, watched stupidly in this direction for a few seconds. Then, as they saw a man enter with a sword, they snapped back from their daze, and quickly got up while taking out their weapon as they shouted at the newcomers.


    But Rohan and his group didn''t let them have the time to prepare, and since they were already under too much alcohol, the winner was decided from the start.


    Rohan rushed toward the warriors at the left of the table, and jumped on the fourth empty chair in front of him before throwing himself against the warrior. Of course, he would never have done such a dangerous action if his opponent was well prepared, but taking advantage of the surprise effect, and the time during which the warrior was trying sluggishly to draw his sword, Rohan didn''t hesitate to charge forward at full speed.


    With a powerful blow, he slashed diagonally at the enemy who tried to defend himself with a shocked expression. As the two swords connected, the ruffian groaned under the numbness spreading in his arm, but before he could do anything, his breath was cut off by a kick crushing his stomach. He felt as if a horse had smashed into him. His feet entangled against the chair behind him, making him violently fall on the floor while he let go of his weapon. Before he could get up, the tip of a cold iron touched his throat, paralyzing him.


    The other fights finished in the same way, and the victors were easily determined. It was so fast, that not even a skill was used. Among these three enemies, one was dead, one was heavily injured and the last one was almost without any injury. It was Matthew who killed his opponent.


    Rohan had only seen a glimpse of the way Matthew was fighting when he was in the large room with tens of enemies, and this fight was too short to understand fully how someone was fighting, but still, he was sure to have an idea. This guy. He didn''t care at all about his injuries.


    A long slash could be seen on his left arm, staining his armor with a light red liquid.

 Chapter 34 - Fight Against A Rank 4 Beginner Warrior

    Notes: There is a bit of gore at the end of this chapter, it doesn''t seems for me to be much, but I still prefer to warn you all! Good reading!


    After Rohan, Matthew and Halem finished tying up the two prisoners, they stood in the middle, with a choice to make. The problem was that behind the door going back into a dark corridor, there were two paths, one going on the left while one the right. According to Matthew, the first one was going west while the second one north, though Rohan didn''t know how the hell could he know about it.


    So now, they had three passages. The first one being upstairs and the others being the two paths behind the door. But in the end, since Halem was only a rank 1 Beginner Warrior and thus couldn''t be left alone, they decided to separate only into two groups: the first one with Rohan and Halem and the second one being Matthew alone.


    The trio stood in front of the fork, and with a last glance at each other, they took their paths. Rohan looked at this scary-looking warrior as he sunk into the darkness, with only a weak flame flickering on the torch he had found in the room. ''Well, I hope he''s not going to kill himself in there.''


    He turned back to see the young warrior waiting impatiently for him, and without wasting more time, they entered the corridor made of rock, toward what would be probably another room full of warriors.


    The corridors were not that long, as the last one only made them walk a couple a minutes, but as it seemed to be more and more of these dark roads, the basement of these bandist felt like they were really walking in the middle of an infinite maze.


    The step of the two warriors echoed against the humid rocky floor. This time, it was Rohan taking the lead with Halem behind him, following like a puppy. They were almost the same age, although Halem didn''t know about that since Rohan always had looked older than he was. Plus, as one of them was much stronger than the other one, Halem let himself be led without any problem.


    They continued to walk into this small tunnel, sometimes going straight, sometimes turning, sometimes going down and sometimes going up, playing with the nerves of all warriors who were walking inside. Suddenly, the clamor of a fight reached Rohan.


    "A fight! We need to rush!" Before Halem could rush alone in that direction, Rohan caught him by his shoulder, stopping him there with only his strength.


    "For what? to be killed earlier? We go slowly, only once they are in front of us we attack." Before the boy complained, he cutted him. "We don''t know if we''re alone, and I don''t want to be ambushed in a random place, so we walk, that''s all."


    Halem, without a lot of choices, could only agree at this injonction. Rohan shook his head while resisting the urge to slap him. Rushing in the dark, making a ton of noises, while they were maybe not the only ones to have heard the fight going on. What a stupid way to put his life in danger for nothing. After all, it shouldn''t be forgotten that they were currently inside the enemies'' lair.


    Without wasting more time, he marched forward, at a constant speed. He was walking faster than before, but he still cared about the noise he was making with his leather boots.


    The muffled sounds of the battle grew closer and closer, until a door appeared in front of them, hiding and attenuating the scene unfolding inside. Reaching it, Rohan and Halem stood on each side of the entrance. Then, with a wild kick destroying the weak wooden door and sending shards everywhere, they engulfed inside.


    In front of them, hell welcomed them. Four corpses were already lying on their blood, dismembered. Among these bodies, Rohan recognized two of them: they were warriors who came with the group to fight the bandits. Two warriors were fighting inside this gruesome room. But before Rohan and his comrade could do anything, the enemy cutted off the head of his opponent, splashing himself in the blood while the headless body fell on the floor, followed suit by the plop of the head.


    This bloodied man turned toward the place where Rohan and Halem stood, watching what had happened, the mind blank. With a carnivorous smile, and with blood dripping out of his whole body against the floor, he spoke to them.


    "So you two are also part of these rats, trying to kill us all eh? Curious, how you have all come this day when we''re all gathered here." The tip of his sword pointed to the floor, letting the blood flowing on the floor. "You, I know you, right? You, on the other hand, I have never seen you, are you a new warrior? Bha it doesn''t matter anyway. I will still kill you, noble''s henchman."


    Next to him, Halem was starting to shake. The warrior in front of them was not anybody, he was one of the most powerful rank 4 Beginner Warriors in the whole city. The right hand working for Bradley, and a commoner like him.


    It was at the last words of this warrior that Rohan understood in which situation he truly was. He should have understood earlier. It wasn''t only a battle of the forces of the city against vulgar gangsters, but against commoners. Warrior commoners. While it didn''t excuse the comportement of these warriors to rob or kill for money, it still explained a lot about the way the count of this city was ruling it.


    Rohan shook his head to snap back into reality. He could feel that this man in front of him was strong, and the reaction of the boy beside him was proving it: this fight will be a tough one. He held his sword with his right and took out a potion with the left one, as he knew he would need it.


    The warrior in front of him smiled seeing this action, but he didn''t seem to care. In his head, Roha was probably only a rank 1 Beginner Warrior anyway.


    Without waiting more, Rohan ran into his enemy, at a low speed to imitate a rank one warrior. Halem, seeing this, resolved himself and rushed after the young warrior.


    Almost immediately, a terrible fight exploded in the bloody room. Rohan attacked with his sword, putting up the least strength possible. It was parried easily by the man, still acting leisurely, as if he was fighting two ants. But it wasn''t the first time that Rohan was fighting against a rank superior, and the only difference was that his constitution was in fact of the same value that this rank 4 Beginner Warrior.


    While the enemy was playing with Rohan, Halem charged on his right and struck at what he was expecting to be an opening. But coming from nowhere, a powerful blow smashed against his sword, the shock making him lose his balance while his arm was starting to become numb.


    The enemy smiled with disdain at these insects, they were so weak for him! But Rohan still continued to play his part. He chopped and slashed and struck, each time concealing his strength and using the rebound of the metal against metal to use it to his advantage. He could feel that his swordsmanship was much more scuffed when he compared it to the man before him, wielding his sword with an extraordinary stance.


    But suddenly, the man was getting bored playing. He used Strengthened Blow at an unimaginable speed. His blade seemed to teleport as it arrived in front of Rohan, who widened his eyes. It was too fast.


    Without the time to do anything more, he could only try to defend with his sword. His concentration was maximal, and even the world seemed to slow down a bit, covering it with a thin gray veil. Rohan put his sword in the way of the enemy''s, with a slight angle to scatter most of the strength.


    The two blades connected and grinding each other in a loud shrill as the blade going down slid against the one standing still, sending sparks around the two fighters. Even though the force behind the blow was minimized by Rohan, it still was enough to crush his wrist under the impact and send him a few steps back, fragilizing his balance. The power behind this hit was a mighty one, but Rohan tried to ignore it. Now was the time.


    Rohan knew that if he didn''t attack now and let the rank 4 Beginner Warrior continue his way, he would be screwed up. He must take back the advantage. The moment his left foot tapped the ground, he directly used Charge to appear in front of his opponent. This one raised a brow when he saw the larva before him transforming into a slightly more powerful insect.


    Following this short acceleration, Rohan chained it with a powerful Strenchened Blow, slashing his blade from the right into the left. His opponent didn''t have the time to bring back his sword to defend, so he used the only way he had. He stomp his foot on the ground with all his strength and gathered his mana to send it all in his leg to launch Charge and crashed against Rohan, sending him flying away with a loud and brief groan, as his breath was simply crushed.


    Rohan stood up in a second while feeling dizzy, but before he could act in any way, he saw the warrior in front of him using Charge again to shorten the distance between them. He didn''t have the choice anymore, and used the stupidest idea he had in his mind. As the warrior was approaching at high speed, he threw an item with all his might at his head. No one was waiting for this object to be thrown, and the warrior, seeing the object flying in his direction, didn''t have time to act.


    The weak mana potion, resting inside its indestructible vial, smashed into the face of the warrior. The impact made him lose his concentration as he still flew toward the young warrior in front of him. It was only for a short time, not even a second, but a second in a fight against warriors was more than crucial. Before he could snap back from his daze, he collided with a sharp and strong pain invading his whole body, and spreaded from his stomach.


    He looked with disbelief in his eyes in front of him. What he could see was the young warrior with a purple ribbon tying up his hair who he had believed to be a weak puppy, holding his sword, staring in his own eyes. This sword was penetrating his body, crushing his guts in terrible pain.


    But such a small injury would not kill him. After all, he was a mighty rank 4 Beginner Warrior. The young warrior in front of him was now restrained since his weapon was currently useless, and so without hesitation, he raised his arm to prepare to slash with his sword.


    Before he could do so, the bloodied tip of an iron sword appeared on his chest, stopping him in his action. It was Halem, turning around during the fight to find the best moment to strike. And now was the best one.


    The man, with two swords piercing his body, suddenly let out a warcry filled with rage and bloodlust. He would not die this way! He used Charge to give a strong kick toward the warrior in front, cracking the pieces of metal protecting the chest of Rohan. In the same movement, he turned on himself while preparing his remaining mana to launch the last skill.


    Halem, too slow to flee, saw the sword powered by the skill Strengthened Blow appeared in front of his arm. The edge of the blade arrived at the base of his neck, and cutted through the collarbone before going down. The blade continued his path as if it was cutting through water in an oblique way, destroying everything as it went down. Before even a second could pass, the sword was already outside of the body, exiting at the level of the chest.


    The right arm of the warrior detached itself from the body and fell on the floor, taking with it the shoulder and a part of the chest. Halem was watching stupidly in front of him. The pain was so terrible that his brain couldn''t compute the information. From the base of his neck until his hip, a large cavity had appeared, and a bloody sight took the place of what should have been here. The bones of the rib cage were broken at the passage of the iron sword, and as they couldn''t do their job anymore, organs and guts began to fall on the ground.


    Halem fell on the floor, and blood and pieces of bones scattered around him, trying to escape this gruesome scene.

 Chapter 35 - Chapitre 35: Lying In The Blood

    Rohan was on the ground. The pain he was feeling was eating him. The harsh blow he had received on his abs had crushed him on the ground without him being able to do much about it. He had tried to leap back to dodge the kick when he had seen it coming, but he was too slow.


    This hit had easily pulverized his armor, and pieces of denfensives stripes of metal and leather were scattered on the floor around him, half covered in the blood filling the red room. But thanks to it, he should be pretty fine.


    He coughed up as the pain was still spreading on all his body. At least, he didn''t lose any feeling. He raised his head to look before him. At this scene he didn''t want to see.


    Halem was lying on the ground, a great part of his body wasn''t attached anymore: his right arm, connected to the shoulder and a bit of the chest was several meters away from the original body. This one one facing the roof, his face looking straight. From where he was, Rohan couldn''t see a lot of things, but what he discerned was enough to make him want to vomit.


    He looked away from this macabre sight, only for his eyes to pose themselves on one of the other forms lying on the blood. It was the rank 4 Beginner Warrior. A tenacious warrior. He still had the two swords planted inside his body, making his body leaning on the side. His head was looking straight toward Rohan, still with a mask of hatred in his face.


    Rohan shuddered as he watched this corpse, with his lifeless eyes scrutinizing him. He was without any doubt the stronger foe he had never fought against. Not that he had much experience anyway.


    He felt something acid and amer going up in his throat, and spitted a mouthful of blood and bile mixed together, filling his mouth with an atrocious taste and the air with a nauseabond smell. He coughed up again. He felt like lying here until the end would be a great idea. But of course, he couldn''t do that, not if he wanted to survive.


    He turned his head back toward the roof made of gray rocks. Why was he even in this situation? Lying in the center of this room filled with blood, Rohan thought back at the life he had until now.


    An easy life as the son of a count, inside a whole mansion for himself, living with his personal butler Jonas, the captain of his guards Makin, and other personnels. Sometimes, his brother would come from time to time to visit him where their mother let him go. This one who had forgotten his own existence, and even now, he didn''t understand why she seemed to hate him that much. A father always away, working on his own after coming back from the war against the goblins just before his birth.


    Then the war. The war that had changed everything. Rohan had thought about it each day, each night since he had fled that terrifying day. The rebellion that had been launched to save their duchy from the terrible famine, only to be crushed by the Empire which had decided to help the kingdom of Prasthana. Rohan didn''t understand why, but what he could understand was that this scheme had been prepared for a long time. The Old Monster wouldn''t move for no reason, and the army that had appeared alongside couldn''t have moved in only a few days.


    He had seen the true hell during this war. He had seen the soldiers kill for the first time. He had seen nobles or children of nobles doing the same as the commoner and fighting in the blood. He had murdered along them.


    And he had seen what was the true power.


    A sea of flame ravaging and devouring everything. A single swing of the sword, and hundreds and hundreds of soldiers falling on the melting floor, eradicate. A single man, who had stopped and destroyed by himself a whole army.


    And after he had fled, the peace and his easy life was nowhere to be seen. He had fought a beast, bandits, and now he was here, lying on the blood, smelling the blood, living with the blood. The words of Matthew, said to him not even a few hours earlier entered his mind.


    "You should fight more, at the end it becomes a normal occurrence."


    It was so true, that it made Rohan a bit scared. Maybe a day he would truly live each day in such an ocean of blood. At that time, would he be happy? Of course, he didn''t have any answer.


    This half a year had truly been the worst for him. He clenched his weak fist with all his remaining strength. He had already taken the resolve to continue that day. If a bit of blood like that was making him scared, then the warrior''s path wasn''t for him.


    He still had a lot to do. He must go back, find his family, and honor the last words of his father. He must also forget them, and wage war against this rotten Empire and Kingdom, willing to kill thousands of soldiers for seemingly no reason. But he didn''t want to do it the same way as the Duke governing the Duchy of Barnes. No. He wanted to destroy them with his own hands. With his hands filled with the power of a Supreme Warrior, and making them feel what was the meaning of judgment.


    Suddenly, Rohan laughed. His laugh grew higher and higher as he asked himself if he had lost his mind. He had only trained like a mad man for four months or so, with two meditations a day and all the other time passed to exhaust himself at training and improving his swordsmanship. But in the end, he was still weak. So weak that he couldn''t even fight a rank 4 Beginner Warrior alone.


    And because of his dependence, another one had died. It was always the same. His father had died because he was too weak, alongside all the others. Makin had died because he was too weak, alongside all his personal guards. And this Halem, was dead because of his weakness. Alone he was nothing. And here he was, thinking about crushing an Empire all by himself.


    "But even so." His hoarse voice echoed in the red room. "I will still do it."


    That was his promise, floating and permeating the air, filling the room. Even if he was weak, even if alone he was nothing, he would grow. He would rise and become powerful, and destroy his enemies. But for now, he already needed to get out of here.


    He sat up, still feeling nauseous. His mind seemed to be willing to shut down everything as his head was facing the corpse of Halem. He let go of a sigh as he forced himself to look toward him. Without this young warrior, he would probably be dead by now. After all, it was with his blow that the warrior hadn''t slashed at Rohan who was then incapable of defending himself.


    He placed his gloved hand against the sticky floor, and used it as a help to stand up on his legs. His stomach hurt, his head was trying to fly around, and his legs were having difficulties supporting him. But even so, he still stood up.


    He headed toward the young warrior. He didn''t know him, and he had seen his face only a few hours ago. Maybe Halem wasn''t even his true name. He didn''t care about this unknown guy. Or at least, that was what he would want to say. But it wasn''t true, and these only a few hours were enough to make him sad to lose this companion.


    Rohan bent on himself to crouch at the side of Halem, and removed one of his gloves. This guy deserved all his respect. He put his hand on the face of the still man lying in front of him, and closed his inanimate eyes, which will never open again.


    *sigh*


    he stood up, before picking up a weapon resting on the floor. It was soaked in blood, but he didn''t care anymore. In any case, his whole body was itself a painting of scarlet blood which was dripping against the floor. His armor barely remained on him, with pieces here and there that were missing, but it would still do his job.


    He didn''t choose to continue into the corridors, and headed toward the staircase standing there, going up. He felt like each of his steps were taking an eternity to raise and to land as his footstep tapped against the stairs.


    The staircase was plunged into darkness, without a light to chase the shadows from this place. Rohan didn''t have a torch on him, but he still went up without so much of a problem. He was already used to the staircase going in the center of the earth with no light, as if the shadows had eaten them away.


    A door appeared in front of him. It wasn''t a wooden door like the other ones he had seen until then, but an iron one, which seemed to say that it would never move. The metal creaked as Rohan pushed the handle, giving a vigorous hit of the shoulder to make it move. But it opened without any difficulties, as if this passage was used frequently.


    The brightness of light on the other side blinded Rohan the time he got accustomed to it, before he was able to see. What he saw in front of him, standing in the middle of a room and seemingly waiting for him, was a strange man.


    There were a lot of tables in this room, with strange utensils filling them to the brink. A strange smell of dried plants permeated the air, making Rohan unconsciously breath in loudly as if he wanted to clean his nose from the metallic smell of the blood.


    The man staring at him had a calm face, with a small smile on it. He had short blond hair, and seemed to be a young man in his twenties. If Rohan wasn''t inside a dangerous place filled with powerful warriors able to tore iron with their hands, he would have found this character to be likable. But now, he could only find the way he looked at him to be creepy.


    He was wearing a gray dress, a particular one. It wasn''t the kind of sophisticated dresses that the nobles liked to wear, it was simpler. Rohan had already seen this kind of dress. Only once.. And that made his heart beat harder in his chest.

 Chapter 36 - Chapitre 36: The Might Of A Wizard

    A man appeared before him. Plus exactly, a young man, or maybe even a boy. It was difficult to know as this warrior was soaked in blood. His black hair, tied by a purple-red ribbon in his back, was full of a disgusting red sticky liquid. His armor, badly damaged, felt as if a slight pinch would destroy it, while a sword, as red as his body, was held in his hand.


    Jared, standing in the middle of the room, watched this man enter through the iron door. He thought that, this night, was probably the end of their group. He couldn''t help but sigh at himself, for he had again made the worst choice. He could still be with his teacher, in the wizard''s tower protecting the whole kingdom, but no, he had decided it wasn''t fun enough and left only to fall on this group of bandits led by this rank 5 Beginner Warrior. What a stupid choice.


    And now, the count ruling this city couldn''t tolerate them anymore. The day where each warrior working for Bradley had come to discuss their future plan, an assault had been launched by the captain of the guard, and a team of powerful warriors. Their base was now being destroyed, countless warriors had been killed already, and those who were again alive and fighting to preserve these lives were the stronger ones. But Jared, the rank 2 Beginner Wizard, knew that it was only a question of time before they would all be exterminated.


    In any case, the warrior in front of him made him feel strange. He seemed weak, but at the same time strong, it was really a strange feeling to have. At least, since he had come from these stairs, it meant that he had killed the rank 4 Beginner Warrior that was playing in there. The battle must have been a tough one, seeing this young man ready to lose consciousness at any time.


    "What is your name, boy?" A stupid question, he reckoned. But right now, he felt like he wanted to talk. He didn''t really expect an answer actually, as he was sure the enemy would charge at him.


    "Rohan. Are you the wizard working with this band of bandits?" But Jared was surprised, as the young man in front of him still answered. Maybe it was just to recover or to wait for reinforcement before the fight, but even so, Jared wasn''t in a mood to fight.


    "That is correct, I am Jared, a rank 2 Beginner Wizard! It must be the first time you met a wizard, are you scared?" He couldn''t help it, as a mighty wizard, boasting was second nature.


    "Not really, I have already met an Intermediate Wizard once." It was with these words that Jared understood why the young man, or even the boy in front of him was this peculiar. There wasn''t any expression on his face. No fear, no shock, nothing, even though he knew he was facing a wizard.


    But even on this face with a mask of calmness on it, Jared could still feel that he was taking this situation seriously. And that was even more shocking to Jared. The warrior in front of him knew that he could die here at any time, but he was still calm. He wouldn''t be so shocked if it was an old warrior fighting for decades, but it was a young man, with presumably no real experience.


    "Do you think you can survive my encounter?" He couldn''t prevent himself from asking this question which was burning his lips. He was truly curious.


    "No." For the first time since the warrior had barged inside the room, a thin smile appeared on his face. "But I guess I still have a small chance, who knows."


    These words entered directly inside Jared''s head, strucking his mind. His own smile bloomed on his face. For a curious reason now, he was happy to have found this opponent.


    "Then, " he raised his hand, his fingers stretched toward the sky hidden by the roof and the palm facing this warrior named Rohan, "I think we should begin."


    The mighty mana resting on his mana stone inside his head began to boil. Jared compressed it with his will and made it exit the stone. He sent all the mana he controlled on his raised arm. As the intangible mana circled around his limb, he directed it toward a rune that he had drawn himself on his arm, which was hidden by the sleeve of his gray dress. The mana coiling around his arm snaked toward the rune at lighting speed before moving in a particular and precise dance, reproducing with exactitude the spell drawn by the rune.


    The processus had only taken a few instant, and Jared looked ahead as the warrior was charging in his direction. The mana he had used, now corrupted with the wind element, made appeared a nearly meter long blade of an almost invisible wing in front of him.


    It was the main difference between the mana resting inside the mana stone of the wizards and the one resting inside the mana core of the warriors. The last one was as pure as the mana outside their body, while the first one was transformed by the stone, giving it the ability to be tainted by the power of the element. That was why the Wizard were the most powerful of the world, as their mana was much more potent and malleable than the other mana users.


    Without wasting more time, Jared threw his spell Wind Blade toward Rohan at a mighty speed. This one, sensing the attack and the strange mana heading his way, used Charge to get out from where he was. But the wind spells were known to be fast, and as he dashed on the left, the invisible blade still managed to hit him.


    Some of his black hair fell on the floor along with the blood coming from his cheek. He sighed of relief, this blow had nearly killed him. But before he could even breath, he sensed another blade coming his way. A wizard. This was his first time fighting such a strong foe, and his life was already hanging by a thread.


    He threw himself out of the way, before charging toward Jared. He wouldn''t let him at such a distance from him. He took out a potion from his bag and gulped it in a second before using two Charges in a row. He dodge each and every Wind Blades while drinking all his potions one after the other. But as he thought that the wizard in front of him would be with no more mana, Jared took out a mana potion from his bag and drank it before throwing another spell, making Rohan shout of frustration.


    The Wind Blades kept crashing on the room, scratching the walls and the floor as Rohan was still trying to shorten the distance. He had nearly died in more than one instance, his already banged up armor was now more a hindrance than anything, and long scratches filled his limbs, making each one of his movements as painful as ever.


    But after a few minutes, he finally arrived in front of the wizard with a Charge, before he slashed with all his strength at this physically weak wizard. But the wound expected never came. With a loud bang, his sword hit a wall. A wall made of ice which had appeared from nothing. The ice cracked and shards flew around the two fighters under the vigorous blow made by Rohan.


    Jared smiled to himself, as he activated another Wind Blade. He had let this youngster approach him, making him believe he could do it. But which wizard only learned one spell? A defensive spell was an obligatory one against a warrior or any melee fighter. That was what made the wizard feared. And the Ice Wall was the most basic one. Defensives spell along the offensive one, protecting themselves while killing their enemies with powerful elemental mana. That was the way of the wizards.


    The distance between Jared and Rohan was minimal, and the last one saw his face fall when he felt the invisible spell being formed another time. He let himself drop on the ground, under a wooden table, before rolling on himself to get out of there. The moment he rolled away from this place, the table was cut clean in two halves, crashing on the floor.


    The young man stood up, and for no reason, he took out an utensil from the ground, startling Jared. What was he doing? Then, Rohan turned on himself and threw the object toward the wizard with all his strength. Jared hid behind the icy wall in horror as the item flew only a centimeter or two above his head.


    Rohan, as he saw the result of his ridiculous plan, smiled like a demon, and ran around the room to pick up some items here and there. Each time the wizard was trying to launch a spell, a random item would fly in his direction, interrupting him.


    Suddenly, Rohan, armed with a sword on his right hand and a plate on the left one, rushed for a second time in the direction of Jared, protected by his ice wall. This time was much smoother, as each time he saw the head of the wizard leaving his protection, he would throw the item he was holding before picking up another one from his collection inside his bag.


    This way, he arrived in no time in front of the wall measuring two meters long, one meter and a half high and a thickness of almost the length of his arm. In front of this wall, Rohan stomped his foot on the floor and leaped above the cold wall. While he was in the air, he threw the last object he had kept to prevent his opponent from shooting at him like a poor bird.


    But the wizard didn''t try to launch a spell, and seeing the warriors nearing him dangerously, he ran away without hesitation. He jumped on a table and glided on it, bumping in the way on countless plates he used everyday for his experiments. As his foot touched the ground, he turned on himself, compressed his mana and sent it all toward his rune representing the Wind Blade spell. The rune lightened a bit under his sleeves, and a Wind blade appeared in front of him. But he didn''t stop here.


    As Rohan fell on the floor, he straightened up and used Charge to propel himself in the direction the wizard had taken. But what he saw nearly made him scared to death. Two weak mana potions fell on the floor at the feet of the wizard, empty.


    Jared smiled at his opponent. For a young warrior, he was really a good fighter, and above all, he knew how to use his head. But now was the end. Before him, ten Wind Blades were floating in the air. It was the maximum he could do, as a rank 2 Beginner Wizard had only as much mana as a rank 2 Beginner Warrior.


    But still, it was enough.

 Chapter 37 - Mana Combustion

    In front of Rohan was standing Jared, watching him with a slight smile on his face. Between them, ten Wind Blades, each almost a meter long, were hovering in the air. Then without any more dialogues, the wizard threw them all toward the warrior.


    Rohan panicked in his mind, as ten invisible blades were sprinting in his direction. He couldn''t retreat. It was already too late. He couldn''t dodge them all either, not with his slow speed.


    So he chose the worst solution he had, which was also the only one he had at the moment. He needed to be faster than ever. He needed to cut off the head of this wizard in a single blow. He needed to use everything he had.


    That was why, without considering any result, he gathered all the mana he had in his core. All the mana he could control, he compressed it at the extreme, then in an instant of craziness, he threw it all toward his right leg. All he wanted now was to Charge forward.


    There was a reason why each skill of the Beginner Warriors was using 10 mana. It was because it was the capacity of the meridian, it was the mana that could fully fill the whole meridian. Less, and the skill couldn''t be launched, more, and it would be foolishness.


    A loud explosion shook his body. Rohan, smashing his foot against the floor with all his might as if he wanted to cripple himself, used Charge with all his points of mana. An extreme pain appeared almost immediately as the mana was penetrating his meridian. It filled it in an instant, before the excess made it swell on itself.


    Then, in a loud intern explosion, his mana sipped into his limb, filling it with a mighty strength. Cracks were starting to appear on the fragilized meridian, menacing to break at any moment. The terrifying pain made Rohan flinch on himself as his foot touched the ground, but he gritted his teeth to support it.


    After this explosion, the sensation he felt was incredible. His heart nearly left his chest. With a speed which was almost breaking each of his bones under the pressure, Rohan shortened the distance between himself and the invisible blades coming his way with a single step. As the mana was still strengthening his leg without dissipating, Rohan stomped a new time the floor to disappear from his place.


    Not even half a second later, he did it again to change his direction, then again, and again. Each time he was feeling as if his leg was breaking in thousands pieces. Each time he felt as if his whole body was breaking apart, as if every bone of his body was reduced in ashes.


    Jared widened his eyes and opened his jaw from the shock he felt when he saw nothing more than a silhouette flying in the room at such a speed, and before he could do anything like drink another potion, the young monster was in front of him.


    He had dodged all his ten blades in such a perfect way that Jared was feeling empty. If he had kept up with his strategy to wear out the warrior with his defensive and offensive spells, he was sure that he would have won. A bitter smile appeared on his face.


    Rohan''s face was still calm as ever as he seemingly teleported in front of the stunned wizard, and only a serious light could be seen in his eyes even though he was experiencing an unimaginable pain. Taking advantage of the speed he had, he thrust his sword forward.


    All Jared could see was a light of white and red mixed together piercing through his belly. The attack was so fast that he didn''t feel anything more than the shock of the force repelling him tens of steps back.


    Then, he felt it. A cold and warm feeling coming from his belly, spreading in his whole body. Following it, a sharp pain invaded his mind, making him lost for a few seconds. Shivers attacked his limbs, making him lose all sense of the world around him, all, but a terrible cold. Numbness spreaded in his legs causing the wizard to fall on the floor, making him lose sight of the young warrior wobbling on himself a few distance from him.


    The strength and the speed put behind the blow was so intense that the wound was larger than the blade, and even with it inside his body, blood flowed out and formed a pond of a red liquid around him, permeating the area with a disgusting metallic smell.


    His sight was darkening, and soon, Jared couldn''t see anything. He couldn''t hear anything. He couldn''t feel anything. In the end, he should have rested near his master instead of coming to this hell place.


    Rohan was watching as Jared was slowly dying in front of him, lying in the blood with the handle of his sword pointing to the sky. A terrible exhaustion seized him and spasms kept making his leg tremble on itself, as a throbbing pain spreaded inside his whole body.


    Suddenly, he threw up on the floor, a mix between a dark red blood and small gray pieces, as thin as grain of sand. He knew he didn''t have the time anymore.


    He quickly came near the corpse of the wizard and sat up, without minding about the blood under him. He fought the need to sleep, and searched inside the bag reposing on the floor, still attached to his previous owner. Inside, he took out three weak mana potions as he only had one on his own. Then, without wasting more time, he opened them before he gulped them all in one go.


    He felt the liquid going through his throat and shouted in his mind to go faster, as if it would change anything. Slowly, his mana was regenerating, filling his mana core. After a few minutes of a stressful wait, Rohan finally began his tough operation.


    He didn''t mind the pain he was feeling, and sped up to send the mana into his meridian stretching toward his right foot. This one was badly damaged, and if he didn''t repair it as quickly as possible, it would become really dangerous.


    The mana came inside his meridian, and flowed inside. But it wasn''t as smooth as it was supposed to be. Cracks were filling the whole link, and small pieces of the meridian had fallen inside it, creating obstacles for the mana spreading toward the end. Each time Rohan would see a crack, he would use a small quantity of his mana to repair and consolidate the damaged part. Each time he saw small particles resting inside his meridian, he would use his control over the stream of mana to push it out by the cracks. These actions were furtherly damaging the structure of the meridian, but he didn''t have the choice.


    If only one of these pieces rested in the meridian, the flow of the mana would never be smooth, and if he tried to use his skill, the pieces would pierce the walls of the meridian, so it was better to get rid of it earlier.


    The pain made him gnash his teeth, while groans escaped from his mouth from time to time. It was without a doubt the worst experience he had never felt in his short life.


    After what seemed to be years for Rohan, he finally snapped back from his trance, and let go of a mouthful of dark blood. A large amount of grain of his meridian were inside this blood, as it was all there was inside his body. Normally, he shouldn''t have any more problems.


    He sighed. Right there, it was truly dangerous. He had already read stories about warriors using too much mana to launch a powerful attack, but after it, they didn''t repair it or couldn''t do so. And what happened was that the meridian would crumble on itself, breaking in countless pieces.


    The results were of course the inability to use this meridian anymore, and thus it was a fall in the rank of the warrior, but the major risk was that the limb would be corrupted by the large amount of the consolidated mana that was the meridian, and thus necessitated to be cut off at the end.


    But what Rohan didn''t know, was that it was far more dangerous than that. The actual chance to succeed at using the mana combustion wasn''t to be taken lightly, and no warrior would want to try it.


    His leg was still injured, and his whole body was still under stress due to the extreme speed at which he had moved, but at least now, he was safe. He let his back fall on the floor, soaking it with the blood of the wizard. He thought that, from now on, he would be accustomed to do such a thing.


    He had kill.


    At the end, he still had killed two people that night, for his own life. Actually, it was more true to say that it was for resources, as it was only for this reason that he had come here in the first place.


    Thinking about this point, he suddenly remember where he was. Maybe it was wicked on his part to think about that just after killing someone, or maybe it implied that killing someone was becoming a norm. But anyway, the thought that he was in the middle of a room obviously used by a wizard made him feel excited.


    He sat up before standing on his shaking legs. It would surely be impossible to fight for a time, but it wasn''t what he wanted to do. He glanced around him. The tables were all knocked down on the floor marked with long scratches done by the spells of the wizard, with broken plates everywhere.


    There didn''t seem to be anything of value in this room, and he should probably be used previously to make experiments. Following this thought, his eyes turned toward the few doors on the sides. Behind one of them, would surely be lying a lot of magical items!


    His only magical items he had on him right now was the Essence Stone, and a few indestructible empty vials. It wasn''t enough to please him at all. He bent to stretch his hand toward the corpse of the wizard, and without standing on ceremonie, he snatched the bag. There were only a few weak mana potions inside, and another one. One that he had never seen, with a faint green glow inside.. He put everything in his own bag, and without taking back his sword, he headed toward one of the closed doors, moving with difficulties at a snail pace, feeling the worst pain ever alongside a waited bliss.

 Chapter 38 - Looting Everything

    The door opened in a loud creak as it rubbed against the floor, letting the view of the new room enter Rohan''s field of view. This one, moving as slowly as possible, and feeling like an old grandpa, moved in the center of the newly found room.


    Inside this one, a few tables were standing there, with strange utensils on it. On the right, some shelves were hanging against the wall, while different kinds of objects could be seen. As Rohan approached these wooden furniture, he could distinguish a lot of dried plants, resting there for presumably a long time with a thin veil of dust on them.


    There were so many kinds of plants that he didn''t even recognize some of them. Of course he wasn''t a professional anyway, so it could just be the most normal herbs anyone could find in their garden that he wouldn''t know about.


    Next to this shelf filled to the brim of all these plants, was another one with books on it. Some were about mathematics, history, botany, biology, there were a lot of themes in this small collection. It was only a small one, but still a welcomed collection to Rohan, as he always had loved to read.


    Thinking about books, Rohan felt a little pinch in his heart. Back when he was living with his butler, this one always left each day to go buy books before coming with a full stock under the arms, just so Rohan could read them freely.


    But since he was living in the city of Blanche, a terrible fact had fallen on him. He had walked around the whole city, each street and even each alley, but he couldn''t find a single place selling books. And as his master, Horin, was someone who had fled his country at full speed, plus was someone who didn''t really like to read, there wasn''t a single book in the shop. And all the things he could read since he was there was the yellowed book that Jonas had given to him before he left for the war.


    Without hesitation, and with a big smile on his face, he took out all the books to put it inside the bag of the wizard he had taken earlier. While he was taking them one by one to store them near him, he saw that some of them weren''t like the other ones.


    There were four books with a black leather cover and golden words written on them: ''Rank 1 Beginner Wizard''; ''Rank 2 Beginner Wizard'', ''Rank 3 Beginner Wizard'', ''Spell: Wind Blade''. They were all valuable books affiliated with the secret of a wizard!


    Rohan was feeling even more excited to have found them, they probably have nothing to do with him, but reading them should still give him a good amount of information about the wizards in general! With a greedy smile on his face, strangely reminding the one of a goblin, he put them in his bag, ready to kill to protect them.


    After thinking for a few seconds, he decided as well to take all the plants here and put them in his bag. He didn''t know anything about them, but there could be some valuable ones in it. Anyway, he now had a book about botany, so that should help to sell them at the right price if he ever needed to.


    Looking one last time at these empty shelves to be sure he had forgotten nothing, he turned around to continue and scavenge the rest of the room. In front of him, standing against the wall a bit further away, he could see a table with a lot of potions in it. What a good day!


    He hurried up and soon stood before the table. Some of the potions were the weak mana potions he already knew about. There were also some of the weak recovery potions, although there were only 3 of them. But what made the jaw of Rohan nearly hit the floor, was the presence of a weak mana compression potion. He was surprised to see one here, as this potion was only useful for a warrior and not for a wizard, why was this Jared in the possession of one?


    The terrible mission he was currently hating with all his might was finally not so bad! Rohan quickly cleaned up the drool coming from the corner of his mouth, and put all these potions inside the warm of his bag. Among these potions there were some of them he didn''t know about. Of course, he wouldn''t drink them like that without knowing what they do, but maybe one day they would be useful. In any case, he just decided to take everything he could see.


    All that was left in the room was the wooden furniture and some items on it, but Rohan didn''t bother about them, and without waiting more, he left this treasure trove. He went back to the main room, with a corpse on the side lying on his blood and fragments of wood posed everywhere, alongside a lot of utensils broken here and there.


    It was the third room he had visited, and the two others were just a bedroom with nothing interesting in it and the other one what seemed to be a kitchen. This place was really the living quarter of this wizard. Below the city. Inside the hideout of the bandits working for Bradley.


    For Rohan, a rank 2 Beginner Wizard living in such a condition had pretty much lost everything. After all, all wizards were extremely well received in any place. So finishing in this spot, and dying here, was probably the worst outcome for a powerful and rare wizard.


    There were only two doors that he hadn''t touched. Another one was in the same wood as the others and was just on the left of the room he had exited, while the other one was made of iron. Exactly the same one as the one he had taken to enter this room.


    He headed straight to the left and entered the room, only for a fierce smell to attack his nostrils as soon as he opened the door. In his sight, only two tables were standing in the middle of the small room. What caught Rohan by surprise, was what the larger one contained. A large beast. A dark scaly skin, four powerful looking limbs with sharp claws at the end, a tail hanging down to the ground, and an open mouth full of teeth. Rohan had never seen such a beast, but the instant he discovered it, he knew it wasn''t like the black tiger he had fought. This beast there, was a true magical beast.


    Holding back his excitement alongside his breath, Rohan advanced to look closely at the terrifying beast. It must have been a long time since the beast was dead as the putrefaction was taking Rohan by the throat and some parts could be seen attacked by the decomposition. The young and inexperienced warrior nearly threw up after seeing and smelling this.


    As he approached the corpse of the beast, he could see the long and deep gash creating a large opening toward the inside of the monster, facing the back of the room. He wasn''t an expert at all, but he still could see that some organs had been taken away. Particularly, the heart was nowhere to be seen.


    *sigh*


    "Well, that''s to be expected. Who in their right mind will let the core of the beast untouched?" After all, it was a great help for the promotion of a warrior, and this for any rank. He was sure that the leader of these bandits, if they were really the ones who had slain this scaly beast, had already taken it for him.


    As the smell was truly intolerable for Rohan, he couldn''t stay there any longer and walk toward the entrance. But before he left the room, he saw a notebook posed on the second table, in the middle of bloody tools. He took it out without hesitation, and as he couldn''t bear it anymore, quickly left the room. Since he wouldn''t take the time to read anything in this hell place, he directly put it in one of his two bags hanging at his side.


    He glanced a last time around him to encompass the whole area in his sight, and, when his look fell on the body of the wizard, he sighed before heading toward him. He stood in front of the wizard. After all, he couldn''t leave it that way. He crouched on his weak legs with a great effort and moved his hand toward the lifeless corpse lying in his own blood. Then, he tightened up the handle of the sword, stood up, put his foot on the body, and pulled out the blade with all his might.


    The blade left its human scabbard in a sickening noise. With a face showing at which point Rohan was disgusting, he didn''t even take the time to clean up the blade before turning around and approached the closed iron door at a snail pace. At each step, he could sense his whole body urging him to lie on the ground and stop moving for at least a week or two, but Rohan couldn''t do that. He needed to leave that place first. That was why he had taken back his sword. Even though he wasn''t in the capacity to fight, he would still prepare himself for any danger he could encounter.


    With a loud shrill resonating in the whole area, the door showed the way to Rohan who went up the stairs that had exposed themselves in front of him. As he continued to go up stairs after stairs, it didn''t take long before another door appeared in his way.. At the moment he opened it, the first thing he saw was the clash of two swords as a loud shout echoed in the room he had entered. What fucking luck it was?

 Chapter 39 - The Power Of The Fifth Meridian.

    "Today is the end for you Bradley!" A terrible blow shook the room as the two swords hit each other. At first sight, it could be seen that these two swords weren''t ordinary ones, or else they would be already destroyed. "Kill all these bastards!"


    In the middle of the room Rohan had just entered, the impressionnant fight between the two most powerful warriors of the city was taking place, while around them, tens of warriors were fighting each other.


    A warrior used strengthened Blow to cut off an enemy in half, sending guts scattering all around the place while blood flowed on the floor. Another warrior appeared behind this one, and a sword pierced through the skin, flesh, bones and organs with a mighty strength before the blade was removed, letting the lifeless body fall on the ground already humid with blood.


    Unbeknownst to Rohan, the path he had taken had brought him to make the whole turn of the basement. He had entered the place where Jared, the rank 2 Beginner Wizard, was living, before he had continued and entered the most important place of the whole basement.


    It was a spacious room, with a large table in its center alongside many chairs. All these furniturs were now broken in pieces spreaded all over the place, half swimming in the pool of blood that was starting to form. This room was the one where the important members of the group led by Braldey gathered frequently.


    And now, this rank 5 Beginner Warrior was fighting for his life while the other warriors fighting at his side were the stronger and the most experienced ones. But even so, without the wizard at his side, the victory wasn''t leaning on his side.


    The captain of the guards, fidel follower of the count, slashed his sword at the side, with a mighty blow. He continued with a technical footstep, and as if it was blurred under an extreme speed, the second blow he had chained bypassed the sword Bradley used to defend himself.


    As he saw the hit coming his way, the warrior didn''t have the choice but to use his Charged skill to get out of there. His opponent was a real master of the way of the sword. He cursed in his head, as for him, such a swordsmanship was only due to his background. If he was also born in a noble family, he would have more resources to become a warrior, he would have learnt rare techniques, and he wouldn''t have to struggle the same way.


    He rushed back to his enemy, and, holding his sword with his two hands, sent a tempest of strikes as he hit again and again, always faster and fiercer. He turned around his enemy, used all the tricks he had learned by himself, as he saw his own men fall one by one at his side.


    All he had now was what he had built with his own two hands, without the help of anyone. The way he fought was learnt the hard way, back when he was living on the street, fighting over a piece of rotten bread. He had fought, over and over again, until by chance, he had found a book with a hard cover in the middle of an alley.


    The captain smirked at his opponent and easily parried the blows or dodged them with a superior technique. The clashes of the two swords against each other echoed in the room, as the mighty strength put behind each of them made the two blades move at a miraculous speed.


    When he had found the book, Bradley was smart enough to not throw it away even though he didn''t know what this book was talking about, and instead, he had tried to read it. After all, if he could read it, then it would be as if he had the same value as a noble child. But the day he had learnt about what the book really was, his life had changed for the best.


    He slash at the foe before him, creating sparks all around them. The battle field was a strange one, as in the middle stood the two fighters while all the others were doing their best to not come near them at all. But suddenly, as an act of courage, or maybe foolishness, a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, trying to help the captain, used Charge to appear in front of Bradley and directly followed with a Strengthened Blow, thrusting his sword with all his force.


    But there was a reason why a rank 5 Beginner Warrior would almost always win against the inferior ranks. At each time a new meridian was opened, it could be used to strengthen the body for a short time with mana. For the arms, it was a mighty blow, multiplying the strength at an impressionnant level. For the legs, it was an extreme speed, making it easy to shorten distances in the blink of an eye. But what would happen when the last meridian was fully connected to the head?


    It was one of the strongest skills for all warriors, that even a Supreme Warrior will use continuously. It was Overload. Bradley sent his mana toward his head, exploding inside his brain. In less than a breath, the world became clearer. The light of the torches on the walls became brighter, the smell of sweat and blood became omnipresent, and the warrior in front of him was moving at a ridiculously slow speed.


    He even had the time to watch all the movements of this weak man in front of him, all the imperfections, all the openings, all the weaknesses. Nothing could escape his gaze. With a single step on the side, which seemed slow to him but was still done with the extreme speed of a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, he avoided the blade which continued on its way.


    Then, he used a Strengthened blow. It was so slow that he could see with all the details of the warrior widened his eyes before trying to use charge to get out of there. He could even sense the flow of the mana circulating inside his legs in the state he was. But it was too slow. As if fate had decided this result, the tip of the blade entered ever so slowly inside the armored chest of the strong man.


    Spark was created from the grinding of the metal against metal, but the blade still continued as if it was only cutting through water. In a time that seemed like eternity in Bradley''s eyes, the blade fully entered the body, piercing through the heart in the way until only the handle could be seen. Then, using the strength of his arms still reinforced with the mana, he moved his sword to the right, cutting through everything.


    In the corner of his eyes, he could see the leader of the nobles'' dogs trying to come to save his man, but they knew both of them that it was useless. The power of this skill was way beyond the capacities of any warriors below the rank 5. Then as if time had decided it was enough, as if the light had decided it was too bright, the state of the brain of Bradley came back to normal.


    The body in front of him fell on the floor, dead. But it wasn''t the moment to take a look, and he quickly turned around to meet the sword of the other rank 5 Beginner Warrior. In between each assault, Bradley drank a potion to recover his mana. But even so, a fight against two experts was always bound to finish quickly, and at this time, as if they had both agreed at the same time, they used Overload. At this moment, they entered another world.


    For the onlookers, this battle was too fast for the eyes, but for them, it was slower than ever. Bradley used Charge chained with Strengthened Blow. But with such a speed, where all the flaws were easily seen, the captain of the guard had ultimately the advantage.


    He used a Strengthened Blow to hit the enemy''s sword. The two swords connected each other, and it was at that moment that the most experienced fighter slided his blade against the other one. He moved his right foot forward, and as it touched the ground, he didn''t hesitate to use Charge, even at such a short distance.


    Bradley could only look as the warrior canceled his blow in such a way before he moved toward him. He could see everything, and that was what made him desperate.


    The day he had understood that the book he had found was in fact describing the way to become a warrior, he had discovered that he had a real talent in it. And even without potions, without resources, he had promoted and rank up. With nothing but his own effort, with nothing but his own hands, he had become stronger. He was even stronger than these nobles who had everythings since birth, he was even stronger than those who had only rank up with nothing more but a large quantity of potions.


    But at the end, when he had become a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, when the captain of the guard, the one standing in front of him, had used the Essence Stone to update his warrior''s emblem, there was only disdain in his eyes. The count, disgusted to see such a lowly person became that strong, had refused to give him anything. The nobles, too proud of their lineages, had looked down on him.


    What could he do? What could he choose to do, but to take what was meant to be him?


    The tip of the sword of the enemy had now reached his throat. His sword was out of the way, too far to be of any utility. His balance wasn''t perfect, and using a skill would take too much time. The tip began to enter through the skin. It was the drawback of this skill Overload. As all the senses were multiplied to the extreme, the pain that he was feeling was the worst one.


    He felt the cold iron going slowly inside his throat, while he was staring straight at the eyes of his enemy. He would die, and he would suffer before that, but he wouldn''t show it. It was his pride. It wasn''t the pride of the noblemen, showing off their belonging to a group which was only due to birth. It was his pride, the one he had felt each time he ranked up, the one he had felt each time he was becoming powerful, the one he had felt each time he was surpassing a noble.


    It was the pride in his own capacity.


    The pride of a warrior.

 Chapter 40 - The Nightmare’s End

    The dust of the battlefield fell on the floor, showing the results to everyone and stopping momentarily the battle. Rohan, on the doorstep of the entrance he had taken, could only have seen bits of the duel which had unfolded before him, but now that it was the end, he was rooted on the floor.


    Bradley, a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, fell on the floor. A bloody hole on the throat could be seen by all the warriors surrounding them. The last exchange had only taken less than a second, and it was simply too fast for them to see. One second, was the duration of the skill Overload, and it was enough to decide the results of the battle.


    It was said that the duel between two Intermediate Warriors had surpassed the limit of normal humans so much that any human standing too close to the fight would die from only the aftershock of the blows. A duel between two Advanced Warriors was much more violent and said to be enough to destroy a large area. But the most horrifying one was of course the duel between two Supreme Warriors which was said to be so fierce that it could even permanently damage a whole region and destroy cities. And this was when the Supreme Wizard wasn''t taking into account.


    But even without going as far, the duel that Rohan had just watched was the most impressive one he had ever seen. Of course, if he had seen the Old Monster fighting against his father, an Advanced Warrior and an Intermediate Wizard, he wouldn''t think as much of this small fight.


    Both of these rank 5 Beginner warriors were much stronger than him. Their constitutions were of course more advanced than him, but even if Rohan looked only about their swordsmanship, he was miles away from even reaching their ankles. These two warriors had fought and polished their skills for decades, one participating in a war against the monsters of the north while the other had fought all his life in the street.


    Of course, the next war wasn''t of actuality for the Humans Empires, and the last one was just before the birth of Rohan. That was why a decrease in the skills of the new warriors could easily be seen. And that wasn''t only a problem from the poor lands of the south, but a matter touching all the empires. It was simply the problem when it was peaceful. Without any fights, without their lives being in danger, how could the warrior become better fighters?


    That was why this fight that each warrior had seen was a rare one, between two experts who knew how to fight. For Rohan, who had become a rank 3 beginner Warrior in less than two years, it was definitely an eye opener.


    Rohan was smart, and he could easily understand his future. He was ranking up and promoted faster than everyone. But that wasn''t only a good thing. As he was becoming stronger and stronger, his opponent would all become older and older, until they would all be of the same kind of the Old Monster, who had centuries of battle backing him.


    Saying that Rohan wasn''t ready for such a fight was just an understatement.


    Following the sight of their leader falling on the floor lifeless, all the warriors working for him let go of their weapons before they all surrendered. After all, they were all at least rank 2 Beginner Warriors, they were not stupid, and they knew when it was time to abandon.


    Their leader was dead, and the wizard, Jared, was nowhere to be seen. The only result that awaited them was defeat, especially when now there would be a rank 5 Beginner Warrior who would fight against them, with no one able to only defend themselves with more than a few moves.


    A silence reigned inside the spacious room after the clangs of the weapons hitting the floor rang inside the room, announcing the end of the fight. Or so they thought.


    As Rohan was starting to enter the room, the captain of the guards, whose words were synonyms with law in the city of Blanche, gave his order.


    "Kill them all, I don''t want to see any of them alive." Then, on this last word, he pounced as if he was a beast throwing itself against its prey and with a quick movement of the wrist, a head flew on the air as a headless body hit the floor. The warrior, without any weapons, couldn''t even utter a single noise before he died, just like that.


    Rohan stopped on his track, and stood there, rooted on the ground. His eyes were widened as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him. A small handful of the team of warriors who had come with him for this mission were massacring a group of people without any weapon, defenseless, who had already surrendered.


    He understood of course that these men were bandits. They had without robbed civilians and merchants, and maybe they had even murdered for that. So maybe it was the right decision. But still, his head buzzed as he was looking at this slaughter happening in front of him.


    The once enemies were trying to defend themselves, but the battle didn''t even last more than a few seconds. An ax dismembered one of them before cutting him in half at the chest level. The one called Jean jumped like a wolf onto an enemy, only to play with him before killing him by piercing his throat. The one called Mark at least, killed in a single blow his enemy, with a calm expression.


    In only a few breaths, the level of the pool of blood seemed to increase as the terrible smell entered inside the mind of Rohan. Guts were floating all around as organs could be seen among them.


    For the first time since Rohan had taken the weapons to fight, he couldn''t resist the urge anymore. He bent on himself to throw up on the floor.


    He couldn''t understand it. Were they all crazy people liking that much to see blood flowing everywhere? Couldn''t they just capture them, use them as free labor or anything? Couldn''t they just break their mana core or something to avoid this madness?


    As he felt his head would soon explode under this much question, footsteps splashing against the red liquid could be heard approaching him. He raised his head, only to see the captain of the guards in front of him. He had even forgotten about his name, but right now, he just never wanted to know about it, and make as much distance between this crazy man and himself.


    "I see your are coming from this iron door, from the information we have I am pretty sure it is the way where the place of this wizard could be found. Did you happen to find it in any case? I wouldn''t want to let this rat flee after all!" A joyful smile appeared on his smile, as if he wasn''t currently inside a room filled with dismembered bodies.


    "I''ve seen the wizard." With difficulties, Rohan answered the question, his words shocking the warrior in front of him. "He''s dead right now."


    These words struck the captain in his mind, and looked at the young man standing in front of him. His black hair was filled with blood, as well as his whole body. There was so much red on him that the captain thought he had plunged inside a whole river of blood. But now that he was observing the warrior clearly exhausted, he could see all the injuries everywhere.


    The armor was in fact nowhere to be seen, and only a few pieces of leather were still attached. His arms and legs were full of long scratches, while he could sense a problem with his meridians. A Beginner Warrior couldn''t really sense the mana, but once the meridian connecting the brain was fully opened, the warrior was becoming a bit more aware of the mana surrounding him. It was only a bit, but it was enough for him to know that this man had made something very few warriors would do, even if they knew they would die.


    The reason for that was without a great control over the mana, launching a skill with too much mana had too much chance to just make the limb explode in a gruesome way, and possibly killing the warrior on the spot.


    In any case, the injuries he could see on Rohan was enough for him. He had fought against the wizard. He surely wouldn''t believe him easily when he said he was dead, but since he was alive in front of him after an encounter against the wizard, it was a huge probability to be true. And if he remembered correctly, there was also Matthew with him.


    It was at this moment that he saw something. Or to be more exact, the absence of something. Why was he alone?


    "Where are your companions? weren''t you with Halem and matthew?"


    "Halem is dead, killed by a rank 4 Beginner Warrior." The more he answered, the more Rohan felt numb and empty inside, as if his soul just wanted to hide somewhere. At least now, he knew that Halem was really his name.


    The lifeless body with all the right parts missing came to his mind, inside the room filled with bodies and blood. It was the same scene as this one in front of him, and he couldn''t help but shudder. This night, really, was a nightmare.


    "Matthew had left on his own after we fought against the wizard."

 Chapter 41 - Invitation

    Rohan opened his eyes. Before him was the ceiling, the one he had seen each day for a few months for now. He sighed.


    He had the same dream, the one he got when Horim had knocked him out. He was just alone in the dark, surrounded by nothing but shadows. And then coming from nowhere, appearing from the void, red dots materialized all around him. They all had the same color of blood, and came closer and closer, forming thread as they connected between them, as if they were living beings.


    It enveloped him, painting his whole vision of red, transforming into a cocoon of red threads. But there was something that wasn''t like the first time. It was the smell. The smell of blood. It was so strong that even now he had woken up, he still had the impression to be recovered from this pungent metallic and disgusting smell.


    He didn''t know the meaning of this dream, and it was the first time that he had dreamt about the same thing more than once. Or at least from what he could remember. After all, he always had difficulties remembering his dreams when he woke up, that was why this one had marked his spirit. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was just a normal dream, telling him that he had seen too much blood. But for an unknown reason, an unknown feeling deep in his heart, he thought that it was important.


    He shook his head, and sat up on his bed. Or at least he tried, as the moment he straightened up, the pain sent him back lying on the soft mattress with a groan exiting his lips.


    The clean up of the bandits'' lair had ended last night. After the slaughter that had taken place in the large room, the warriors that could still fight were sent back to the battle, searching and killing all enemies lurking inside the large basement.


    At the end, almost fifteen warriors of the expedition were found dead, while all the others were injured. Some heavily, some with just a few scratches, but either way, it denoted the harshness of the fight. From the enemy''s camp, that was almost fifty warriors that they had killed. A huge number, in fact, it was even a scary one with a little reflection on it.


    Back in the duchy of Barnes, there were a thousand warriors in the whole duchy, and that was because of the demonic crystal they had. In the Kingdom of Prasthana, counting the warriors from the five duchies, there were only between three to four thousand ones. And Rohan reckoned it was the same thing for this kingdom of Daksina as well, from the light memories he had of the books he had read on this subject.


    And among this small number, almost a hundred of them were all gathered in the same city, while half of them were working for the now dead rank 5 Beginner Warrior Bradley. Of course, the great majority of these warriors were only rank 1, but it was still an important number.


    Even the king of this kingdom couldn''t let this operation unverified, as fifty warriors were a huge asset for the kingdom. That was why he would without a doubt send an investigation team to know exactly what had happened. Of course, he was supposed to already know about it, since he had openly refused to help the count of Blanche. But an investigation was still needed, for whatever reason. In any case, it had nothing to do with Rohan.


    After the whole basement below the city had been cleaned up of any ''rats'' like they said, all the warriors had exited the building which they had used to launch the assault. It was at that time that Rohan had seen Matthew, full of injuries and as bloody as him. The only difference between them was the dangerous glint that could be distinguished inside the eyes of this scary-looking man. He had without a doubt killed, and he had probably done it with a smile.


    At the moment, there was a carriage that had appeared, with the crest of the Macker''s family on it. it was Elia. Rohan was surprised. The instant the man, frightening enough to make anyone believe he drank blood everyday, had seen his young miss, the glint in his eyes had almost completely disappeared in a second. Even a thin smile, so thin that anyone could miss it easily, stretched on his face.


    For what reason such a strong warrior was devoting himself at this daughter of a viscount? Rohan didn''t know, but he couldn''t help but stare at this obedient man, now acting like a puppy before this beautiful woman. This one had even come near Rohan, and seeing in which state he was, had asked him to come with them for a traitement with her soft voice capable of making every man fall.


    But without any hesitation, Rohan, almost on the point to fall on the ground at any moment, had refused. The reasons were multiple, such as he didn''t want to own anything to this person, but the most important was what he was holding. Hanging on him, there were two bags, completely filled to the brink.


    No one knew what was inside these bags, but Rohan was sure it would only be a question of time. And the instant they would understand that he had smuggled all the goods once belonging to the wizard, That would be a complicated situation. It wasn''t complicated to realize that if they saw all the potions he had, as well as the valuable books describing the way to become a wizard, he would probably be stabbed in a second by these crazy warriors before his body would be robbed of all items.


    All he wanted to do at that point was to go back in the shop, and hide behind the back of his master Horim. Who would dare to lack respect in front of an Intermediate Paladin? No one! And he just wanted to fully use this reassurance. With this decision, Elia still showed her sincerity by giving him a weak regeneration potion, as well as escorting him back to his home. While it wouldn''t do much, and in fact it would do nothing as it was only useful to heal a bit the damage done by mana, it was still a gesture of goodwill from this woman, and Rohan wouldn''t refuse it.


    As Rohan thought back to the events of the night, the door of his bedroom suddenly swung open. Following the bang of the door against the door, a man in an extravagant golden dress entered, burning the eyes of the young man lying on his bed.


    "Rohan! I heard what had happened!" In only a few steps, and with a speed that would make a warrior ashamed, he was already near Rohan. "You could have said to me you were participating in this battle! I was indeed wondering why you would ask me for a warrior''s emblem the other day, but I didn''t put much thought into it. But this morning, when I got the news¡­"


    Rohan turned his face toward his window, where the sun could be seen, looking down on everything. If he could just teleport through this window to appear near this giant ball of flame, only to burn his ears forever, it would probably be a blessing. Sadly, he couldn''t do that.


    "...and these fights must have been spectacular: I still remember this day in the forest, when you appeared from nowhere, with just a broken scabbard on the hand and an appearance of a beaten dog. And then Bam! and after that swang! You put all these bandits on the ground. And this fight against their leader, it was¡­"


    Maybe he should have just watched that day. Just letting these bandits kidnap this man, only to release him a few hours before they surrendered themselves to the guards with blood flowing from their ears. Why fight, when you have a Delia, a war machine that could win any war?


    "Anyway, I just came here today to tell you the good news!" This sentence made Rohan snap back from his delusion, and a bad feeling emerged from his heart. "The count will hold a party in a few days, to thank all the warriors who had helped him and the nobles to defend their city from these bandits. And of course you will have to come! There would be a buffet with a lot of good food, definitely better than what you are eating in this dump. Plus there will be a reward at the end for¡­"


    Rohan couldn''t prevent a loud sigh from coming out from his mouth. But Delia was continuing to talk, as if he had heard nothing. If he would go to this ''party'' or whatever, he would kill himself. No joke. That would be full of noblemen, full of frightful laughs all around, full of hypocrisy that would make him vomit. And the worst thing was that he couldn''t go with the status of the son of a count.


    Back when he was still at Rivoiras with his obligation to go to such parties, he could still use his status to flee most of the time. And he always had the habit of saying what he thought. The number of times he had looked down with disgust at a noble couldn''t be counted on his hands anymore.. But if he dared to do that with only his warrior''s status, that would be a path toward hell.

 Chapter 42 - The Way Of The Wizards

    Once Delia had left the room, Rohan was finally alone, with a bag between his hands. He repressed the smile he was beginning to show and took out a book from the bag, before putting this one on the side.


    The book was a thick one, with a black hard cover and a golden title on it. ''Rank 1 Beginner Wizard''. Without wasting more time and as he couldn''t control his crave anymore, he excitedly opened the book, and began to read through it.


    The reading wasn''t a long one compared to what was expected from such a big book, and in only half an hour, Rohan already posed the book on his lap. He looked up toward the ceiling, watching toward a place that didn''t exist.


    "Fuck." His voice resonated inside his room. The reason why he had acted like that was for two reasons.


    The first one was that becoming a wizard was way too hard, and even having a mana stone wasn''t enough at all. If the book was read so fast by Rohan, it was because its content was simple, yet extremely complicated.


    To become a rank 1 Beginner Wizard, the apprentice needed to engrave a rune all around the mana stone with a particular design by controlling his mana. And once it was done, the rune would shrink inside the stone, floating inside and having the ability to gather mana. This way, the number of runes inside the stone indicated the rank of the wizard.


    From what was described in the introduction of this manual, once the wizard had engraved his fifth runes, he would have an extra step to do before continuing into the Intermediate ranks. But this method wasn''t described here.


    Now, engraving a rune could seem to be an easy feat. But truly, it wasn''t. The whole rune needed to be absolutely perfect, and if there were too many variations and imperfections from the model, the mana stone risked cracking before breaking in countless pieces, and potentially killing the apprentice. Or the wizard, as this was for every single rune.


    These runes, or at least the first one, was far from being an easy one to learn! There were two hundred pages solely there to explain this whole rune! two hundred! With each of them filled with explanations about one of the strokes of the rune, explaining how it should be done, with which intensity, with the right amount of mana and a mass of information breaking the mind of Rohan.


    The second reason why he was looking at this book while being troubled was because of the introduction. And more exactly in a sentence. It was said that a good way showing that a person possessed a mana stone was to look at his spirit, as a wizard had generally a spirit of around 5.


    He remembered the way the commander who had given to him the Essence Stone seemed to be shocked by his amount of spirit. And he also remembered when the wizard had come for his birthday, for no reason. But now, Rohan understood. The chance he had a mana Stone wasn''t small at all!


    But now that he knew about it, there was still the ultimate question to answer: how could he know if he had a mana stone or not? After all, the first step to become an apprentice was to activate this stone, and for that, one must absorb the mana in the air and gather inside his head.


    When a warrior was forming his mana core, he absorbed the mana by all his pores to then gather it at the center of his body to cristalyse it. But there was a place where the future warrior wouldn''t take the risk to absorb the mana, and that was of course the head. Once the mana was compacted in too much quantity, it was an extreme corrosif for the body, and if it came into contact with the brain, the damage done at it wouldn''t be reversible like the other organs, and a brain dead situation would occur, far from being a rare thing.


    This part made Rohan frowned as he truly had no way to come meet the wizard working for this kingdom and ask nicely if he could test him.


    But with a spirit of 11, the chance that he had indeed a mana stone was truly great. Should he just try it and play with the fire? No. It was just too dangerous. If he in fact had no mana stone, than it was simply no different from a suicide, and that wasn''t what he wanted to do right now.


    From a drawing on the introduction of the book, he saw that the place where the mana stone should be was slightly offset from the way he would have to take to form his fifth meridian, and a bit lower from the place where he would have to connect it.


    Maybe, just maybe, if he slightly changed the path he took, and directed the meridian toward the mana stone to see if there was something or not, that could be an idea. That way, if there was truly something, then it would be perfect, and if there was nothing, then he could just continue the meridian without any problem.


    But that was the last point that he wasn''t sure of, as in any case, he would have to continue toward the place where he had to connect the meridian. That meant that in the end, his meridian wouldn''t be like the other ones. Since the meridians, their openings, and their formations were perfected from eons and eons, he didn''t believe that no one would have tried what he was thinking about. And as he had never heard of that, it can only mean it was far from being a great idea.


    Plus, if he really messed up with this meridian, which was the most dangerous one, he would put his life on the line, and maybe destroy any chance to promote himself above Rank 10 Intermediate Warriors. Sure, it was something that would appear only in tens of years, but still, as he wanted to become a Supreme Warrior, he needed to not make any mistake from the start.


    In any case, for now he couldn''t do anything about that, so he put away this terrifying book before taking out another, also with the same cover and with a golden title. ''Spell: Wind Blade''. Since Rohan didn''t know at all how the spells worked, he was truly excited about this one. And if he really was a wizard, he would be able to launch his own Wind Blade! And god he wanted to do that.


    The book was lighter than the previous one, but still a bit thick. In only a few hours, Rohan devoured the whole book. When he raised his head from the book, he suddenly felt an irresistible desire to throw this damn book through the window, and burned all the other in his possession.


    "Now that I think about it, all mana users are a bit of masochists."


    After all, to become a warrior, one must create solid paths of mana inside their bodies, making them feel a terrible pain each time they decide to meditate. And now, he just saw that the wizard had a similar love for pain. But in his opinion, this one was even worse than the daily pain a warrior was feeling.


    To launch a spell, the wizard firstly needed to inscribe runes on his body, preferably the arms, as it would be easier to aim at his target. But even if Rohan could put aside the need to learn countless information about this rune as this book was doing the same ridiculous detailed description as the previous one, he couldn''t with the means used to draw this rune.


    It was of course with tha mana coming from the mana stone, as the mana coming from a mana wouldn''t work. The reason for such a limitation was because the mana that a warrior was using was pure and couldn''t be fused with any element. And the elements were what gave power to the rune, and also the reason that made Rohan feel cold sweat rolling on his back.


    The ink used to draw the rune, was mana infused with an element, for example with the element of wind, and then manipulated by the mind to pierce the skin and engraved it the deeper possible. It meant he needed to control his mana, using an elemental source near him to taint this mana and then cut himself with it, while still paying attention for the rune to be perfectly drawn. What a great method.


    But if all the spells were working the same way, and Rohan believed so, then it only denoted two major problems. The first one was that the wizard learning the spell needed of course to have a source of the element he wanted to use. If that wasn''t really a problem for the wind spells, it would definitely be one for the lighting ones. But it wasn''t what made Rohan desperate. No. It was the pain. If the wind was somewhat okay, and again he wasn''t sure about this ''okay'', but what with the fire ones? Would he scream and cry while drawing this damn rune?


    The first wizards must have been maniac people to have even tried to do something like that! Let''s not talk about the complexity of the runes, but just trying to use their mighty mana to make them feel pain with different kinds of elements definitely didn''t seem right to Rohan.


    This one put away this book of doom and leaned back on the bed.. He wasn''t sure if he really wanted to be a wizard anymore.

 Chapter 43 - A Lovely Party

    The night had already fallen on this part of the world, but the inter-city of Blanche wasn''t asleep as it should be. Coming from all the streets, from all the roads, contless carriages with different crests and emblems on it were all driving in the same direction.


    All the noblemen of the area had been invited by the count to celebrate the victory against the group of bandits that had lurked inside this city for a few years. Of course, that was mainly pure hypocrisy coming from the members of the nobility, as a large part of them had already asked for services to these ''bandits''.


    After all, a group of powerful warriors working only for money and able to do almost anything, it was a great deal for all these people with a lot of money in their bag.


    But now that they have been invited by the count himself, it would be a disgrace to not come. Plus, as this celebration was for the warriors who had participated in this clean up, it means all the most powerful people around the city would be present. the ones wanting to bond with them wouldn''t miss the occasion.


    Among these carriages running on the paved roads, one of them was visibly more conspicuous than the others. On it, the family crest of the viscount Noir was on display, proving that this person was the man who had initiated all of this, and also one of the most influential persons of the city.


    Inside this carriage, three people were sitting. One of them, looking through the window with a bored expression was of course Rohan, obviously enchanted to go to this gathering. Next to him was Delia, who, for this occasion had put on a much more flashy habit than usual, shocking Rohan as he thought it wasn''t even possible to accomplish such a feat.


    This one felt as if there was a sun at his side, and he swore to himself that the instant they would enter the main hall, he would flee at lightning speed from this people magnet.


    In front of them, it was the father of Delia, the viscount Noir. In contrast with his son, this one was much more sober with a serious expression on his face. The moment he had seen Rohan, his first action was to thank him for participating in such a difficult mission to kill the group of thugs.


    After a few minutes of traveling through the whole city, the carriage finally arrived in front of the count mansion, which was the largest and richest of the whole city, standing on the center of this city and overlooking and governing all the area.


    The moment this carriage appeared, all the other nobles quickly put themselves on the side to let this figure enter while cursing on their head.


    After all, the etiquette was to arrive before the most prestigious person, but they had failed to do so. One of the butlers serving the count rushed to the carriage which had just stopped in front of the mansion, and opened the door before bowing his head to greet the people inside.


    But the first one to go down was a young man, with black hair tied back with a purple ribbon, and a simple black purpoint.


    The butler was shocked as he had never seen this person, but he still showed all his respect. It was at that time that he discerned the emblem with a shiny 3 hanging on his chest. A rank 3 Beginner Warrior!


    After Rohan went down, Delia followed and left the place to his father, who took all the attention of the onlooker the moment he descended the car. The noblemen surrounding the area with all their family were like wolves, wanting to pounce on him to strike a conversation the fastest possible.


    Just seeing this scene was enough to make Rohan want to puck.


    When he had to participate at these parties, all the son and daughter of a noble who was his age had tried to come near him to be friendly. He was still the son of a count after all, even if this one was sometimes considered as a false nobleman.


    The first time he had seen that friendliness, he was happy to talk with so many interested people. But his enthusiasm at this time had only lasted for a few minutes before his face had shown all disgust he had felt, making the people around him speechless for a few seconds.


    Now that Rohan thought about it, it was probably after that time that he had awakened a revulsion toward the noble''s kids. And even the nobles in general in fact.


    Without minding what Rohan was actually thinking, the viscount Noir began to advance, led by the butler toward the main entrance where an unbearable cacophony could already be heard. Delia and Rohan followed behind, both of them with an extremely different face.


    The large doors opened on the three men arriving, and with a shout encompassing the whole hall, the butler yelled the name of the viscount, making all the guests turn their face toward the newcomers. Maybe if Rohan became a wizard he would be able to teleport away in a single breath? With a new reason to find if he had a mana stone or not, Rohan entered the room.


    The floor was made of a white shiny marble, further illuminated by the candlesticks hanging on the ceiling. Even with so many people inside this room, the whiteness of the room gave the impression to be spacious enough to welcome all the inhabitants of the city.


    On this floor and separating the guests, large and long tables were standing here and there, with a lot of food and drinks on it, waiting to be consumed.


    The guests were already gathered, distributed among their social level, and Rohan and Dalia didn''t wait to separate themselves from the viscount.


    The discussion he would have and the people he would meet had nothing to do with them, even though Delia would later inherit the title. Which actually wouldn''t be that far in the future, though the young man in his twenties with a bright dress didn''t really want to become a viscount.


    The discussion bursted all around them, filling the ears of Rohan as he followed Delia here and there. but there was something he had forgotten, and that was to get out as far as possible from this magnet.


    Only a few seconds after they had entered the room, all a lot of people, without a doubt children of the other noblemen, rushed on Delia and Rohan, striking a conversation with the son of the viscount, and this young man they didn''t know, a rank 3 Beginner Warrior.


    After a few minutes of an intense torture, Rohan found a light opening in their tight formation and rushed on it to make a tactictal retreat. With a sigh leaving his mouth, he walked toward one of the tables near his position. At least, he would take pleasure in eating.


    But before he could reach it, he stopped in his tracks. In front of him was standing Elia Macker, with Matthew behind her. She glanced a bit at his chest before looking back at his face.


    "Hello warrior Rohan! I hope you are feeling well and that you have been able to heal yourself a bit during the past few days!" A deep voice, coming from the abyss, murmured at Rohan to get out of here the fastest possible. "Matthew had told me what had happened, and I must say, I didn''t know you were a rank 3 Beginner Warrior! You really are a genius."


    It was with these words that Rohan understood. Why this woman seemed to be this interested in a lowly warrior like him from the beginning. He reckoned that it probably wasn''t a difficult feat, and that he should have used another name that time.


    This girl. She already knew who he truly was. He squinted his eyes, looking at the beautiful woman smiling at him. If she ever wanted to say to anybody that he was Rohan, son of the count Roland Sharkan who had participated in the revolt of the duchy of Barnes, he would really be in the deep shit.


    "I am not really a genius, Miss Elia, after all I am already 19 this year, I''m just a bit faster than the other warriors."


    A lie, and an obvious one at that. But he didn''t have the choice, as he would never admit who he was. Maybe it was actually time to leave this city? He didn''t know what this woman wanted, but that was starting to become a dangerous situation.


    Elia widened her eyes when she heard that. The young man in front of her had said that with a perfectly calm expression, and he could definitely be seen for a man with this age. After all, his physique, forged by years of training and strengthened by the mana, was not anymore the one someone would give to a 15 years old boy who was beginning to leave his familial nest.


    For a few seconds, she began to doubt herself. Was she wrong from the start? Was this Rohan really another one and this situation was just a coincidence?


    Matthew sighed when he saw the young miss falling for such a ridiculous lie, but looking at this warrior in front of him, who will without a doubt become a true monster one day, he decided that he might as well let Elia forget about him for this night.


    The night of the bandits'' clean up, once everything was done, the captain of the guards had told him shocking news. Actually, he had even taken a few seconds to understand, since this powerful warrior had congratulated him for having killed the wizard alongside the young warrior Rohan.


    But Matthew wasn''t crazy enough to forget about what he had done, and he understood easily when he had seen the lifeless body of the wizard and the state of Rohan.


    This monster. He had killed by himself a powerful rank 2 Beginner Wizard and had put him as one of the responsable of such a deed. So for this time, he wouldn''t say anything. He knew just by seeing the face of the warrior that he wanted to leave, and Matthew would do nothing to hinder this.


    Maybe one day, they would see him again. Or maybe they would hear news about this warrior. A young one with black hair tied up with a purple ribbon.. Without a doubt, he knew the world would soon hear about this man.

 Chapter 44 - Rage

    After nodding at the dazed woman in front of him, and glancing a bit at the man behind her, Rohan left their companies and walked back toward his target.


    All the nobles gathered in the room didn''t care at all about the food, as it was always the same thing. After all, they were all here in the only goal to approach the ones they should normally not be able to talk to.


    All the dishes were cold ones, for the night was only starting and it would continue for a long time. Arriving in front of a table, Rohan picked up what he could find to stuff it inside his mouth.


    At least, Delia was right. What he was eating everyday was far from being this good. At the end he was still the son of a count, and he had the habit of eating the better food that his servants prepared just for him.


    But since he had arrived in this city of Blanche, all he could eat were normal dishes that he and his master Horim could prepare. Although his master was definitely a better cook than this noble''s son as he had lived by himself for a long time, it was still far from being incredible delicacies.


    As he was putting a cream puff inside his mouth with a blissful expression, he heard someone calling him.


    He turned around, only to see a young miss, probably a bit older than him. He quickly gulped down what he had on his mouth, and with a slightly annoyed expression which would be hard to notice, he asked her what she wanted.


    "Hmm." The girl was tense, and with a nervosity showing itself, she began to talk to the warrior in front of her. "I have never seen you before, I am the daughter of baron Karpa, would you mind talking with me for a few moments?"


    That was at this moment that Rohan saw the group of young women standing in the back, glancing in their direction while hiding their muffled laugh and obviously judging him.


    He knew what this situation was. He had never lived this himself, as his statue was always too high for these playthings.


    Even in this large hall, as the son of a count who was also an Intermediate warrior, while he was himself a warrior, his status was only below the one of the count. This one had not even appeared at this moment.


    In any case, now that he was in this situation, he didn''t feel good at all.


    It was an occurrence that could be qualified to be normal, as it happens all the time in these kinds of parties.


    A group of nobles, or more potentially children of them, had the habit to target a newcomer, to send the one with the lowest status among them, and judge the reaction of the target.


    Of course, this one was aimed at only if his status was supposed to be a lowly one.


    And as no one had ever heard of Rohan in this city, everyone probably thought that he was just a commoner who was lucky enough to be powerful.


    It was also another thing of the nobles. A nobleman becoming a warrior, even with the help of potions, was respected for it, while a commoner becoming a warrior was only so because of luck or other random things he would have found.


    Those thoughts rushed inside the mind of Rohan as he was looking at this pitiful girl. She was only used by these fuckers, but even if she knew it herself, she didn''t have the choice but to play with it.


    At least, she was in their group.


    Now, Rohan didn''t know what to do. If he could, he would just walk toward this group and spit on them, but it wasn''t really a good idea.


    Maybe he should throw his glove on their faces and see what happened? No, he wasn''t supposed to be a noble so it will only be seen as a lack of respect from him toward the whole nobility.


    "I don''t mind talking with you, but I don''t really have anything to say, miss Karpa." For now, he could only play along, but if it would go too far, he wouldn''t hesitate to show them why all the people of his age avoided him back in his hometown.


    "Then¡­maybe you could say to me who you are." She smiled weakly, aware of the hyenas watching from behind.


    Rohan resisted the urge to sigh. It wasn''t even a minute but he already wanted to turn around to go back to his important business. The cream puffs were waiting. ''One day, I will have the ability to teleport''.


    "I am just a wandering warrior, traveling around the kingdom and seeing different places." The only time he had traveled around was for the war, and the only cities he had personally seen were this one, his house, and the cities he had attacked.


    He wasn''t really lying though.


    "So you are a traveling warrior!" Rohan didn''t like the tone she had used. "You don''t really have a family then? It is for the best! After all, if you had the chance to become a warrior, these comoners would just use you at the end! What is it like to travel around, with nothing on you?"


    The emphasis she had put on the word nothing made Rohan want to rip off her head with a Strengthened Blow.


    The pitiful image of the woman standing in front of him disparead in an instant, and the need to slap her appeared in a second. How could he have expected anything else?


    These nobles were all the same at the end. She had lived all her life in her mansion, treated like a princess.


    Maybe she was even so bored in her house that she hit her servants, or alway go outside to throw away the money earned by her family on pieces of junk.


    Of course she probably had her own problem, but she was just a spoiled rotten girl, almost the same kind as all the others Rohan had seen.


    But she didn''t know what was hell. She didn''t know what it was to lose everything, to see a ground of flame devouring flesh and armors, to hear his father launch an absurd charge just for him to have more time to flee.


    She didn''t know what it was to see his personal guard betraying him and throwing him off a cliff, only to sacrifice his life to save his poor ass. She didn''t know what hell was like, but Rohan knew.


    And it only made his rage, the rage and the weakness he had felt since this fateful day, boiled in his whole being.


    The girl felt that something was amiss and took a step back.


    She didn''t know what was wrong. After all, the young man in front of her wasn''t angry or anything. In fact, his face was so calm that she was sure to have never seen such a placid and composed expression.


    But she couldn''t help it. Her breath began to accelerate, and she could feel her heart throbbing like a drum in her chest.


    A gray veil seemed to envelop the whole vision of Rohan.


    He had seen warriors fighting like savage beasts, filling whole areas of blood, guts, limbs in the most terrible smell he had ever experienced. He had fought for his own life, slashing the flesh and bathing himself in the blood of his enemies.


    But the rage he was currently feeling, for only a few words, was breaking him apart.


    The time seemed to slow down a bit.


    It wasn''t the first time he had felt this situation, and it occurred a few times during his battle. Actually, he could even say that this effect had saved his life a few times.


    But at that moment, he didn''t care at all. His eyes were locked onto that girl. Small red dots appeared all around him, floating here and there as if they were always in this place from the beginning. But he didn''t care. His blood was heating inside his body, making him feel his internal injuries that haven''t fully healed yet. But still, he didn''t care.


    "Tell me you rotten wench." A deep and powerful voice left his throat, making the girl widening her eyes from shock. "If you are this proud to be the daughter of a poor baron who probably spent his night rapping his maids, then why are you even playing the dog for the bitchs behind you?"


    The noise around him stopped suddenly. All the nobles who had heard what Rohan had said turned their stupefied faces toward him.


    Delia, who was talking with another person, opened his mouth as he was looking at his young friend. What balls he had!


    Elia, still trying to understand if she had really mistaken this Rohan for the son of the count Sharkan, turned her body toward the burst of voice. her glass nearly fell on the floor, only caught in extremis by Matthew, who looked at the scene with a serious expression.


    All the nobles and the warriors who had been invited to this night weren''t to be trifled, and they were currently all looking at the same zone.


    The warriors knew who this young man was, albeit it was only his face, but for all the others, it was a nobody who had insulted the daughter of a baron.


    It was such an impossible situation in their head that they all took a time grasping what they had heard, before mocking smiles appeared and stretched on all these faces.


    The girl in front of Rohan was just rendered speechless, before her face twisted from the anger she felt. This lowly warrior dared to say what? It didn''t take long before the group of women behind her snapped out of their daze.


    "You lowly peasant¡­" one of them, obviously the one with the most prestige, began to walk toward the warrior with a purple ribbon. "How dare you talk to us in that way! Down on your knee, you¡­"


    Rohan turned his expressionless face toward this one. He was feeling strange, as if he was in trance.


    He had the impression that all the room was painted in red, the same color as the blood he had seen countless times. A part of his mind screamed inside his head that this wasn''t a good situation, but another one, more bestial, wanting nothing but blood, urged him to punch these ants.


    All the nobles who had crossed his eyes were left speechless for a small lapse of time. That wasn''t the eyes of a commoner who will bow his head to everyone. No. It was the eyes of an emperor, the eyes of a warrior, who will make them bow before him.


    All had only a question on their minds at this time, who was this man?


    A warrior advanced to put himself in front of the two women standing before the man, looking down on him.


    "What do you think you are doing, boy? You think you''re so cool to bully some women when you are a rank 3 Beginner Warrior eh? didn''t your mother teach you how to act? She was probably only a commoner but still." A naughty smile followed his sentences, as if he found himself to be the most funny man in the world.


    In less than a second, Rohan appeared in front of the man. The warriors watching the scene all widened their eyes, and even the captain of the guard standing among the more prestigious guests couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.


    That speed, that precision, that control, wasn''t the ones of a rank 3 warrior.


    Following this Charge that was used by the young warrior, his right arm stretched slowly toward the one who was now only a few centimeters from him. It was slow. But also unavoidable.


    The man could sense it, something crushing him, as if he was standing in front of a powerful beast. The world seemed to unite with this simple move, making it the most profound gesture the man had seen in his life.


    The rank 5 beginner Warrior watching a bit away let out a shout of surprise. He didn''t know what it was, but for an unknown reason, this simple looking arm was scaring him, and even his instincts were telling him to not approach this Rohan.


    Then, Rohan''s hand landed on the shoulder of the man.

 Chapter 45 - Losing My Mind, Eh?

    The warrior who had wanted to show off in front of this peasant felt as if the world was falling against his body, crushing him as he stood there, rooted in his position.


    The simple yet powerful looking hand fell on his shoulder and a terrible explosion echoed on his mind. His whole body felt as if he was breaking apart, as if countless cracks appeared on every bones, refusing to support him anymore.


    But what was worse was his mana core. He felt the mana that was inside beginning to boil, as waves surged and crashed against his meridians. He tried to take control of it, but he couldn''t. He had no control over his mana anymore.


    His legs wanted to give up under him, but he couldn''t move, he couldn''t fall. All he could do was look into the deep eyes of this demon. And what he saw made him shudder in fear.


    In his black comon eyes, that could be seen in a lot of people, a faint red gleam could be seen, trying to come out from the deepest part of the beast that was simply touching him.


    Suddenly, a voice echoed from the back, startling everyone. It was the main butler, announcing the appearance of the count.


    The loud voice entered the ears of Rohan, but he couldn''t care less about it. All he wanted was to let go of the chains he was feeling, of the rage that was boiling inside his body. All he wanted was to crush this person in front of him.


    But a voice appeared next to him.


    "Stop that Rohan." It was a serious voice, one that he already had heard a lot of time, but not with that tone. "I can still protect you right now but if you continue with the presence of the count you will be screwed, even if you will be able to kill everyone here."


    Rohan turned his face toward the ridiculous words, and saw the seriousness on the face of Delia.


    Rohan didn''t ever remember having seen such an expression on the face of this young man, even when he had been attacked by the bandit in the middle of the forest. The red world began to crumble and faded away, while the cacophony filled back his ears.


    He looked at the man trembling in fear in front of him, as tears were rolling down on his cheeks. He lowered his gaze to his hand, which was currently resting on the shoulder of the man, and lowered it again to see the emblem on his chest.


    He was a rank 3 Beginner Warrior.


    Before he could do anything, the warrior plopped on the ground like an old rag, with all the noble around watching with a dumbfounded look. If it wasn''t for the count appearing and the son of the viscount who was taking care of this man, they would have already pounced on this insulting young man. Of course, they would have let the other warriors do it for them.


    The girl leading the group of rotten wench advanced a step to make this nobody kowtow to her, but as her feet touched the ground, she lowered her gaze.


    There, a yellow liquid was spreading from the warrior who was still looking with tearful eyes at this demon. What he had just seen would without a doubt mark his spirit until the end of his life.


    In fact, he could feel that all his meridians were filled with cracks, and even some scratch had appeared on his mana core. Whoever was this monster in front of him, he didn''t want to do no anything with it anymore.


    Before the girl could do anything, all the noblemen turned their heads toward the staircase at the back of the hall.


    The count was walking down the large stairs, at the view of everyone. He was old, so old in fact, that a guard at his side was holding his hand to help him move one step after another. He didn''t even have a single hair on his face, and he was obviously not far from dying at any time.


    But before Rohan could see more, Delia warned him.


    "What are you still doing here? Do you really want them all to rip you into pieces in front of the count? I think you know plenty well that these people can be cunning sometimes!"


    Delia was well aware of the standard of the man in front of him. He was still curious about who he was exactly, but he wouldn''t ask any question.


    Right now, he just needed him to get out of here. He would be able to make something about what had happened, but more and it would be really impossible even for his father.


    Rohan snapped back to reality with these words, of course, Delia was right. He looked deeply at that man, with the terrible habit of talking too much. But, he could say that among all the noble or child of noblemen that he had encountered, this one was the only one he could consider a friend.


    Without wasting more time, he excused himself and left this wonderful party under the eyes and the internal curses of the other guests.


    He passed through the door while a tempest was still crushing his mind. His hands were shaking, and a strange anger was filling up his whole body.


    He continued, walking alone in the street of the city, thinking about what had happened this night.


    His direction was of course the shop of his master, probably still forging something at this moment. At least, this useless night had taught him something. About his dreams.


    "I''m without a doubt losing my mind eh?" His soothing voice echoed on the alley he was walking, lighted by the moon watching the scene with a big mocking smile.


    A few weeks later, Rohan was sitting in the middle of his room, with two potions and a bag at his side. On his hand, was a black rectangular stone, and a frown deepened in his face.


    It was the Essence Stone, and this morning, since he felt that something was wrong with the fourth meridian he was working on, he had taken it to verify it. But what he saw was much more shocking than what he had thought.


    Race: human


    Age: 15 years old


    Constitution: 4.96


    Mana: 34.52 / 38.98


    Spirit: 11


    It was only a couple of months ago that he had been promoted to a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, and now that he was only 15 and a half, he was already ready to be promoted as a rank 4 Beginner Warrior.


    But even if he wasn''t shocked about the speed at which he was ranking up anymore, his constitution could easily stunned him speechless.


    Such a value was simply unheard of for the warriors of his rank, and his body was still maturing. He was still a teen at the end of the day, not even an adult!


    Rohan looked with confusion at the red data on the black stone. If there really was something wrong with the method he used to open his meridians, then the fifth meridian was making him a bit afraid.


    If he somehow managed to modify the method to improve the speed at which a warrior ranked up, even though the method of his family was perfected through countless years, then he would without a doubt have difficulties to follow the path.


    But he was sure to have perfectly understood these damn books! He had read it again and again since he was in age to read. He knew so much about the two books that his father had given him that he could easily write them from his memories. One for the beginner ranks, and the other for the Intermediate ones.


    He put the stone away, a feeling a deja vu appeared on his mind as he remembered it was the same thing when he had become a rank 3 Beginner Warrior. In any way, he couldn''t find an answer, and he wouldn''t stop meditating.


    Maybe he had indeed made an error somewhere, but he would still advance forward, and take on all the challenges presenting in front of him.


    In the end, today would be the day when he would use for the first time the weak mana compression potion. He was sure that it would be enough to make him rank up, and if it wasn''t the case, he still had enough weak mana potions in his bag to make up for it.


    He popped out the cap of the vial containing the faint golden liquid. It was only a weak potion, but it''s effect for the Beginner Warriors was said to be a divin one. He didn''t doubt this saying, and in the span of a single breath, he gulped down the whole potion.


    He closed his eyes and focused on the mana resting on the mana core. There was so much more mana that when he was only rank 1 that the compression was now much more tangible than before. And suddenly, the mighty potion came into effect.


    A mighty strength made shook the mist of the mana, and as Rohan was gathering it, the mana was attracted in the center of the core and compacted itself. It was much faster than his session the day before, but it wasn''t only the speed that was superior.


    The shape of the compacted mana was a perfect oval form. Compared to before when it was only a weak mist taking the shape Rohan wanted, this time it was almost as if it was a solid item.


    Without waiting more, he sent it all toward the path he had created going through his left arm. The path was smooth without any problem, and as he guided the mana when the meridian stopped, the powerful mana dug its path at a speed higher than ever.


    The pain he was feeling and the damage that was done to his body wasn''t enough to make him stop, and gnashing his teeth, he continued to control his mana to form his meridian.


    He was now more experienced than before, and he finished the seance in no time, attaching the base of the meridian at the level of the palm of the hand. In a single session, he had formed a tenth of his fourth meridian. That was such a miraculous potion!


    Following this, a torrent of mana engulfed inside his arm, running in the direction of the core, and reinforcing the meridian, strengthening it. After the river of mana had entered his mana core, it headed toward the other meridian and spreaded inside his body, forging him and making Rohan much more stronger.


    The sensation he felt was one of an extreme ecstasy. His whole body was reinforced by the mana like never before, making it tougher, more malleable. He could feel his energy boiled inside his body, filling him with a divine sensation. He thought he was ready to destroy the mountain and run toward the end of the world.


    Rohan opened his eyes. He expired a large mouthful of air. He had never felt that way before, and for a second time, he couldn''t help but think that all warriors were indeed masochists. The wave of mana had indeed strengthened his body, but the pain was still difficult to bear.


    He directly took out the weak recovery potion that he had prepared along, and drank it with a blissful expression. His body will need time to recover completely, but still, it has helped him shorten the time he needed by at least one month. He took out a new time the Essence Stone to look at his new strength.


    Race: human


    Age: 15 years old


    Constitution: 5.54


    Mana: 0 / 40


    Spirit: 11


    "Shit."

 Chapter 46 - Alike

    Horim was waking up from this night passed at forging again and again. The loud creak of the door of the forge opened on a young man with a plate on his hands.


    It was his disciple, not really a true one and was only so by name, but still, the blacksmith considered this young warrior to be his disciple.


    He knew that one day this one would leave, but he didn''t care at all, on the contrary he was glad to have met and helped someone who had the same goal as him: vengeance.


    It was easy to see that in the eyes of the warrior with his black hair and deep eyes. He always wore a calm face, but it was still easy to read what he was thinking.


    As Horim stood up from the ground, which had replaced his bed for a few years, he suddenly felt that something was amiss.


    He looked deeply as Rohan put down the plate of the table before heading toward the anvil. Like each morning, he would begin to forge a dagger, and there was now a mountain of these pieces of junk taking up a small part of the room.


    Horim stood there, rooted on the ground as he saw this young man who was only fifteen or so years old. He couldn''t believe what he was sensing. This young boy was already a rank 4 Beginner Warrior! How was this even possible?


    The image of his own son entered his mind. This year, he should also be 15 years old. At least, that would be the case if he was still alive.


    He watched Rohan lively heating up the fire as he prepared to throw a piece of metal inside the furnace. He could understand this young man, and this maybe even better than himself. He remembered the day he had asked him why he had killed, after he had seen that was supposed to be impossible.


    The answer the young boy had then given to him was completely enough to him. This young man hadn''t killed by choice, and what he had lived wasn''t supposed to be lived. It wasn''t even a question of being a noble or not, he could see that deep inside the being of Rohan, this one was hiding a rage that was slowly consuming him.


    The night he had seen this boy come back from the cleanup of the bandits, bleeding from everywhere, he wasn''t preoccupied at al. Actually, he was even relieved. Relieved that at least, he had fought for his life, as that would maybe open his own eyes.


    All mana users in the world tend to use all their power when they fight, and what resulted from that was actually simple. Hell. A bloodbath. In the end, the more they fought, the more they became a bit crazy, but it was a normal occurrence, and it was to be expected.


    But Rohan was still too young, he was still trying to have his fight cleaner, and didn''t want to kill someone. But it was nothing more than naivety.


    If he continues in this path, then one day he will meet a stronger opponent who will really want to kill, and this day, if he wasn''t ready to end a life, then he would die for nothing but his own inhabilities.


    That was why Horim was relieved to see him this way, but not when he had seen him come back from the party or whatever it was. There was another light in the eyes of this young man that night. It was always here since the beginning, but for an unknown reason, it had bursted that day.


    Horim didn''t really know about the story of his disciple, he didn''t know about his past, but he didn''t want to. He could feel it, he could sense it. It was the same kind of emotion he was feeling himself. It was the injustice felt, a need for revenge, a need to simply destroy an institution.


    It was the truth of this world, and that was that whoever a person was, a noble, a commoner, a powerful man, a weak man, at the end, there was always someone who could destroy his whole life. That was what had happened to Rohan, and that was what had happened to him.


    He was born in the Empire of The Saint Goddess. For him, this name was just a joke. He was a commoner, and a poor one at that. His family had disappeared in only a few years, destroyed by a single disease, killing half of the village.


    That was from there that he had learned how harsh the world truly was. He had lived in the street, among a lot of other children, and in the end, in the only goal to survive, they had become thieves. Working for bandits who were lurking inside a city, they robbed each day, only to give almost everything to these men. But at least, he could eat a bit everyday.


    That was until a day, when a handful of people had appeared in the city.


    All wearing the same white armor, giving off an aura of holiness. Their goal was simple, and that was to destroy this group of thugs who were terrorizing the whole region. That was at that time that Horim had also understood another truth. Humans, weren''t limited to their human capacities.


    With a terrifying might, these couple of armored people had sweap all the bandits, they had murdered them all, without letting only one of them flee. But Horim didn''t care, and with an incredible luck that would change all his life, one of these legendary paladins had decided to take him with them.


    What followed was a much better life, he worked hard and harder than everyone, all for the sake of power. Then, without even seeing all the time that had flowed, he was already an Intermediate Paladin and a well known blacksmith. By his side, he had a beautiful wife that he loved dearly, and he even had a son.


    All his terrible past and the tough life he had lived had disappeared, and he was at time the more happy man of the world. Each morning he woke up with a big smile on his mouth, looking at his wife still sleeping.


    But that time was now lost, and he would probably never wake up with a smile on his face.


    One day, he had received a mission to hunt some beasts lurking in the outskirts of an important city, an easy mission for him and it was done in only a few days. But it was when he had reached back home that he had encountered hell.


    The door opened, slightly ajar. The horrible smell, floating in the air. The wooden furniture, all broken over the house. And her.


    She was lying on their bed, naked, with her opened eyes looking in this direction. Her crimson hair was stretching under her head, trying to flee this carnage. She was lying on her own blood, forming a coagulating pond in the whole room.


    Her lifeless face was still showing the small hope she had to see her husband debark here to save her. But sadly, help had come too late.


    Horim had fallen on his knees at this sight, as tears rolled down and fell on the bloody floor. He felt as if countless daggers were plunging inside his chest, inside his heart. All the happiness he had felt coming back home was destroying him, and a darkness without a name had enveloped his whole body.


    But it was at that moment that he was reminded of something. He had only eyes for his deceased wife, and he had forgotten the most important information.


    In the whole house, there wasn''t a single trace of his son.


    Horim shook his head, chasing away all these memories. In front of him, Rohan was finishing to prepare his dagger, and he was even doing himself the handle of the weapon.


    But the master blacksmith didn''t care about that. He thought back to the day when he had encountered Rohan, when he had seen something that was supposed to be an impossible feat. He thought back at the mountain overlooking the whole south in the Barren Lands. And he looked at this young man in front of him, with a face as calm as ever.


    A surnatereal calm as Horim had never seen before.


    But in this calmness, there was still a raging tempest bursting. A sea of emotions that could be seen deep in his eyes.


    He recognized them easily, because they were the same ones he had on his own eyes. A sadness directed towards his family, an anger towards himself, a hatred towards the whole world, and above all, a crave for power.


    He was only a young boy of fifteen years old, and here he was, immersed in the fact that they were so alike.


    Rohan wanted power. Then he will give this boy a way to have more power.


    Maybe it was ridiculous. Maybe it was a story, and maybe he will find absolutely nothing at the end. But in any case, the only person that could try to go to this place was this young boy, always with his purple ribbon tying up his hair.


    That was why as Rohan was throwing nonchalantly the dagger on the ground, he interpelled him.


    "Rohan." This one turned around to look at his master, today, he had acted strangely. "Follow me."


    He headed toward the stairs and went without waiting for the young warrior to follow him.. Today, he would speak about the Barren Lands, and the fact that Rohan was probably the only one of the world to be able to enter the Kolmos Mountain.

 Chapter 47 - Kolmos Mountain

    "What do you know about the Barren Lands, Rohan?"


    A question out of the blue for Rohan, as he was following his master inside the dark stairs going up. He had learned a few things about these lands, after all it wasn''t that far away from where he was right now.


    "I know there isn''t any country on this part of the continent, and only nomad clans can be encountered. I also know that there isn''t much diversified fauna and flora, and the lands are so famished that a forest near a desert is a normal sight."


    The door of the shop opened in front of him, letting out the light of the day showing the powerful shadow of his master in front of him. A second later, Horim was already inside the second staircase, followed by Rohan.


    "Well that is true, but what do you know about the most gigantesque mountain of the Barren Lands?" For this question however, Rohan didn''t really know. He might have read about a legend when he was little, but he had forgotten about the details of this one.


    "Not much, only that it is in the middle of the Barren Lands and that it is the only mountain out there."


    They appeared on the first floor of the building, which Horim didn''t go often, only briefly each day to make some food. He entered on his left, where his bedroom was. He didn''t talk back to Rohan, and instead headed toward a desk on the right of the room. Rohan followed suit, and waited at the doorstep.


    What did his master suddenly want to tell him? He saw him taking out what seemed to be a map from inside the desk, and the man unfolded it on the table that was in the middle of the room.


    "Come closer, are you afraid that this paper will eat you up?" He waited until his disciple came near the map and began to teach him what he knew about this legendary mountain.


    "I only know a bit about that, and it might even be wrong, so listen carefully and don''t take anything for the only truth." The warning made Rohan roll his eyes, such a great start to teach him something. Horim continued as if he didn''t have seen anything.


    "Firstly, what you have said is right. There isn''t any country out there, and only clans could be seen, moving all around the area. What I am sure about, is that the smaller clans are near the frontier, while the bigger and well known ones are at the foot of the mountain, Kolmos. I don''t know the reason, but it must be a cultural or belief thing. It isn''t important so you can ignore it."


    Then was saying it in the first place? Rohan was feeling the same as when Delia was talking to him, but he did his best to keep listening. This man wouldn''t have taken the time to come here if it wasn''t important. Or maybe?


    "But the most important point I will talk about is the mountain, and you." He felt the changement in his disciple''s eyes, and resisted the urge to punch him. "There is an old legend about the mountain of Kolmos, and this one was said to be the reason for the lack of mana in the south of the continent."


    The story that Rohan had read a long time ago appeared a new time in his mind. There was indeed such a story, and it was said that there was a cave in the center of this big mountain.


    What was said about this abode, was that inside, was a mighty item, or maybe even a legendary beast that was slumbering for millennia, or maybe it was the place where the heart of the mountain was.


    Maybe it was a mighty tree growing inside this mountain, or maybe it was the place where a god was living. Or maybe it was the place where the means to go into another world could be found.


    A lot of myths had traveled around the world, modified by the different cultures and species. But all these myths agreed on one thing, and that was that inside this mountain, was something incredible that was unique.


    But even after all this time, after the powerhouse of all different species had tried to go there, it was dimmed to be an impossible task. The reason for that was because the only way they had discovered to enter this cave, was to be able to manipulate the mana that wasn''t theirs.


    Rohan could vaguely recall another legend about a species that would have been able to control all the mana, even the one that should belong to someone else, but all of that was of course only a legend, why did his master want to talk about that?


    As Horim stopped talking, he saw the incomprehension that Rohan was feeling, and without wasting more time, he explained to him the situation he was in.


    "Secondly Rohan, and what I will say right now needs to be remembered until the day you die." His throaty voice was unusually serious, as if he was prepared to give the most important secret of the world. "Rohan, you are able to control the ambient mana."


    "I''m what?" Rohan blurted out without even thinking. Was his master mad? Did he catch a heat stroke after all this time hammering near the furnace? Maybe he had passed too much time without seeing the sun, after all it was said that the sun was needed to live.


    "Stop looking at me with this stupid face you mudhead! Do you think I''m joking right now? Do you think I''m playing around? Don''t you ever feel that something is not right with you?"


    Each question hammered on the head of Rohan, who looked deep in reflection.


    That was without a doubt true, his ranking up and his constitution was definitely on another level compared to other warriors of the same rank as him. But what the deal with manipulating the outside mana or whatever? He didn''t ever remember doing such a thing.


    ''Hold on.'' Rohan widened his eyes. When he was in the middle of an intense fight, he sensed sometime that his vision became clearer, and that the time seemed to slow down.


    He felt at more than one time a gray veil coming into his vision, enveloping the whole world. And of course, he remembered about the night in the count''s mansion. This gray veiled had appeared once more, but more importantly, there were these strange red dots.


    He had thought that he was just losing his mind, that maybe he had seen too much blood for a whole life.


    He had thought it was simply an illusion, a trick played by his mind. But that didn''t make any sense, as in front of him during this moment was a scared warrior, who was also a rank 3. There wasn''t a sense for him to be fearful at this point, unless of course, there was a specific reason.


    What if, just what if, he was indeed capable of having a partial control over the mana hovering around him, everywhere?


    Horim, seeing the young man in deep thought, brought him back to what he had to tell.


    "That is why I am talking to you about this mountain, Rohan. Maybe this is bullshit. Maybe there isn''t anything in the middle of Kolmos. Maybe even I was wrong and you can''t control the mana, but in any case, if you want to try your luck, then I''m telling you that you should go to this place without hesitation."


    Roahn thought about what his master was telling him. He was right, maybe they were exciting themselves for no reason. Maybe they were both losing their mind? After all his master was far from being completely sane, as he was a shut-in forging almost day and night.


    But he was also right. Even if they were mad to just think about it, just what if? If he could do something in that place wouldn''t that be fantastic?


    Even without talking about becoming more powerful or what not, it would just be like an adventure in the book that he had read since he was little. An excitement spread in his whole being. It was the same one he had felt when he had plundered the whole wizard''s place. A thirst for adventure, a thirst for treasures, a thirst to encounter new things!


    At this moment, he agreed in his heart, and nodded his head at Horim, like a puppy who couldn''t hide his excitement.


    "Once I become a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, I will definitely go to this place. It''s not like I''ll need to pay attention in these Barren Lands, but I''ll still be better prepared at any events." Hearing these words, Horim could only agree with him.


    What Rohan didn''t had tell to his master, was that before going to this place, he also had another problem that he wanted to resolve.


    And that necessitated him to advance the opening of his fifth meridian.

 Chapter 48 - No Mana Stone?

    The floor was filled with a lot of paper with drawings on them. There were a lot of these drawings, but all of them possessed the same characteristic: they were all describing the head in various angles with a line traversing and heading toward the top of the skull.


    All these sketches were the ones that Rohan had drawn. This one, standing in the middle of them while stroking his chin, thought about what he should do.


    He had reproduced all his knowledge about the path he needed to take to fully open the fifth meridian, as well as the method used later for the Intermediate ranks: the creation of the vortex.


    What he was trying to do was to decide which way he should take. Since a few days already, he had begun to form his fifth meridian, but one day he would have to decide to go directly toward the place to connect it and open the meridian or make a detour to see if he had a mana stone or not.


    He had thought about it and remembered all the data that he could, and in the end, he thought that it was feasible.


    If there wasn''t a mana stone, then actually everything should be good. He would be able to continue toward the marked place. The only drawback that it should have, was that his meridian wouldn''t be centered and thus the effect of the skill Overload wouldn''t be as good as the other warriors.


    But he would be able to manage it, in one way or another.


    The problem was in fact if there was indeed a mana stone. If there truly was one, then he would have to bypass it in a way to continue toward the place where he would connect the meridian. But he didn''t know how to do it.


    Of course, he could simply, once he had reached the stone, continue along the side of the mana stone and just go toward his targeted place.


    But he didn''t know what effect the contact between the mana stone and the meridian would have. Maybe there wasn''t any problem, but since he had nobody to ask, and no way to know, he preferred to think about all situations. But even if he thought about it, he just couldn''t find an answer.


    The skill of a Beginner Warrior was an explosion of mana inside the meridian. The mana filled the whole link before sipping through it to enter the body and reinforced it for a small time.


    But what if the mana stone was in contact with the meridian? Wouldn''t the mana touch it and maybe enter inside the stone? But the mana of a warrior and the mana of a mage were fundamentally different.


    He sighed. There wasn''t any help in the wizard''s book he had, and neither was there in the warrior''s book he had learned before. Of course, no one could help, and his master was a Paladin, he didn''t know anything about warriors, much less about wizards.


    The only thing he could think was that he would somehow do something about it the d-day.


    He left the room without tidying up anything and went down the stairs, no need to think too much about it.


    The days passed and then the weeks before whole months disappeared in the fast flow of the time.


    In contrast to what Rohan was expecting, no one had searched for any trouble for him, even after the party when he had insulted a whole group of pampered rotten princesses. Of course, he knew that it was because of Delia who had helped him a lot to salvage the feelings of the nobles.


    Without him and the fact that Rohan had still helped during the operation to kill all the bandits, he would probably be already chased off the city, or even worse.


    What Rohan didn''t know though, was that even Delia wasn''t enough to calm down everyone and that Elia had also helped behind the scenes. All in all, his life was pretty peaceful. Peaceful, but still somewhat harsh.


    All his days were packed and he didn''t rest, not even once. He forged each day, and now he was even capable of making a dagger that wouldn''t make Horim frown of disgust.


    He still trained every day with a sword and could feel that he had learned a lot. He was much stronger and faster than before, and the control he had over his body was simply not comparable with the days when he was only a rank 1 Beginner Warrior.


    He was even sure that he could have beat Makin in only a few moves now, of course, he judged that the captain of his guards still had better swordsmanship than him, but he still would have been able to crush him. Of course, it was as if he was still alive.


    His other activities were also a few hours each day when he would learn all the strokes of the rune to become a rank 1 Beginner Wizard. It would of course be useless if he didn''t have a mana stone, but honestly, with a spirit of 11, he had difficulties thinking he couldn''t have one.


    And of course, the other time was taken by his two sessions of meditation, the morning and the night. He had already used the weak mana compression potion that the daughter of the viscount Macker had given to him. After all, it would be too dangerous to use it in the end since there was the risk of damaging a mana stone.


    And like that, more than a year had passed. Rohan was looking much more like an adult, and his face was looking the same as his father''s. He didn''t have anything from his mother, not that it pained him. In any way, today would be the day when he would have the answer.


    The creation of the fifth meridian was one of the tougher ones, and even him, who had taken only two years or so to become a rank 4 Beginner Warrior, had taken that much time to reach the area where the potential mana stone should be. From his calculation, it should be during this session that he would be able to have the answer.


    He closed his eyes and controlled the mana like he always did. He was now much more experienced, and even an Advance Warrior would be shocked to see with how much ease this young man could manipulate his mana. He sent it toward his meridian, and with stress going stronger inside his heart, he awaited the result.


    The mana reached the end, and like that, began to dig inside the body of Rohan. He was going slowly, with the most perfect control he could do. That was because he was now manipulating the mana inside his head, and even more, in a direction that wasn''t in the books he had learned. So now, he was extra careful.


    The mana dug and dug, and each time it advanced, it decreased to construct the path and reinforced it, creating bit by bit the meridian.


    The more time passed, the more Rohan felt stressed. His hands were even shaking on his legs. But there was nothing. He couldn''t find anything, not even the shadow of the stone, and soon, he felt short of mana. The session was over.


    In the end, he didn''t have a mana stone. No! That couldn''t be right! How could he have such a mighty spirit if there wasn''t any stone? Was he wrong about the place the stone should be found?


    He gritted his teeth and took out the bag from his side. Without caring about anything, he took out 4 weak mana potions and gulped them down in an instant. He didn''t care, he would even search through all his brain if he had to!


    The mana inside his mana core came back and in no time, he was ready again for another session. He sent all of his transparent mist compacted inside the meridian and with his heart throbbing at a crazy speed in his chest, he carefully continued to open his meridian.


    Even if he was stressed, he couldn''t make the mistake of losing control here. He was already taking a risk by changing the path of his meridian, if he wasn''t even careful when doing so, then he would have merited to destroy his brain in a second.


    The new mana replaced the ancient one and took back the task. It slowly crawled forward, making Rohan feel the same pain as ever. Since he had begun the last meridian, he had felt pain like never before.


    But compared to the day when he had used mana combustion and had been obliged to crack his meridian, it was truly nothing.


    Suddenly, he widened his eyes. Before his eyes, or more exactly before his mana, inside of his head, he saw it. A blue-purple wall. Something that should never be found inside the brain of anyone. But it was there, he was right!


    He didn''t even finish the session of mediation and called back the mana that wasn''t used and took it back inside his mana core. He opened his eyes. A big smile bloomed on his face, he couldn''t help it as it was probably the best day of his whole life. The value of his spirit wasn''t for nothing!


    He was able to become a legendary wizard. He possessed a mana stone!

 Chapter 49 - Forging A Longer Piece Of Scrap Metal

    Rohan was standing in front of the anvil. In his hands, there was a large and heavy hammer, and tongs that were holding a piece of hot metal in front of him.


    Today was important, and that was the case for two reasons. The first one was what he was trying to do, while the second one will be for tonight.


    What he was trying to do wasn''t a dagger as he had the habit to do every morning for a few months, no, he had passed to the next level. He hammered, again and again, hitting here and there when he judged it was necessary.


    On the side, Horim was watching with great concentration. Sometimes he would groan of satisfaction or displeasure, but he remained silent and didn''t say anything.


    Rohan wasn''t the same rookie as before, and even though he was far from being a master blacksmith, he still knew what he was doing.


    He hammered, flattening the piece of hot iron before he folded it on itself. He was now capable of doing two to three folding in one go, without putting back the iron inside the furnace.


    Compared to before when he could only barely do one before heating it again, it was a great improvement. But even so, Rohan still wasn''t capable enough to reach the 20th folding and was forced to stop at the 16th one. Horim, watching from the side, couldn''t help but shake his head, it was good, but far from great.


    After reaching the 16th folding, Rohan didn''t put the iron back inside the furnace and instead put it near it to keep the heat as long as possible. Now, it was a run against time.


    He took out another piece of iron he had put inside the furnace some minutes ago and began to work on it. But the form of the two pieces he had worked on wasn''t like he had the habit to do. The first one was in the same shape as a dagger, but larger with a pointed edge taking almost half of the piece. The second one was only a rectangular form, the same size as the first one.


    The same way as he had done, he folded the orange-yellow iron on itself again, only to reach the 15th one. The quality was worse than the first one, but he couldn''t do anything about that apart from frowning.


    He put this one near the tip and took out the third piece of heated iron to make the same job. And a fourth one. This one, which was the last, also comported a thinner part taking half of the piece: the tang.


    He had worked on these pieces the fastest he could, but he wasn''t happy at all and knew that he had taken too much time. He could even see his master on the side refraining himself from exploding and yelling at him.


    But anyway, he could only continue his job. He took out the two first pieces and put them inside the furnace to heat them. Then, after a few minutes, he took them back.


    Horim wanted to yell at this mudhead right now. Couldn''t he do so a few minutes ago to not lose so much time? But he shook his head, this day, he would not say anything.


    Rohan took out the two pieces as well as another thin one he had put with them and began the tougher job he had to do. He connected these two metal parts. He stuck them together, before putting the other metal on it to weld the two pieces.


    The operation was a delicate one, but he still needed to hit with a precise and great strength for the two sections to be welded into one.


    What made this step the hardest was that if he hit with too much strength, then it would fragilize the iron in the long term, and it would risk breaking at the slight shock. But if he didn''t put enough strength into each of his blows, then the two pieces wouldn''t be connected correctly and of course, risked breaking at any moment.


    But even once the two iron pieces were connected, it was only the beginning, and from now on, it would be more complicated. He put the third piece in the furnace as well as the longer one he had just done. For this one, he only put the edge where he would connect the two parts. Too much heating on the area he had already finished would further fragilize the iron he was forging.


    Like that, in less than an hour, he finally connected all the parts he had independently forged, and before him was a long orange piece of iron.


    The blade had now reached its last step. Rohan carefully observed each joint of this blade centimeters by centimeters. He was in a hurry, but he still would be careful in what he was doing. Being sure that everything was done correctly, the time to verify the result had now come.


    Without wasting more time, as Rohan felt his heartbeat harder and harder, he headed toward the large bucket of cold water near him. Now, was the moment of truth. He put the hot iron fully inside the clear and still water, creating a large smoke engulfing the whole place.


    The heat was extreme, and Rohan felt his whole body cooking inside his leather apron since he had started to forge this blade, but he was still able to bear with it, his constitution was still much more developed than a normal human.


    If he wasn''t a warrior, it would have been impossible for him to finish his job in only one day.


    He waited for a few more minutes, and as the fog was clearing out while the hissing and bubbling sound of the water had disappeared, the young blacksmith took out the future sword from the bucket.


    But at this moment, like a wolf pouncing on his prey, Horim couldn''t wait anymore and snatched the blade. He peeked at the iron while almost sticking his face against it, watching every mark on it.


    All pieces of work in the world were unique, and this uniqueness was coming from all these marks, each hit, that could be seen on the blade. Only the most experienced blacksmith could precisely read and understand them.


    It wasn''t a good blade. Some pieces were with sixteen foldings while others were with fifteen ones, creating a bad balance in the sword. Because of this non-homogenization of the whole sword, the connection between each part was undeniably flawed. Honestly, he would never sell something like this, but still, it wasn''t a bad iron.


    He gave it back to Rohan after nodding to him and letting him finish what he had begun. He still had to sharpen the edges of the blade and the handle to make it after all.


    A few hours later, a resplendent sword was in front of Rohan''s eyes. Even he could tell that this sword was mediocre, but he was feeling satisfaction that was second to none. He had forged his own sword!


    More than a meter long, a double-edged sword was resting on the table in front of him. The handle was made of brown leather and the handguard was another piece of metal crossing the blade. The pommel was also a simple one he had made himself.


    Actually, it was even the hardest piece of the sword, as he had the great idea to make a spherical form.


    Forging a piece of metal into a small ball was one of the hardest work a blacksmith could do. And since his master didn''t want to help in any way for this sword, Rohan had then forged his pommel. It wasn''t smooth at all, wasn''t even completely round, and in the end not even aesthetically good.


    But still, he was happy to have done his job.


    *sigh*


    Rohan turned his face toward his master, to see him with a complex expression. They both knew that the time for them to say goodbye was approaching at a great speed, and that this sword would probably be the last one Rohan would forge.


    "Let this sword you have done here, I''ll keep it for you."


    Rohan tilted his head to the side, why did his master want to keep it? And what would he do if he traveled without a sword? He had indeed experience at fighting with nothing more than a scabbard, but if he could restrain himself from doing so, that would without a doubt be great.


    Horim, seeing the expression on the face of his disciple, suddenly felt like punching him with all his strength. But since it would probably kill him on the spot, he controlled himself for not doing that.


    "Stop looking at me like that you mudhead! Have you forgotten who I am or what? Of course, I''ll make you a sword before you leave. Now get out of here, you have much more important things to do right now!"


    Rohan bowed his head to this man after thanking him. This scary and mad man was a good one, and he hoped that one day he would reach his goal. After all, Rohan wasn''t stupid.


    For a man like him to spend all day forging and forging, he was without a doubt trying to do something. What exactly, Rohan didn''t know, but he expected his master to achieve it.


    In any case, the time wasn''t to be lost in such trivial thought, and Rohan turned around to head toward the stairs. The second reason for which this day was an important one had come, and from today onward, he would be a powerful rank 5 Beginner Warrior.


    But that wasn''t all.. He would also become a rank 1 Beginner Wizard.

 Chapter 50 - Chapitre 50: Alive

    Race: human


    Age: 16 years old


    Constitution: 6.61


    Mana: 0 / 50


    Spirit: 11


    The data given by the Essence Stone didn''t make any sense, but Rohan felt numbed already about that, so he didn''t care anymore.


    He had already finished his session of meditation. It was the last one he would ever do with employing this technique. From today onward, he was now a powerful rank 5 Beginner Warrior.


    In more than three years of meditation, he had ranked up again and again, and from a normal boy of thirteen years old, he was now a young man of sixteen, almost seventeen in a few months.


    But this day, even though he had become one of the most powerful warriors in the city along with the captain of the guards, it only made him feel a bit of happiness.


    He was now a formidable rank 5 Beginner Warrior. He felt a strength he had never experienced running across his body. His bones were as hard as iron, his skin was as tough as leather, his muscles were filled with energy. But all that was insufficient.


    Since he had discovered that he indeed had a mana stone inside his brain and that he could transform into a wizard, he couldn''t help but be excited and be in a hurry to become one.


    Since he knew the method to activate the stone and he was confident to be able to engrave the first rune he had learned by heart, he could have activated his mana stone one at any time.


    But he had chosen to not do so, as long as he wouldn''t have completed his last meridian. The reason for that, was that he didn''t want to absorb the exterior mana while his meridian wasn''t completely opened and consolidated.


    The risk that something bad happened to his meridian was far too large for him to do it. That was why he had decided to wait once he would be a rank 5 Beginner Warrior.


    And now that he was such a powerful warrior, the time had come to absorb the mana and gather it inside the mana stone.


    He calmed himself and breathed in and out slowly. This time was without a doubt much more dangerous than when he had become a warrior back in the days. Gathering the dangerous mana inside his head, made Rohan feel a rare apprehension.


    He put out the Essence Stone on the side and closed his eyes.


    He concentrated on his body, and like he had done on this fateful day more than three years ago, he opened the pore of his body to let the mana enter through them. But compared to before, there were three differences.


    The three distinctions were that he only did so with his head to make the mana engulf only there, his body was way tougher, and he didn''t have this strange red stone that had made the mana mist appear back then.


    All these reasons made the operation much more difficult and strenuous than what the young warrior had expected.


    Bit by bit, small waves of mana entered inside his body. He felt as if an insane pressure was crushing his mind, and slowly, the mana that entered inside his head was attracted by the mana stone.


    Without it, the mana would have been inside his brain without any place to go, and such a thing would simply damage by corrosion all that could be found inside a skull.


    Suddenly, he felt as if his mind was becoming clearer, as if his whole body became lighter and lighter. The pain was always here, and he didn''t dare to lose himself within this incredible feeling. The mana continued to sip through his head to rush at the mana stone.


    All he needed to do now was to continue like that until the stone was filled.


    If he stopped at any moment, then the mana he had wouldn''t be enough for the next step and he would have to do it again. But even in this short lapse of time, and even without taking into account the pain that Rohan was enduring, he was still damaging his mind.


    It wasn''t enough to be irreversible, but if he couldn''t continue until the end, he would have to wait a few weeks before doing it again. And even though he wasn''t in a hurry, he still didn''t want to waste too much time for nothing.


    The time flowed, as well as the mana surrounding Rohan. A few moments later, the purple stone that was inside his brain began to glow: it was finally filled. He stopped all the mana from coming, and Rohan decided to drink a weak recovery potion to heal any damage.


    He felt as if he had found something he had lost a long time ago, he felt as if he finally could breathe again after having lived for 16 years without being able to do so. It was as if he had walked out from a swamp that had restrained his movement all his life.


    The sensation of clarity was even more breathtaking than when he had become a rank 5 Beginner Warrior. At that time, he had felt his body growing up, strengthened, and becoming more powerful. He had better control over his body, and the sensation was one of the best ones.


    He could even understand if some warriors were ranking up in the only goal to feel this sensation again. But compared to what he was experiencing at this moment, it was truly negligible.


    He was on a cloud, floating in the sky as the fresh wind caressed his body. He was inside a volcano, burning by an intense but harmless fire. He was sitting in the middle of a tundra, bitten by the friendly cold. He was standing under a tempest, hit by the strengthening lightning. He was flowing within the ocean, cleaning up by the water.


    It was the power of the element, a new sensation, a new control, but a familiar feeling that appeared inside the mind of Rohan. A stupid smile appeared on his face, still with his eyes closed.


    He had activated his mana stone and was now what the wizards called an apprentice.


    But that was only the start. He didn''t wait anymore in these strange emotions and began to familiarize himself with the new mana resting inside the mana stone. The first thing that he noticed was that he could manipulate it without any restriction as if it was an extension of his own body.


    Even when he had felt the mana inside his mana core when he had become a warrior, it wasn''t that easy to move it.


    With a single thought, Rohan moves the mist of mana inside the stone. For now, since he didn''t have the first rune, the mana he had actually was the only one he possessed. If he used only a few of it, he wouldn''t be able to recover it, and so he would have to be extra careful when he would draw the rune: he had only one try.


    With his eyes still closed and making the mana take all the form he wished, he moved his hand to the left and palpated on the ground to take an open book.


    He wouldn''t look at the information inside it since he didn''t want to lose the control he had over the mighty mana, but he was more confident with the idea to be near these records.


    He reminisced about the method he would use, about the more than two hundred strokes he would have to draw that he had learned during these past few months. There were exactly 223 strokes to do, with a beginning and an end.


    Although the way to draw the rune was as strict as possible, there wasn''t a time limit, and he could even stop after one of the lines if he wanted to.


    Once he would have had to draw the second rune, he wouldn''t have the choice but to stop at some point to continue later. That was because the difficulty of the rune was much more developed, and even if he learned everything in one go before drawing the rune, the 10 points of mana he would have wouldn''t be enough to do everything.


    He shook his head to come back to his affair, and after taking a large mouthful of air, he initiated the delicate operation. He gathered all the shiny mana and concentrated in the center of the stone, then, controlling it at perfection, Rohan made a thin thread wrapping around itself.


    He manipulated one of the ends of the white thread and approached it toward the edge of its small empty area.


    In front of the string that would be used to draw the rune needed, was the blue-purple wall of his mana stone.


    A lot of colors had been found for the stones, some were blue, yellow, green, red, or purple and others were like this one, a mix of colors. But Rohan didn''t know what these colors were supposed to mean, as there wasn''t any information about that inside the books he had read.


    Then, with a total concentration that he had never put himself into, the thread began its dance. It jumped on the wall of the stone, and as it touched it, the mana began to inscribe an intricate pattern.


    Rohan made the thread snake on the left, then a slow curve on the right, before making it thicken toward the top. The difficult moves succeeded each other beautifully and divinely.


    If someone could have been a spectator of such a show, they would be dumbstruck before it. No matter if it was a Beginner Warrior or an Advanced Wizard, they would all find this scene to be the most astonishing usage of mana they would have ever seen.


    And for the Supreme mana users of the world who could see such a thing, they would have without a doubt fought among each other to have such a disciple.


    But sadly, or, fortunately, no one but Rohan could see such a scene.


    He was fully immersed inside this marvelous drawing he was doing, and for the first time in a long time, he was feeling a new emotion.. He was feeling alive.

 Chapter 51 - Rank 1 Beginner Wizard

    Rohan was sitting with his legs crossed in the middle of his bedroom. His eyes were closed. His expression was peaceful. There wasn''t his almost surreal calm on his face, it was only the face of a young man who was feeling a blissful moment.


    Since that day he had fled from the battlefield, since that day that had marked a journey that he could only qualify as hellish, and in fact, since even before that time, he was feeling truly happy.


    Inside his head, was resting the mana stone that he had discovered only a few months ago. On it, and recovering almost all of it, was a white glowing rune that Rohan was completing. He had already finished 215 strokes on the 223, and this in only two hours.


    It seemed as if two hours only to draw a few hundred strokes was the speed of a snail, but it wasn''t at all. The speed and the precision Rohan had achieved in these two hours were worthy of all the praises possible.


    But he didn''t care about all that, all he saw in his mind was the beauty he had drawn, and the strokes he had engraved in a beautiful dance.


    The rhythm he was using since the beginning was a strange one, and the exquisite movement of the thread of mana he had formed earlier was captivating his mind.


    He loved this sensation, he admired what he was doing, and he was overwhelmed by this unknown rune he was drawing.


    He didn''t know anything about this rune, and he thought that these days, probably very few people knew about it. Where did they come from? Which people had drawn them? He didn''t know, all he knew was what the rune was looking like, and it wasn''t enough. For a peculiar reason, he felt as if he was meeting with an old friend he had known a long time ago.


    As he looked at the rune while he was drawing the last line, warmth spread in his whole body. It was the embrace of a mother. His own mother never liked him and had ignored her son since as far as he could remember, but even though he had never felt his mother hug him, he knew that this warmth would be like this one.


    tears formed in his eyes, rolling on his cheek before crashing on the ground. This peaceful moment, he would never forget.


    Then, his mana stone shook, making his whole mind tremble.


    The rune was now fully drawn on the stone and shined a bright blow, chasing away all darkness, all loneliness Rohan had always felt.


    Suddenly, the rune shrunk on itself, becoming smaller and smaller while the whole world was shaking around it. In only a few instants, the rune that took more than half of the surface was now not even covering a fifth and was still shrinking.


    Rohan felt his heart accelerate, and his mind spin on itself. The fear that the rune would disappear in a second made his blood rush inside his body at an incredible speed. But he couldn''t do anything, he couldn''t stop what he had made with his soul to shrink on itself.


    As he was losing hope, the rune removed itself from the wall of the stone. It spun and hovered in the center of the mana stone, creating a strange flow all around. At that moment, Rohan understood.


    The rune wasn''t disappearing for no reason, it was acting on its strange form and the formless power of the mana that composed it to modify the mana stone forever.


    Like that, Rohan had become a rank 1 Beginner Wizard.


    Inside his head, a blue-violet stone could be found, a rare treasure in the whole world. Inside this stone, a strange white glowing pattern was on its center, hovering and turning on itself.


    This simple movement wasn''t insignificant, and in fact, Rohan could discern a thin wave coming from it, and another responding to it.


    That was at this moment that Rohan felt it. Without stopping, the mana surrounding his body was slowly crawling inside his head, as if the flesh and bones didn''t exist in the first place.


    The strange energy created by the rune inside the mana stone was filling all his head, and the exterior mana coming in contact with his skin was contaminated by this energy. This pure mana, corrupted, could pass through the body as if this one had recognized it as a part of him and in a few seconds, mana was already inside the mana stone.


    Rohan was sitting there, trying to observe and understand this phenomenon. Seconds, then minutes were eaten by the time, and soon, it was hours. During this time, the mana inside his mana stone was filling up bit by bit, attracted by the rune. But the more mana entered the stone, the less the rune seemed active, and Rohan could guess why 10 points of mana were the limit.


    The differences between the mana core that was resting inside his chest and the mana stone on his head were quite easy to understand for Rohan. Firstly, the first one attracted the mana with the different meridians he had opened.


    The mana that surrounded him at all times thus entered through these openings when they were near it to fill the mana core. The number of meridians determined the speed at which the mana was regenerated, but also the maximum quantity his mana core could hold.


    This limitation of mana was due to the weakness of the meridians and the core: they were formed by the warrior himself, and they were fragile. The meridians were formed in a way to stop attracting mana once the maximum amount had entered, and it was there all the ingenuity of it.


    It was even said that the first warriors didn''t have such a precaution and that they all finish bursting from an excess of mana.


    But the mana stone was acting differently, and much more strangely. The ambient mana that entered in contact with the head was directly attracted by the mana stone.


    Because of the bizarre pattern floating inside this stone, the mana could enter through it before resting on the stone, where it was slightly transformed, corrupted by the stone, and permeated with the ability to fuse with an elemental source, which normally should be impossible.


    In the end, Rohan knew nothing about the secret of a wizard or a warrior, and he reckoned that he was without a doubt still way too weak to touch on these secrets. For now, he would only follow blindly what was written inside some random books.


    He opened his eyes and took a deep breath. From that day onward, he was now a powerful wizard.


    Of course, he still had to learn the spell Wind Blade that he had access to, but it would take some time, as the runes needed a large quantity of mana to be done. Basically, from what was noted in the book, there were a hundred lines to draw for this rune. Each one of them would need all the mana he currently had, which was 10 points.


    A Beginner Wizard had the same amount of mana as a Beginner Warrior, but the recovery for the first was double the one of the latter. Plus the fact that beginner spells were much less costly than the skill of the warriors, the wizard was without a doubt more useful in a prolonged battle.


    Now that Rohan thought about it, he remembered that he had now two different sources of mana, what would the Essence Stone show to him then?


    He took it out and put his finger on it, and watched with a curious face at the data appearing on the black stone.


    Race: human


    Age: 16 years old


    Constitution: 6.62


    Mana: 52.33 / 60


    Spirit: 11


    Seeing this result, Rohan couldn''t prevent himself from feeling a bit disappointed by it.


    This so powerful stone was only able to feel the mana inside the body of the bearer without differencing the composition of this one, but it was to be expected. Or else, this Essence Stone would probably be much more valuable, and an intermediate Warrior wouldn''t have given it to him that easily back then.


    Of course, since the seance had taken a few hours and he had lost some of them to observe the mana being filled inside the mana stone, his mana was almost fully recovered at the maximum. Seeing this whopping number of 52 points of mana made him feel happy. But this happiness didn''t last long.


    Now that he had reached the goal he had given to himself, now that he was a powerful rank 5 Beginner Warrior, as well as a mighty rank 1 Beginner Wizard, he would need to leave this place.


    He still needed to go back to his hometown to look after his mother and brother. He also wanted to meet back with his loyal butler Jonas, as he couldn''t anymore with all the clean-up tasks he was doing every day anyway.


    But before going back home, he had another task at hand, given to him by his master.


    He would go toward the Kolmos mountain, and take whatever he would find.

 Chapter 52 - Time To Leave

    "So, it''s time for you to leave eh?"


    Rohan, still in the process of sitting down, looked at the man wearing flashy clothes in front of him. Before he even had the time to say anything, this man already knew the purpose of his visit. This one was sitting on a sofa, leisurely taking a sip of his cup of tea.


    Sure, Delia Noir always talked a lot. So much, that Rohan had wondered if he was even capable of keeping a secret. But his intelligence, the one he showed at only so few people, had always been there. Lurking behind his big joyful smile.


    "Yes, the time for me has come for me to leave, but only for a short trip, and I will come back a few months later I believe."


    That was currently Rohan''s plan. Going into the Barren Lands, rushing toward the mountain Kolmos, bypassing all clans or whatever, entering through the big mountain, taking what was inside, and finally coming back. He should be able to do it in a few months at most, and he was even sure that only one would be enough.


    *sigh*


    "I guess it is time indeed, the powerful warrior that you are wouldn''t rest all his life inside this small place anyway. I don''t know what you want to do, or what your goal is, but I hope you can do it. Well, to tell you the truth, I have indeed some ideas about what you want to do. After all, it has already been almost two years that you are here, and¡­"


    Fortunately, Rohan had decided to say goodbye to Delia early in the morning, or else he would have to leave the city in the night or even later. Damn that guy was talking too much. Rohan knew that Delia had finally found who he was, after all, it wasn''t even a big secret.


    That was his fault. He should have never given his real name the day he had come here. But even so, it was difficult, and even almost impossible to hide the provenance of a powerful warrior such as himself.


    And thankfully, only his master, Horim, knew that he was a rank 5 Beginner Warrior. His warrior''s emblem was still showing a shiny 3, or else, he would maybe not be able to leave without any problem.


    While Delia kept talking of all and nothing, Rohan was thinking about the preparation of his trip.


    The previous day, he had already prepared the bags he would take, as well as his equipment. He would leave nothing here, as all he had in his possession was too valuable or useful.


    Inside one of these bags, Rohan had put all the books he had. Four of them were the black books about wizardry, one was the notebook on research about magic beasts that he had found in Jared''s place and the last important one was the yellowed one, now almost illegible that Jonas had given to him before the war.


    Among the other books, there was the botanic one and a few others. A small collection, but with a great value for Rohan.


    Along with these books, there were two daggers that he had himself forged, as well as a few clothes for the road.


    That time when he had walked in the forest for weeks with nothing but what he had on his back wasn''t at all a good experience, and he even had put some utensils inside the bag to at least be able to eat something hot.


    Inside the second bag, were all the potions he had at this day. The ones that were given to him by Elia for the deal they had done, as well as all the potions he had found inside the wizard''s treasure trove.


    There were 16 weak mana potions, 2 weak recovery potions, one unknown potion with a faint green gleam in it, 5 transparent potions unknown as well, and one potion slightly different than the other.


    The last one, compared to the others, was much more colored. This color was a light blue, the same blue that could be found on the weak mana potion, but in a much more important quantity.


    For Rohan, this potion was probably a mana potion that was superior to the ones he had. Because of that, and if he was right, then this potion was probably the more valuable he had, as increasing the rank of a potion needed rare ingredients that just couldn''t be found in the south of the continent.


    Along with all these potions, he also had put a pouch with a lot of dried plants inside. He had started to read the book about the botanic, but since he was too much concentrated on the rune''s learning for the past few months, he didn''t have put much energy into it.


    "...that''s why I have decided to help you a bit, and give you a little something that could help for your journey!" Rohan snapped back into reality. A what? and why, for what reason? But it was too late, and as Rohan was trying to understand what Delia had said to him, this one stood up after putting down his cup.


    "Follow me, I''ll show you." Without waiting for Rohan to follow behind, he left the room and said something to the guard waiting there before this one left in a hurry. Unfortunately, Rohan couldn''t hear what he had said.


    In any case, he couldn''t refuse the goodwill of this flashy man, and without knowing what to expect, he got up to catch up with Delia who had already left.


    They walked through a corridor, and coming back into the hall of the mansion, they continued toward the rear of the huge house.


    There, after a butler opened the door for the young master, Rohan followed behind him and left the building to find themselves in the exterior.


    "We''ll wait here for an instant, it should appear in a few minutes."


    Rohan tilted his head on the side. ''It should appear? Don''t tell me we''re here to look at interesting flora and fauna¡­'' But before Rohan could think more about it, neigh reached his ears and a fast footstep crushed the ground made of gravel.


    Suddenly, appearing in his sight, a beautiful horse with a brown dress led by a man was in front of him. His eyes widened under this spectacular sight, and he turned his stunned face toward the man watching from the side.


    "Yes! I''m giving you this horse, Rohan. I believe you already know how to mount one right?" His smile grew larger and his laugh burst inside the ears of Rohan, who was still dumbfounded.


    "My friend."


    Before Rohan could do anything, Delia crushed him with a manly hug, or maybe even a bearly one, and Rohan wondered if this man wasn''t a mighty warrior hiding his strength.


    "I hope you will find what you are looking for. But don''t forget, even though I know you''re strong, don''t be foolish, and only hit those weaker than you!" He stepped back and turned his face toward the horse. "Why wouldn''t you mount it? By the way, his name is Barakas. He doesn''t have any bloodline! It is a pure one, coming from breeding learned from a long time ago, and¡­"


    Mounted on his brown horse, Rohan left the mansion of the viscount Noir without looking back. He would come back in a few weeks anyway.


    But before he could reach the street and go back to the shop, a carriage appeared in front of him. On it, there was a crest that Rohan had already seen before. The door on the side opened, and the occupants went down.


    A man with an expressionless face left the cabin first, before turning around while stretching his hand toward the inside of the carriage.


    A white and small hand left this one, and following it, the most beautiful woman of this city posed a foot on the ground.


    It was so slow that Rohan wanted to curse at them. He remembered when he was himself taking these carriages to go anywhere, and he had never bothered to wait for someone to open the door to him, as it was always a waste of time for nothing.


    "Warrior Rohan, the news was right I believe." News? What news? "You aren''t going to leave this city without saying goodbye to us right?"


    Her soft voice echoed in the area, and her sparkling eyes were looking straight at Rohan''s. If it was another man, then he would probably put himself down on his knee and apologize to this divine princess that had appeared in front of him. Sadly, Rohan being Rohan, he only squinted his eyes. How the hell do they know that he was leaving this damn city?


    "Well, now that you are here anyway, I''ll say it to you as well. Goodbye."


    The lack of reaction and his platonic tone shocked for a second the daughter of the viscount Macker, and Matthew was also stunned on the side. For a different reason.


    *cough*


    "Hmm, anyway, before you leave warrior Rohan, " She took out an item and gave it awkwardly to Matthew at his side, "please take this token. That way, if you have a problem somewhere, you could use it and show them the tie you have with our noble''s family!"


    Then, holding this small item, Matthew approached the young warrior mounted on a horse and gave him the object. It would have been too inappropriate for the young miss to give herself such an item to a random warrior.


    Rohan took the object. It was a small emblem, with the crest of Viscount Macker on it. For his daughter to give it to him, that means they had full confidence in him. After all, with such a token, not many in the area will reproach him anything.


    "Thank you for the item, Miss Elia, I''ll keep it preciously." He didn''t care at all about this object, but still, he nodded his head toward this woman.


    But before he could leave, Matthew suddenly stretched his hand toward the warrior.


    "It was a pleasure to fight by your side, Rohan, I hope we will meet again." Rohan shook his hand while thinking that he wasn''t hoping that at all, and without standing at the ceremony, he left on his horse toward the shop of Horim.


    "What are you looking at, Matthew, will he miss you that much?" Elia was giggling as she saw that Matthew was still looking at the back of the young warrior.


    This one shook his head.


    "I don''t think he truly needed your gift, young Miss."


    "Eh? Why are you saying that? Do you know how much time I have passed to plead to my father to have this emblem!? Why wouldn''t he need it?"


    Matthew took a deep breath, and with a strange expression, he answered his young Miss.


    "He is already stronger than me, young Miss. And not just by a little."


    Rohan rushed on the street in the direction of his shop. He still had to say goodbye to his master, who was kind enough to host him as well as teach him how to forge. He was far from being a prodigy, but this experience was still engraved in his mind and he wouldn''t forget about that.


    As he reached the street on the back of his horse, memories of the first time he had come to this place appeared on his mind.


    The first one he remembered was when the strong-looking middle-aged man had lifted from the ground and was strangling him with his powerful grip.


    Rohan shuddered as he went down his horse. That was not at all a good memory.


    He attached his horse and headed toward the door to open. The moment the inside of the unfrequented shop showed off its interior, the young warrior saw Horim standing there, waiting for him.


    At the side of the door, there were his belongings he had prepared, as well the armor he had bought with his money, and a newly made sword. Probably forged by his master himself.


    "What are you waiting for, mudhead? Take that and get out already. You have a lot to do, right?"


    It had only been two years. Only that much time since he lived in this place. That was a short time, yet also a long one. Rohan couldn''t help but feel sadness grip his heart.


    "Thank you for everything, master. I will never forget it." Tears formed in his eyes as he put on his leather armor. That was only a goodbye, and he indeed had a lot to do.


    A thin smile stretched on the face of Horim, as he looked at the young, yet powerful warrior equipping himself. He felt something strange was on him, but he discarded it.


    The face of his own son appeared for a time on his mind. Maybe it was time for him to go as well?


    Then as he saw Rohan leaving through the door, his eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. He had finally understood where this weird sensation was coming from. But how was this possible?


    Now alone in the shop, he abruptly burst off laughing. He bent his large stature as he couldn''t help but laugh and laugh.


    This disciple of his couldn''t stop but surprised him every day. A big smile floated on his face as he calmed himself.


    "A wizard¡­ A damn rank 1 Beginner Wizard."

 Chapter 53 - The Barren Lands

    Rohan was standing on his horse with a dignified expression looking at the horizon.


    He was wearing a dark leather armor, and the only skin visible was his face.


    The armor he had on him was the one he had bought himself with all the money his master gave to him each week since he had begun to work. Even though the pay was good and Horim didn''t care about the money he had on him, Rohan could only afford one of the least costly armor he had found.


    Hanging on the left side of the horse, Barakas, there were two bags both filled to the brim with all the affairs he was currently possessing. The warrior also had a black cape wrapping up his body, as it would be useful to protect him from the harsh environment and the cold nights.


    On his left, a good sword was on its scabbard. It was the one forged by Horim, and the quality was even better than the one that his father had given to him the day of his fourteen birthday.


    On his back and slightly leaning to the left, was a third bag, smaller than the other two and containing the more important item he had.


    That day he had fled from the hellish fire, he had been forced to let too much behind him. This time, if anything was to happen, he would at least be a bit prepared to flee.


    It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that Rohan was currently traveling with his house on his back, as it was truly all he possessed. His horse neighed, tired of waiting here.


    Rohan was looking in front of him, encompassing all the area with his eyes.


    He was currently standing in front of what should be the delimitation of the barren lands with the kingdom of Daksina.


    But where he almost expected to see a devastated soil, or a gigantesque desert, or anything a bit scarier, only a large rock of his size was standing on the way with the characters meaning ''Barren Lands'' on it.


    Other than that, the forest stretching after this rock was the same as the one on his side. Disappointed, Rohan made his horse continue the way.


    After an hour passed while running through the forest, Rohan thought that the description he had heard about that place was simply ridiculous. Since he had put the foot, or at least the one of his horse on these lands, there weren''t any differences with the lands from which he came from.


    He could even say this place was better since back at his home, the ground was drying and made all the plantations tougher and tougher to grow. And from what he could see since he was crossing this forest, this place shouldn''t be called Barren Lands. Or so he thought.


    A few minutes after having this reflection, the forest around him disappeared to let another environment take after it. This abrupt change made Rohan stop his horse on the spot. In front of him, stretching toward the horizon and as far as the eyes could see, a huge desert showed itself.


    There wasn''t even a gradual change in between the forest and the desert, and it was as if the desert had suddenly appeared one day where it should have been a forest.


    Before Rohan who was looking at the scene with an opened jaw was simply sand, rock, and heat. Around and behind him, was a luxuriant forest with green foliage that was expected for this period of the year.


    But the abrupt alteration in the two environments left Rohan rooted on the spot. He forgot all he had said to himself before that and agreed in his mind. These land were indeed the Barren Lands.


    In any case, his direction was forward, and it would only take a couple of months at least before he would be able to leave this strange part of the continent. He clacked the leash of the horse and led it, always forward.


    The heat he felt on his horse made him curse Horim for not telling him about it. He surely wouldn''t have put this armor and this stupid-looking cape he had on the back. The more he advanced inside this desertic place, the more he felt that it would be the longest months of his life.


    He put his cape around his face to protect it from the sun which was targeting him and mused over the fact that since the beginning, he didn''t have seen anything alive.


    Without even talking about the nomad clans that were supposed to be everywhere, he didn''t even have seen a single beast.


    All around him were rocks. greys rocks. Small rocks. Big rocks. All sizes and forms as well as different colors and kinds of rocks.


    His horse was slowly running on them as the hoofs of the animal crashed against the rocky ground, filling the mind of Rohan as he tried to read a book. It was the one about botany, as he wouldn''t dare to take out a wizard''s book in an open field where he could encounter a clan at any moment.


    This book was a simple one, yet perfectly complete, and Rohan was already able to discern some of the dried plants he had in his stock.


    All of those plants were common ones that could be found without much difficulty, and thus would be pretty much useless to Rohan for the time being. In any case, it wouldn''t cost him that much to keep them in his bags.


    The heat coming from the burning sun was starting to become unbearable. Of course, that wasn''t the case for Rohan. Even if the heat was making him uncomfortable and he wanted to go back, he was still a rank 5 Beginner Warrior who was in the possession of a sturdy body.


    That wasn''t the same result for his horse, and Rohan was already forced several times to stop to make it drink some water. Coming here with a horse was maybe not a good idea, as it was taking a stroll on his reserve of water, as well as too much time from him.


    There was nothing all around, even behind him the forest couldn''t be seen anymore, and on the horizon in front was only a bit of smoke that was flying in the air. On the left was still the same landscape with rocks everywhere and it was the same thing at the ri¡­


    Rohan sharply turned his head to look at the front. He squinted his eyes as if it would magically help him to see far away.


    There, in the middle of nothing, a trail of smoke was going up toward the sky, and dust was trying to climb up toward the blue mighty being. Rohan was approaching slowly and carefully on his horse. Soon, he was beginning to discern what he was currently looking at and what was making the dust fly away.


    It was a group of people going the same way as him, but much, much slower than his horse.. Without a doubt, it was one of these famous clans.

 Chapter 54 - The Blackwolf Clan

    Rohan made his horse sprint in this short distance, trying to catch up with the group of nomads a distance away. Asking some information from the inhabitants of this area was a must for the young warrior.


    He approached, and soon, he was near enough to see what was before him.


    Strange and powerful beasts were pulling wooden carts, and at least a hundred of these transports were advancing toward the horizon.


    It was a big animal with brown fur, as high as a human and walking on four robust legs. Two thick corns were pointing forward from their flattened face, and no tail could be seen. It was the first time that Rohan had seen them, but it was without any doubt karags.


    It was a beast used in the whole continent, robust, and useful in a lot of physical tasks. Plus, as they didn''t need a lot of food or water, they were perfect to live in this hellish place. At least, it was better than Rohan''s horse. Only one of these powerful beasts was enough to pull a cart full of people and consumables.


    They were advancing so slowly that Rohan didn''t have any difficulties catching up with them, and the moment the nomads in front of him could spot them, a shout echoed in the area.


    The whole group stopped.


    Rohan slowed down his horse and made it walk toward the detachment that was approaching him.


    They all had descended from variant carts and walked together with strange expressions on their faces. One of them was slightly walking in front of everyone.


    From the point of view of Rohan, this man was without a doubt the leader, but what greatly shocked the young warrior was that he could feel that this man wasn''t a normal human. He was a warrior!


    His skin was tanned by the constant exposure to the sun, and his black hair was tied in the back with a full black beard eating his face. Wrinkles could be seen around his eyes, maybe by force of squinting them because of the sun and heat.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Sir." He had a rough and a calm voice, although the faces of the others behind him were slightly tense. "We don''t see a lot of people coming from the other side these days, do you need anything for coming toward us?"


    Rohan went down on his horse to stand at the same level as this man. It was at least the minimum he could do, but as his foot touched the ground, he saw the expressions of the group fall. Some of them even gulped for nervousness.


    Was he that scary?


    It was at that time that he remembered what his appearance looked like.


    Because of the heat, he had put his dusty cape around his face in a ridiculous way, a leather armor could be seen while he had a sword hanging on the side with a bag on his back. He was maybe looking like a scavenger.


    Not that he wasn''t one after looting all the wizard''s places.


    He took off his cape from his head to reveal his young face. At this appearance, the tension eased a bit.


    "I am just a wandering warrior, and if possible I would want to have information about this part of the world since it is the first time that I am coming here."


    At the mention that he was a warrior, the tension suddenly climbed up one more step. The visage of the people was grave, and suddenly an old man from the side moved his step forward and looked at Rohan with a serious expression, his hand on the handle of his sword.


    Rohan glanced a bit at him. The stronger one of this group, probably rank 3 or rank 4 Beginner Warrior.


    ''The fact that the Barren Lands couldn''t have warriors was bullshit, I see.''


    "Stop it all." The leader waved his hand before putting it on the shoulder of the man with a severe face. "If you only need to ask a question, then you can ask away. Here in the Barren Lands, The Blackwolf Clan is welcoming for any just travelers."


    "I want to go to the mountain Kolmos, do you have any useful information that could be useful for me?"


    A strange expression appeared on the face of the leader, as abruptly, a laugh left the mouth of a middle-aged man on the side. What was funny about what he had said?


    "You can''t, stranger. Even if you are a powerful warrior, I reckon you are not an Intermediate one, right? And you think you can enter that place as if it was your back garden?" The one who had just laughed shook his head as if what he had heard was ridiculous.


    Rohan squinted his eyes and the calmness invaded his body, giving him an intangible aura. He had indeed believed he could go as if it was his place. Who would care if he was going into a random mountain in the middle of the poorest lands in the whole world?


    Even if it was indeed presumptuous on his part, he didn''t like the tone of this man.


    "And what do I need to do to be able to access this area?" He still asked this question, while cursing his master in his mind. Was there even one piece of information that was true in what he had told him? ''Easy my ass.''


    "hahaha, actually if you want to go, you can follow us if you want."


    "Clan Chief! We can''t do th¡­"


    "I do what I want to do." He looked back at Rohan after stopping the old man. "But you will have to wait a bit. The annual reunions of the clans will begin in three months, so you can follow us for the time being. Or you can try your luck alone, but as Bargas has said, you will find it difficult. Anyway, since we need a month to travel, we will move in two months. What do you want to do, warrior?"


    Rohan widened his eyes after hearing this piece of information. Three months? They will leave in two? And a whole month to travel? This might be more complicated than what he would have expected at the end.


    Seeing the disbelief in the eyes of this young man, Darias couldn''t help but smile. He surely wasn''t the first one to be stopped from nearing the Kolmos mountain, but it truly wasn''t possible for everyone to go there.


    This young man had a strange aura around him, but he didn''t seem to be dangerous in his eyes. Plus, the old Garrold, a rank 4 Beginner Warrior, was by his side.


    "If you want, then the Blackwolf is welcoming you, young warrior. I am the Clan Chief and I am the rank 3 Beginner Warrior Darias, it is a pleasure to meet you."


    Rohan was lost for a second in his thoughts. He could only believe them for now and ask more questions later. He would lose some time, but it seemed better compared to rushing into an unknown place.


    "It is also a pleasure, warrior Darias, I am the rank 3 Beginner Warrior Rohan. If you are okay with that, then I would have no choice but to follow you."


    It was at the group''s turn to be furtherly shocked beyond words. A rank 3 Beginner Warrior this young? Were all warriors from the other side that scary?

 Chapter 55 - Camping In The Wilderness

    After Rohan had accepted the proposition of the Clan chief named Darias, and as the night was starting to fall, the Blackwolf Clan had decided to set the camp where they were.


    At that moment, all Rohan could do was to watch all these people, almost five hundred from what he could judge, as they got active and moved all around. He was stupefied by this show.


    Everyone, from children to old hags, helped to set the camp. They moved with expertise and speed that could only be qualified to be incredible.


    They took out all the materials that they needed from the carts that were pulled by the kargas. Then, small groups divided themselves to put on a small fence around an area that would be the limitation of the camp.


    The fence was composed of many short barricades made of tow stakes, and the nomads easily installed them: one of them was maintaining a part while another simply hit the stakes with a large hammer to sink it inside the soil.


    With more than a hundred of these barricades forming this simple fence, the whole structure was finished. As he looked at the installation of that fence, Rohan couldn''t help but ask himself the important question he was thinking of.


    Why are they even bothering themselves with their fence? Was there a need to lose time to put that ridiculous thing all around? He only needed to advance through it, and step over it without putting in any effort. What was even the point?


    But his bemused face only further sank when he saw what these mad lads were doing. Before installing the tents, some of the clan members, almost half of them all, formed a line from the edge of the camps. Then, with a stick in their hands, they advanced toward the other edge, taking all the place they could.


    While they were walking, they hit the floor with the wood they wielded, at every step they were taking. ''Where in the fucking world did I land?''


    But as Rohan was questioning their sanity and if he should leave this place without looking back, a yell came from one of these floor hitters.


    "I got one here!" After this simple shout, another nomad arrived with a strange-looking hook and a bag, and under the stupefied look of the young warrior watching all this, a small but intense fight took place.


    That was after the nomad with the hook arrived at the place where the other one had shouted that Rohan could see something exiting the soil, hissing at these humans who dared to wake him up.


    Living a small hole behind him, a short snake left the soil, probably deranged by the vibration made by the wooden sticks.


    It was only as long as an arm, and also as thick. Under the sunlight from the sun disappearing, the scales of the snake were of a bright light red. Its triangular head hovered for a bit, seemingly dazed by what had woken him up. As it turned its head around, it saw the enemies.


    It hissed at the one who was the nearest, but before it could do anything, a fast blow coming from his right hit it in the face.


    It shook its small head before looking with a dangerous glint in the eyes at the one who had attacked him, but this one, with another fast gesture, pocked the snake with his long hooked stick. He continued to pock and thrust his weapon at the snake which tried to dodge.


    Irritated by the continuous attacks, the snake let go of its anger and threw itself like an arrow, and bolted toward the neck of the man playing with him. But it was what the nomad was waiting for.


    With a single step on the side, and a large movement while turning on his hip, he caught the snake inside the bag he had in his hand from the beginning. The movement was made with such expertise that even Rohan, a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, was surprised by it.


    This man was, without doubt, accustomed to such an act. He then closed the bag and stood back as the line of nomads continued to tap the ground with their sticks, seemingly at the research of these animals.


    Once all the camp was searched through, and five of these snakes had been found, the tents were installed in a circle at a lighting speed. Each family was putting up one of these tents, large enough to be a small house, and in only a few minutes, a hundred of them surrounded the wooden pile.


    What Rohan found a little strange was the position of the kargas, as these were freely let in between the tents and the fence all around them. Wasn''t they afraid that the beast would flee at some point?


    Once all of that was done, he saw a couple of men with shovels on their shoulders heading toward an area inside the encampment, surrounded by other barricades, forming a square.


    Then, after they entered through a wooden door they had put in between two fences, these men began to dig down. They dug and dug again, while the other nomads were finishing all the installations they needed for the night.


    The large pile of wood in the center was transformed into a dazzling fire, and as the sun was descending to rest, Darias, the Chief Clan, appeared near Rohan.


    "What do you think of this show Warrior Rohan? In the Barren Lands, all clans took pride in their abilities to set up a camp the fastest possible. Once in a while, there is also some competition about that, hahaha!"


    "That is indeed impressive. Why are these men digging a hole, chief clan?" He couldn''t help but ask this question. Was there searching for something? Maybe another beast was lurking in there, or maybe they had buried something there some time ago, or maybe¡­


    "Eh? Oh! They are just digging a latrine for the night!'''' This sentence cut through all expectations Rohan had in a second.


    "Well, you should come in my tent for the night, warrior. Although my son and my daughter would take a bit of place, I believe there would be enough for you too, hahaha! I believe that you have many questions too, you could ask away."


    "Aren''t you afraid to let an unknown warrior sleep in your tent, chief clan?" Honestly, such hospitality was strange to Rohan and seemed even fishy.


    "Hahaha, I believe you wouldn''t do such a thing! And I am also a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, I can still defend myself!"


    Darias pat his hand on Rohan''s shoulder and moved towards one of the many tents. There weren''t any differences with the other ones, even though he was the leader.


    "And here in these harsh lands, humility and hospitality are the motto of the Blackwolf Clan, warrior Rohan. So make yourself home! especially since you will have to follow us for quite a time."


    Quite a time? Rohan, following the leader with his horse at his side, pondered on what he had said. Wouldn''t the whole thing take only three months before he reached the mountain?

 Chapter 56 - Some Answers, More Questions

    Inside the tents of the clan chief, which was the same as every member of this clan, four people were currently sitting in what could be said to be the main hall.


    Of course, Rohan was among them. His horse had been taken away by one of the nomads who had led it toward a place, not that Rohan cared about that. He didn''t think they would dare to have ill intentions toward his poor horse. ''What was his name again? Ha yes! Barakas.''


    In front of the young warrior, the clan leader was sitting cross legs while two persons were on each of his sides. A man and a woman, probably his children.


    The man, or more exactly the young boy, who should be the same age as Rohan, had a thin smile on his face. He was thin and felt as if he was weaker than anyone that Rohan had ever seen, but he also seemed to be a jovial man.


    Contrary to her brother, the young woman, who should be slightly older than him, looked at Rohan with obvious displeasure engraved on her face. She was a tall woman and seemed to be a tough one, ready to take up weapons at any time.


    The only common points between these three people were their black hair that was tied in the back and their tanned skin. But what differentiated them was their postures.


    The father was looking with a neutral glance. He was still paying attention to this young warrior, but he also felt he shouldn''t be afraid of anything coming from this person.


    The daughter glared at Rohan with a fierce expression, and for an unknown reason, Rohan felt as if a dangerous beast was scheming to kill him in the night.


    The son was gently eyeing the young warrior as if he already had all his trust even though they didn''t know each other.


    What a particular family.


    "So tell me, young warrior, why do you want to go to the sacred mountain in the middle of a desertic region?" It was Darias who broke the silence by asking the question the three people had in their minds.


    "There isn''t really a reason. I just want to take a look at this mountain spoken in the history books I read while being a child." He couldn''t say to these people that he wanted to enter inside their sacred mountain to plunder it of anything that was inside after all.


    But what Rohan didn''t expect was that his words triggered a reaction from these people. They looked at each other for a short time. What was it?


    Anyway, before the trio could ask him more questions, Rohan took the opportunity to demand them more information about this restriction to go to this mountain. To this question, it was the daughter who decided to answer.


    "Tsk. It''s always the same with those coming from the other side. You don''t even know anything about this place and you come as if it was your place since the beginning. Let me tell you, warrior," she glared at Rohan as if he was disgusting, "the great mountain is a sacred one."


    Rohan restrained himself to roll his eyes. For him, it was simply a mountain, just a pile of rocks going toward the sky. Nothing more. But obviously, seeing the father and her brother nodding their heads, they were all fanatics.


    "Haha, what Daina is saying may surprise you but it is the truth. Still, there are indeed ways to approach it. The first one is of course power." The Chief Clan continued the explanation of his daughter.


    His face sunken at his own words and even the calm young man on the side showed a troubled expression for a second. But the worst one was the daughter and if she could spit on Rohan, she would already have done it.


    "A lot of powerful Supreme mana users had already appeared a long time ago, for ridiculous reasons such as there is something inside the mountain or whatnot. Sadly it is still the case sometimes and three years ago, it was an Intermediate warrior who had come as if he was the king of this place."


    The story was taking a strange turn, and for an unknown reason, Rohan could only think that something bad had happened to this Intermediate Warrior.


    "Of course, we are living in the exterior ring of the Barren Lands, and even though we are one of the three most powerful clans of this whole area, we are nothing for an Intermediate user of mana. That is also the case for the clans in the internal rings as only the stronger one has an Intermediate Warrior."


    Cold sweet appeared on the back of the young warrior as he listened to the middle-aged man in front of him. This small trip be an easy one? He would just have to enter and leave, without caring about the clans? Bullshit!


    "But for the four clans living at the center, at the foot of the Kolmos mountain¡­" A smile appeared on his face as he was rejoicing about the fate of this person who dared to ask them inconceivable demands. "An Intermediate Warrior who thinks of himself as the most powerful there is without a doubt a foul."


    Rohan refrained a gasp from leaving his mouth. It was indeed the best idea he had to accept the hospitality of this man. If he wanted to go alone toward the mountain, the same destiny as this warrior would maybe await him.


    Of course, Darias was exaggerating a bit, as the warrior was only killed because of the deeds he had done to the inhabitants of the Barren Lands.


    "But as I said, there is another way to go toward the sacred mountain. And that is during the annual reunion of the clans, as each year at the same time we gathered at the foot of this sacred mountain to share the magical water."


    Rohan opened his eyes wide when he heard that. Magical water? On this land said to be void of any mana? What did it even mean? Was there only one piece of information true in all the lies Rohan had been fed? Or were these fanatics just dancing around normal water?


    More and more questions appeared in his mind.


    "Magical water?" He was truly starting to feel a headache appearing. "What do you mean about that?"


    "Hmm? Who does not know about it? It is the water coming from the mountain, and it has some property to help normal people to become a warrior. Of course, for a person coming from the other side as you, it is negligible at best, but for us, it is a real help!"


    A thunder hit Rohan inside his mind, numbing his whole body. He didn''t care about the magical water or whatever it was. No. It was the aspect of the mountain that was making all he had imagined disappeared.


    "Are¡­are you telling me that on the mountain¡­there is snow?"


    "Eh? But of course, what do you think a mountain is? Hahaha."


    All the vision Rohan had about these desertic lands disappeared in a second, making his mind blank.


    Never again would he believe in any books and even less in his master.

 Chapter 57 - Traveling Under The Sun

    Five hundred people were inside their carts, each pulled by a karga as they moved under the sun. Among them, standing out from these wooden transports, Rohan was sitting on a horse, walking along with the Chief Clan sitting in the shadows of the cart on his left.


    Last night, after this man and his family, had answered some of his questions, as well as explained to him some information about the Barren Lands, the son who was named Deidros had prepared some food.


    Seeing the meat inside his plate, and a few roots, it didn''t take long for Rohan to understand what animal it was coming from. It was one of the snakes he had seen earlier.


    The young man, with a smile, had then explained to him what these beasts were. They were called fire snakes, and such a name was given to them because of their color, but above all for the venom they possessed.


    Indeed, although they weren''t dangerous for humans, and the only deceased were young children or old people, their bites were still one of the most painful out there. It was said to be as painful as if the area that had been bitten was cooked under fire for a few minutes.


    It was also at that time that his sister showed a scary mark on her ankle with an expression of pride as if it was an honor to have it.


    It was a red mark spreading in a large area, with two dots in a red darker than the rest of the pattern. Rohan had immediately understood at that time: she once had been bit by this animal.


    Maybe it was because of this encounter when she was little that she seemed to be that fierce, or even deranged?


    In any case, the dish was a pretty good one, and for Rohan who was eating dry meat for a few days, it was a welcome food. After the meal, the trio was kind enough to give him a place to sleep.


    This place was like a room, delimited by the brown fur making up the whole tents, and separating this one into several parts.


    At some point, before Rohan put himself to sleep inside these furs, he had the bright idea to leave the warmth to stroll around. Even thinking about it was enough to make him shiver. The night was way too cold!


    Thinking back about this night while mounted on his horse, Rohan felt his heart going numb. If he wasn''t lucky enough to meet this Blackwolf Clan, he would have to sleep on the outside, while resisting against such a cold.


    After the sun had woken up that morning, and after the clan members had disassembled the whole encampment, they took back the road. Rohan didn''t know where they were going. He didn''t have the choice but to follow them anyway, so he didn''t even take the time to ask questions about it.


    They still had two months before heading toward the mountain, so he would have to occupy himself during this period. But there was a problem.


    Of course, he couldn''t take out the books about wizardry before these people, and he was also reluctant to meditate in front of them.


    The reason was that once all the meridians were formed, what he would need to do now to rank up was to create a vortex at the place where the meridian was connected.


    As he would create his first one where he had connected the first meridian he had opened now a few years ago, it means he would have to create it inside his right palm.


    But the problem was that the creation of vortexes was a bit more complicated than the opening of meridians, and the waves of mana created by it were easily felt by any mana users if they were a bit sensitive.


    That means that even Rohan didn''t think about his protection while he was meditating, there was some risk to be discovered.


    And since the Chief clan was a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, the risk was far too high. As Rohan had already shown them his warrior''s emblem with a 3 on it, he didn''t want to break his disguise.


    After all, he felt it would be too conspicuous for the young warrior if he showed them his real strength. And because of that, he would also have to pay attention to take off his sleeves.


    All these interferences didn''t let him make the choice. He had to forget about any power up for a long time unless he found a way at some point while still following them.


    He had thought that this trip would be an easy one, but now that he knew that even an Intermediate Warrior was nothing before the four clans living near the mountain, he would have to be extra careful.


    He didn''t even have any plan on how the hell he would be able to enter their damn mountain. From what he understood, it was a sacred mountain kept day and night under their sight.


    Maybe he should go back to Blanche to bring with him Horim, at least he would be feeling better after reaching this pill of rock called a mountain.


    Of course, that was only if he would be able to survive the route and more especially this burning sun that was drilling a hole inside his head protected by his dusty cape. Walking alone or with these nomads didn''t change anything about this result.


    He didn''t even know where the hell they were going. Maybe another place with more rocks under a hellish sun and an icy night. Actually, what was even the goal of these nomads? Why were they traveling every day? Rohan didn''t know, and as he was bored, thought about it for a few minutes.


    But boredom grew and grew again in his mind until he couldn''t do anything but take out a book from his bag. It was the one about botany that he had already begun to read and learn.


    He squinted his eyes as he try to read under the heavy light of the sun, transforming the white pages of the books into bright candles.


    This trip would without a doubt be a fun one.


    Rohan refrained from sighing and began to read through all these plants described and drawn.


    On the side, Darias was watching with a curious look at this young man leading his horse with one hand and reading with the other one. For what reason did a warrior coming from the nobility class wanted to see the great mountain? It was a question that had appeared on his mind since last night.


    When the warrior had said to them that he was here only because he had read about history talking about this place and was thus curious about it, it was easy to understand that he was a nobleman.


    How could the child of a commoner learn about such a thing? Even knowing how to read was extremely rare.


    He was curious about this young man, but he didn''t seem to be a dangerous individual. So it wouldn''t hurt to let this warrior tag along.


    More importantly, a rank 3 Beginner Warrior would be able to help them a lot.

 Chapter 58 - Always Surrounded By Rocks

    A few days had already passed since the Blackwolf clan and Rohan had come into contact, and since then, the days were all pretty much the same.


    While the sun was high in the sky, the clan traveled, seemingly without particular direction as sometimes they would go north, then the next day west, then south. For Rohan, who watched this every day, that didn''t make any sense.


    They seldom paused in their tracks, and when they did, it was most of the time because of Rohan. More especially his horse, which needed much more water compared to the karags. Coming into this place with a horse was the worst idea he had ever taken.


    But even though these pauses were slowing down everyone, none expressed their annoyance about it. Rohan wasn''t duped. They didn''t show any disdain openly, but it was easy for a son of a count to see through their appearance.


    They were maybe tolerant of him, yet Rohan was sure that it was only because the Chief Clan had already given his order.


    Since it was already quite a time he was in their company, Rohan was beginning to understand how their hierarchy was working. The leader, which was the Chief Clan, was the one who decided almost everything.


    What he said was like laws, and Rohan never saw anyone going against him. It was always hard to see if there were any cracks in a community. Maybe some people were searching for more power inside this clan. Or maybe some factions were cracking the Blackwolf clan.


    Rohan didn''t know, but from what he could perceive, it seemed to be a welded clan.


    After this clan leader, the most important one was because of his power. It was the old man who had tried to be threatening back when they had met Rohan. His name was Garrold, and he was a rank 4 Beginner Warrior. His mission was the protection of the clan.


    The protection against what, Rohan didn''t know as there was absolutely nothing in these lands. Apart from the fire snakes, there were no plants, no beasts, no water. Just nothing. All they had on them was what they had stocked before.


    Then, the most important people were the two advisors, whose job, for what Rohan could see, was simply that. They advised the Chief Clan. If this one agrees with them, then it was great, but if he didn''t care, then it was also great.


    One of these two advisors was a woman, a middle-aged one. She had brown hair and eyes, and skin as tanned as the other clan members. What differentiated her from the other clan members and made her stand out among them was the fact that she was a rank 1 Beginner Warrior.


    The second one was a man with short hair. He wasn''t a warrior like the other one, just a normal man. He was called Bargas. It was the one who had openly ridiculed Rohan, back when the young warrior had explained what was his destination.


    And finally, it was the children of the Chief Clan, who were treated almost like children of a king, although differently.


    But even though there were the most well-treated members of the clan, it wasn''t as dramatic as the separation between the nobility and the commoner that Rohan was used to. It was much freer.


    Of course, the reasons were easy to find, such as the fact that this clan had only five hundred or so members at most, and they all lived together every day for a long time.


    Because of that, their relationship between them was better than these kingdoms or just the cities that Rohan had seen.


    As Rohan was thinking about the past few days, one of the drivers of a cart in front shouted toward their Chief.


    "Clan Chief! Just in front of us!"


    "Ho? Already?" A smile stretched on his face as he looked in front of him to discern what he could in the distance. He raised his finger and pointed at the area. "Blackwolf Clan! Forward!"


    ""Yeah!""


    All of them seemed to be happy as they advanced, and Rohan, intrigued by this scene, tried to look at what was before them.


    Curiously, he couldn''t find anything at all. There were still rocks everywhere, and even after a few days, they didn''t leave this damn desert.


    One of the reasons for that was because this strange clan was pretty much turning around and around every day, but still, this desert was a large one for Rohan.


    The more they approached the area targeted by these nomads, the more Rohan was questioning their sanity. There were the same rocks, the same sky, the same sun over there. Maybe the ground was a little darker, but there was nothing that could be of any interest.


    However, in contrast with the awkward expression Rohan was showing, the nomads driving their carts were much more enthusiastic. Arriving at the region they wanted to reach, they all put a foot on the ground.


    The sun was still high in the sky, and there was still a few hours left before the sun would flee the sky, but the clan decided to install the encampment on this area.


    The same show that Rohan had already seen a few times, presented itself again before his eyes as all the members were installing the camp.


    The children even helped to put the barriers all around, and after that was the hunt of the fire snake. From what Rohan could see, everyone could participate to hit the ground at the search of these creatures, but only some of them were apt enough to capture the keen animal.


    With almost an extraordinary dance, they were able to capture them easily, and Rohan had never seen anyone being bitten. Even though he thought their moves to be incredible, with his natural speed and control over his body, he wouldn''t have any difficulties doing even better than them.


    Once the camp was installed, the latrine dug and all the tents posed, a fire was lighted, devouring the pile of wood in the center.


    Coming from seemingly nowhere, a few of the nomads came back with a load of dry meat, as well as the snake they had just killed. From what Rohan could understand, everyone had the right to eat them, but it was still put in priority for the warriors.


    These were only a handful in the whole Blackwolf clan. There were five or six hundred members in the clan, and so many warriors among them was a strange occurrence. Even more when it was said to be almost impossible to become a warrior in the Barren Lands.


    Rohan also remembered what the chief clan had said about their clan being on the top three in the external ring, but he didn''t understand what importance such a title had.


    Thinking about him, the clan chief approached Rohan with a happy expression.


    "Warrior Rohan. I know I shouldn''t ask help from a guest of our great clan, even more so since it is you, but would you mind helping us for a bit?"


    He asked with a big smile, showing off his white teeth with one of the most jovial expressions Rohan had ever seen.

 Chapter 59 - Green Miracle

    Rohan. Son of a count. Rank 5 Beginner Warrior. Rank 1 Beginner Wizard. Has standing in front of the crackling fire with a large skewer in his hand and a sword at his hip.


    What was he even doing? Even he himself had some difficulties finding an answer to this question.


    On the skewer he was holding near the gigantesque fire, was different kinds of meat seasoned by the nomads. The aroma of the meat being cooked by the flame made Rohan intoxicated in the middle of this fragrance.


    With a blissful expression on his face, he was standing there, cooking his meat alongside the whole clan.


    The night had fallen some time ago, and for a reason which Rohan didn''t really understand, they were all here, doing a sort of feast.


    All the clan members were chatting around him, filling the area with their burst of voice. A lot of them were like him, just near the fire to cook the meat in their skewers.


    A distance away, he could even see the Chief Clan talking leisurely with some of his clan''s members.


    It was a party so different from what he was used to. He couldn''t help but observe them all and compare them to the noble.


    Children were playing around and running everywhere. One of them bumps into an adult. Instead of reprimanding him, this one simply stroked his hair before sending the boy away, taking back his discussion with a smile on his face.


    Old people were sitting on the ground, tasting their meat while reminiscing and telling each other some stories.


    It was moving all around, some were sitting, some were running, some were standing. All in all, the mood was one of the happiest that Rohan had ever seen.


    There weren''t the sophisticated manners of the noble, none of their hypocrisy. There wasn''t this norm of creating bounds with another noble, in the only purpose to have anything in return.


    It was a simple night, maybe even a naive one. It was maybe wild, but Rohan felt that he would remember this night for a very long time.


    He was looking around at the show taking place inside the camp, as a spectator of this great scene. He was an outsider, watching all the Blackwolf members having fun.


    A shadow stretched on him, and a young man appeared at his side. It was Deidros, with a smile on his smile.


    "It seemed to be the first time you see people having fun, warrior Rohan." He had a soft voice as always, resembling his weak appearance. But Rohan wouldn''t let himself be tricked by him.


    "Maybe. The parties that I have participated in weren''t as lively as this one."


    That was undeniably true, and he felt for a second that he probably would be happier if he had lived as a clan member since his childhood.


    "Haha, it''s true that we are lively when he feast! After all, life in the Barren Lands is not an easy one. If we couldn''t even unleash all our stress, the Blackwolf clan wouldn''t have survived until this day."


    A smile was on his face when he talked about this clan. A smile that Rohan would never be able to make.


    "Why are you whole doing the feast?" He was curious about this point. Why suddenly do they all want to play around? Did they just want to do so for no reason?


    Sensing a gaze resting on him, he looked to his left to cross the eyes with Deidros, who was with a slightly strange expression.


    "Well, my father doesn''t like to explain anything, but still, it should be easy to guess!" He patted the shoulder of the young warrior. "Tell me, Rohan, I can call you Rohan right? Do you really think that the nomads of the Barren Lands are just strolling around all their lives?"


    Rohan didn''t answer and just looked at this easy-going man. He would never admit it, but that was exactly what he had thought all this time.


    "Hahaha!" The son of the chief clan couldn''t restrain himself anymore and burst into laughter. His whole body was shaking as he looked at the calm expression of Rohan. "You are so easy to read. Come, I''ll show you why we are so happy to find this region!"


    With the huge fire lighting their backs, the duo walked away toward the frontier of the camp. The laughs and the discussions turned indistinct the more they approached the fence, and soon, Deidros stopped at a random place. Or at least, it was random for Rohan.


    "If you look at the ground, what do you see?"


    "Rocks." Rohan answered by reflex, without even having the time to lower his gaze.


    "Wrong, slightly better rocks!" He crouched on himself and pointed the soil in front of him. "Look carefully, and you''ll see the reason why we are happy to be here."


    These words had successfully planted curiosity inside his body, and in no time, he had his face against the ground, looking at whatever there was here.


    "Life in the Barren Lands is hard. We can''t even leave as we want, because the countries of the other side wouldn''t allow us to do so."


    While Rohan was searching through the ground in front of his eyes, he listened to the young man at his side, who was watching the starry sky.


    The moonlight was giving a white gleam at the body of this skinny person, further enhancing his ill appearance. His bright eyes were looking at the sky, longing for something.


    "We are forced to live in this prison, forced to walk in the hotter desert. In a zone without mana. Becoming a warrior in those lands is tough, tougher than everywhere else. We traveled around, searching for a good spot on which he can live for a few months."


    Rohan touched the rocks with his hand. What the hell was he supposed to find here?


    "But we can''t live too long on these small spots, otherwise we would destroy it forever. So we walk, again and again. And once we saw these small regions, then it meant we are on the good track. What you have before your eyes is simply telling us which way to go."


    Rock. Rock. Sand. Dust. It was all Rohan could discern in this darkness, either with his eyes or his hands. Abruptly, he stopped his hand. There. He had felt something tickle him. He approached his face to look at what was under the moonlight.


    "This is the way we live in this place, Rohan. And as they give us hope, the clans of the Barren Lands have named what you have in front of your eyes a Green Miracle."


    Rohan widened his eyes when he saw this ''Green Miracle''. In reality, it was nothing. He had already seen that countless times, and this everywhere. But that wasn''t a sight he expected to encounter there.


    It was so small, that it wasn''t a wonder why he had missed it. In front of his eyes, stood simply a green herb.


    A single strand of grass was showing its head in the middle of a desert.

 Chapter 60 - Is It Still The Barren Lands?

    The sun shined high in the sky, overlooking the mortal world with its might. Below him, fleeing this heavenly being and traveling toward the west, the Blackwolf clan was high in spirit, ready to reach their target.


    The clan''s members were encouraged before this view, as they thought about the next two months. It would be the time they will rest in the same area, and it will be a relief after traveling for weeks.


    Rohan, as always, was on his horse, following this group of hundred carts pulled by the kargas. Their wheels crushed the rocks on the ground. The carts shook left and right.


    After a few hours in the same direction, Rohan could finally see changes in this monotonous environment. Among the gray and red rocks, some patches of green grass, trying to defend their small territories against the incessant attack of the heat.


    More and more of these Green Miracles appeared as the beasts walked toward the west, and even Rohan felt happy in his heart. For the first time in his life, he started to develop hatred toward the sun. He was in a hurry to stop somewhere for a time.


    Hazy forms appeared in the distance. Even though Rohan was a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, it didn''t mean that his senses were much more developed than a normal human. Only the fifth meridian, going toward his brain, was somehow enhancing them a bit. But even so, that wasn''t enough for him to see what it was.


    It was impossible for him, but not for the veterans who had lived on these lands for decades. The sight of these long forms dancing under the heat of the sun was making them even more in a hurry to go forward.


    They walked more and more until Rohan was near enough to discern what it was. Never in his life would he have expected to be joyful because of a landscape, but here he was, with a smile on his face. Trees. In a large quantity. He could even call it a forest at this point. What perturbed Rohan, was that the demarcation between the desert area and the wooden one was an abrupt one.


    It was simply a large forest, posed in the middle of the desert.


    The trees were tall ones, reaching the sky as their green foliage danced under a light warm wind. Before long, the Blackwolf Clan reached the forest.


    Under the hooks of the kargas, it wasn''t the irritable noise of the rocks being smashed anymore. All Rohan heard was the soft crunches of the grass being stepped on. The green carpet, along with some yellowed parts here and there, was stretching in all directions.


    Growing on this grass, countless trees distanced themselves from each other, creating enough place for the clan to go forward without issue. But the Blackwolf clan wasn''t going to enter through this forest blindly, and a group of the strongest members descended from their carts.


    The warriors of the clan stood in front of the Clan Chief. There were among them two rank 2 Beginner Warriors, and five rank 1 Beginner Warrior, waiting for the instruction of the rank 3 Beginner Warrior looking at them.


    Rohan was too far away to hear what was said, but as he saw the group bulge their chest before they all ran in a different direction inside the forest, he immediately understood what they were doing.


    He wasn''t an expert at all, but he wasn''t stupid. If they wanted to live in the same place, even for a short time, they would need to fill back their stock of food and water. It should be the priority to find inside this large forest.


    The whole clan was waiting for the return of the warriors, and before long, they were already back. A rank 1 or 2 Beginner Warrior was two or three times stronger than a normal human, and although that didn''t mean they were necessarily two or three times faster than them, it was still much more efficient to send them.


    After all of them were back, a direction was chosen, and the clan took back the road. They entered the wooden area.


    It was another world. Rohan, who was getting used to the same rocks every day, cooled down under this variation. A small wind was stroking his face, it was warm, but also refreshing.


    The smell of dry leaves entered his nose, and Rohan couldn''t help but inhale the whole forest. The cries of birds flying above him filled his ears. He saw some of these black ones jump from a tree to another one, and dance in the air.


    Rohan thought back at what was his surrounding only a few hours earlier. He had difficulties understanding how in only a few steps the environment had changed that radically. It was as if he had suddenly learned the teleportation spell and had accidentally used it. In any case, this change was a welcomed one.


    The clan continued to advance through the trees, and apart from a few birds flying in the vicinity, they didn''t meet any beast in their way. Rohan squinted his eyes toward the direction they were taking.


    At each step, a strange noise was becoming clearer and fiercer. It was the same noise as a herd running in their direction. His heart began to pound on his chest, and his hand headed slowly on his weapon.


    He was maybe a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, but that wasn''t enough against a sheer difference of number. But the more he approached from the thundering noise, the more he felt like an idiot.


    He should have been able to recognize it in a second. After all, it wasn''t the first he was hearing or seeing one. He had even seen one a little too close, not so long ago.


    The noise was starting to encompass the whole region, and as the trees around them were becoming more and more sparse, a beautiful sight welcomed their arrival.


    A small mossy cliff was standing there, fighting against the erosion of time. From the top, clear water was cascading, bypassing every pointed rock protruding here and there.


    The shape of this moist cliff was like a semicircle, surrounding a small lake. This one was the final rest of the river, hidden by the body of the hill.


    The Blackwolf clan find themselves in front of the still lake, only troubled by the transparent trickle of water descending the cliff.


    Trees were all around the place, and ivy was climbing up, eating up the whole majestuous rock.


    Rohan was standing there. He forgot about his horse. He overlooked the other members of the clan. He missed the hundred carts. He found himself all alone. Crushed by the extraordinary sight in front of his eyes.


    A distance away from there, there was an enormous desert. It was made of rocks, pebbles, and sand. Nothing more.


    The sun was burning everything the day, and the moon was freezing everything the night. Such was the toughness of this region.


    And now, here he was. In the middle of a forest.. Never would Rohan have thought that he could discover such a heavenly place in the middle of the Barren Lands.

 Chapter 61 - Back To Train

    Rohan opened his eyes. Through his blurry vision, the large brown beast skin which surrounded his sleepy body defended him against the outside world.


    He was now lying on the fur, still groggy with sleep. All his surroundings were made of brown, the tent of the chief clan, what could be called a bed, all made of karags'' fur. Rohan yawned and sat down to chase away his need to sleep.


    Now that the Blackwolf Clan had found an area to rest for a few months before taking back the road, Rohan would continue his old habits. Of course, he would still not meditate for the time being, but that wouldn''t stop him from training his body.


    He would have to pay attention to not unveil the fact that he wielded more power than a simple rank 3 Beginner Warrior, but at least it will train him to control his body in a better way.


    Even though he was sleeping inside the tent, he still kept a tunic with long sleeves. There were still three other people sleeping in this tent, and even though what could be called rooms were separated by a large skin like a wall, Rohan preferred to play it safe.


    He changed and put on his leather armor, and with his scabbard in his hand, he finally left the tent. This one was empty, and the leader and his children weren''t inside anymore. The moment the sun burned his eyes through the trees around the encampment, he heard a shout not far away.


    The camp was now much larger than what the Blackwolf clan made in the middle of the desert and was taking a large area. The camp was beginning to be lively, and every member was occupied.


    Some of them went to cut trees with axes on their shoulders, while others walked toward the lake not far away. And on the right of Rohan, who was situated in the center of this camp, he could distinguish some people training there. Among them were the children of the Chief.


    The young warrior walked, his step crushing the grass below him. Some trees arose here and there in between the tents, hiding a bit the sun lighting the camp. Rohan bypassed the few people and headed toward the shouts.


    Rohan decided to meet them, and as he approached he saw the daughter of the chief, Daina, fight a duel with a young man. They were both normal humans, but they fought with spears with an extreme technique.


    Those were simple-looking weapons, and Rohan was pretty sure that the blades of these spears were not even made of iron, but some special rocks. He was not an expert, but he could still be called a blacksmith, and it was easy for him to recognize the matter.


    Now that he thought about it, Rohan couldn''t imagine iron to be found out there, and it also explained why only the warriors were wearing swords. It should be weapons won in battle against people of the other side as they called it.


    Daina rushed on her opponent with a wild cry before her weapon thrust forward, making the wind protest at its passage. Rohan looked curiously at her way to use the spear. He was only good with a sword and had never trained in any other weapons. Maybe he should try one day.


    The man in front of her jumped on the side to dodge the tip and slash with his spear from the left to the right with a large movement. But Daina only smirked at this sight. She dropped to the ground to let the blade travel above her head, and as her left hand touched the ground, she propelled her body and threw herself on her opponent.


    Seeing the woman charging at him, the man could only try to jump back and bring his weapon to him to defend, but unfortunately, she didn''t let him do so.


    She approached like a bolt, forcefully landed on the ground by stomping it with her left foot, and used all her strength and inertia to sweep the air with a large blow. The spear made a semicircle, and with the sharp edge too forward, it was the wooden part that struck the side of the man.


    The power of the blow sent him flying on his right and he landed on the ground with a muffled groan. As he tried to stand up, he saw in front of his face a pair of boots.


    "Rohan!" Deidros, seeing the newcomer, walked leisurely with a big smile to greet him. "Do you want to train as well? All the warriors are already taken but I''m sure you will find an interesting fight against one of them. I can''t fight myself."


    Rohan looked at the frail boy, with his long black hair flowing on his back and his bright smile. He looked weak, and Rohan believed him when he said he couldn''t fight, but he wouldn''t make the mistake of calling him weak.


    Rohan was a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, and he was able to feel the mana around him in a better way than before. It wasn''t incredible, but it was still enough to know that the seemingly weak boy in front of him wasn''t as weak as he tried to make it.


    "Tssk. Even if you''re a warrior. If you don''t use any skills, then even me, I can beat you easily!"


    Behind her brother, Daina was also approaching, and for an unknown reason, she radiated the urge to fight against the warrior. She seemed to be pissed off by Rohan''s presence. Did he kill her mother when he was looking away?


    Rohan took a look at this woman, with her black hair tied in the back at the warrior way, and her spear at her side. From what Rohan had seen, she was indeed a good fighter, but did she know that a rank 3 Beginner Warrior was at least four times more powerful than a normal human?


    Even if he restrained himself, she wouldn''t be able to win at all. But he didn''t comment anything about it. Since the brother and sister were waiting for an answer, while the small group waiting behind were also listening, Rohan didn''t have the choice.


    "Sure, I am also interested in your spearmanship anyway."


    He wasn''t lying. He only used the sword for more than six years now, and he had never used any other weapons.


    The warrior thought of himself to be somewhat good at the sword, but he knew that in a lot of fights, it wasn''t his skills that had made a difference. That was enough proof to say he wasn''t so good. At least, that was what he believed.


    Rohan moved past them to position himself in the center of what could be called an arena, which was simply a circle of grass delimited by the few spectators. He unsheathed his sword and looked at Daina walking in front of him.


    He would have to pay attention to not put too much strength. He would need to take control of his reflexes and refrained to aim at a vital area. He would also have to pay attention to not breaking this rudimentary weapon they called spear with his sword made by Horim.. All in all, now that he thought about it, that wouldn''t be an easy fight if he wanted to not create any problems.

 Chapter 62 - Smiling At Each Other

    Rohan was standing in front of the girl with a spear in her hand. For a short second, the appearance of the fierce woman changed to the one of a middle-aged man, with a sword and a perfect stance. But it wasn''t the time to think about the past.


    The young warrior slowly strolled toward the girl and waited for her to hit first. Not that he wanted to give his opponent a chance or anything, but he will use this opportunity to look at her movement.


    This one, not minding this act, charged toward her opponent with a short shout. She would show him what was the strength of the members of the Blackwolf clan. The young man in front of here was indeed a warrior, but he must never have lived any hardship, even more so as a child of a nobleman.


    She will show him that pure strength meant nothing!


    With the most extreme speed she could extract from her body, shit hit with her pointed spear toward the chest of her opponent. Rohan, seeing the tip approaching him, didn''t show any emotions.


    While no one could understand what was happening, Rohan broke the demands of Daina. He used a skill.


    Almost a fifth of his mana rushed toward his head. The time slowed down. The green grass was greener. The sunlight was brighter. With a critical eye, he watched all the movements of the woman. Her stance. The way she wielded her weapon. How she hit with a spear. Nothing could escape his scrutinizing gaze.


    At the last moment, as the spear was only a few centimeters away from his chest, his blade appeared on the trajectory and connected with the stony pick.


    The moment the two weapons touched each other, Rohan made a light move with his wrist, dispersing all the strength of the shock and sending it all in the arms of the young girl.


    It was only a small movement, but the result was grandiose. The spear of Draina bounced up because of the impact, and carried by it, she lost her balance.


    Her eyes widened as she saw the young warrior watching her with a critical eye. She jumped on the ground in front of her to roll forward. She stood up and put herself again in a battle stance.


    She might have judged the warrior in front of her too easily.


    The skill Overload came to a stop. It was a godly one for Rohan. It was short, definitely so. But it was the better way to improve his swordsmanship and study the spearmanship of his opponent.


    This time, Rohan didn''t wait and bolted forward. His speed had nothing to do with the young daughter of the chief, and even though he restrained himself to a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, he appeared in front of her in a second.


    His blade split the air in half. Daina didn''t have the time anymore to evade it, and she could only try to parry it. Without more options, she used exactly what she had seen.


    She led the blade of her spear to meet the sword, and even as she felt her arms numbing under such power, she made a small stir with her wrist, almost the same one she had seen Rohan do.


    Rohan felt his blade deflected by his opponent, and he watched with a funny face as his weapon moved a bit on the side, before it continued on its path.


    He was without a doubt surprised to see her manage to perform the same move he had done earlier, but it wasn''t enough at all. All she succeeded to do was to have a bit more time to get out of here.


    She used the rebound to jump back, but she was too slow. The sharp sword only touched her forearm, letting behind its way a thin red line.


    It was only a small injury, but the action was perfect. She knew that if he wanted to kill her, he could have done so without any problem. Instead, he had only chosen to mark a line on her arm.


    The spectators were flabbergasted by the show in front of them. It had only taken place for a few breaths, but the fight was out of their level. But when they thought it was the end, neither of the fighters wanted to finish here.


    Daina went back on the offensive and gritted her teeth. She squeezed all the strength she could to hit at a terrifying speed, thrusting her spear again and again. Since she had a better range than the faster and stronger warrior, she would use it plenty.


    On the side, Deidros was watching as his sister attacked here and there, forcing the young warrior into a defensive stance. This one parried or dodged each blow. He seemed to do so with ease, but Diedros felt as if he was struggling with something.


    Rohan defended himself against the pointed tip appearing in front of him. He hit with the flat of his sword to send away the blow, but not even a breath later, it materialized a new time, aiming for his flank.


    He made a step on the side and attacked a part of the spear he hadn''t hit before. He was starting to struggle a bit. He didn''t know where the woman was finding all her stamina, but it became more and more complicated to defend without destroying the spear.


    Rohan was restraining his strength and this to not even a rank 2 Beginner Warrior. That was putting a strain on his body and his mind. He was in the possibility of letting all his force explode at any moment, and not doing so increased his frustration.


    But he continued to defend himself and didn''t take the initiative to attack. The reason was that he felt himself winning much more in this fight than in any ones he had participated in the last few months. A challenge was what he needed to keep advancing.


    Back when he was training in the shop at Blanche, he was always alone, hitting nothing but the air, and remembering the move Makin had taught him. He was just dancing and trying to perfect his moves, of course, he wouldn''t be able to increase his level easily.


    Even when he was fighting against opponents, that wasn''t the best time at all to learn how to fight. They were useful as he was trying his best to survive while neutralizing the enemies, but when all the things he was trying to do were to survive, all techniques not trained sufficiently were just useless.


    In the end, he was painfully aware that all his victories were only because of his superior strength. Most of his opponents were far weaker than him, and he wouldn''t restrain himself like he was doing now.


    If it wasn''t a reflex engraved into his flesh, and if he needed to think about the moves he should do, then that meant his training had given him nothing. That was why sometimes he came up with stupid ideas, like throwing his potions into the head of his opponent, or throwing away all the plates that he could find.


    That was simply because he didn''t know what to do in these situations, and he only used the first solution that was coming to his mind. That had nothing to do with technique and swordsmanship, and his own wasn''t the best one at all.


    That was why he smiled during this duel when he was struggling, and that was why the woman in front of him, who seemed to hate him for an unknown reason, was also smiling.


    She was using all her strength, and she was near exhaustion. Her arms were numbed under the force of the shocks spreading in her body. Her legs became like jelly. Her mind spun around.


    She was struggling to keep up this excruciating effort. But she was still feeling great. She wasn''t thinking about her opponent. All she thought about was to thrust. To step on the left. To hit again. There, a leap forward. Here, another thrust. And again.


    She overlooked her pain. Rohan discarded his frustration.


    The mind of these two fighters was filled with their moves, with the will to improve them.


    Just by fighting for a bit more than a couple of minutes, they had both learned a lot.

 Chapter 63 - Vortexes And Runes

    A few days had already passed for Rohan after the duel with Daidras, and as he couldn''t endure it anymore, he had decided this day to go alone in the forest.


    His goal was simple, and all he wanted to do was to go meditate and create his first vortex as soon as possible. He didn''t know how much time it would take him to do so, but that wouldn''t be an easy feat.


    A lot of warriors, even some who had become rank 5 in a really short time, found a wall in front of them when they try to become an Intermediate Warrior. Will alone would suffice, talent and effort where necessary.


    A long time ago, Rohan had read the story about a mighty Supreme Warrior. This one, with mediocre talent and some shortcomings to construct his meridians, couldn''t perfect them enough to become a stronger warrior.


    In the end, as his weak meridians couldn''t support any vortexes, he had come up with one of the worst ideas anyone would have thought about. He had crippled himself.


    He had destroyed his five meridians, even the one connected to his skull. The pain was without a doubt the most extreme one someone could feel, and Rohan who had already lived through a mana combustion could only imagine it.


    After destroying every meridian of his body, and at the frontier between life and death, he began the same tough meditation he once had done, but in a much more painful way. He had waited months and months for his body to heal, but seeing that it couldn''t be like it was before, he had no choice but to construct his meridians with such a damaged body.


    He continued and continued, until one day, with sheer will and effort, his five meridians were newly opened. They were now much more solid than the ones before, but his body was on the brink of breaking apart.


    But he didn''t care, and under a pain ever-growing, he constructed his vortexes. The first one was a success, then the second, until the last one. He had taken decades and decades for each of them, always pushing back the doors of death with each ranking up.


    And now, this warrior had a status inside the capital of the most powerful Empire of the human and was dimmed to be the Supreme Warrior with the most willpower of the world.


    But this story was just a story. Rohan, sitting on a fresh carpet of grass under the protecting shadow of a tree fighting the sunlight for him, pushed these thoughts away.


    Now was the time to continue where he had last stopped before his encounter with the Blackwolf clan. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the mana resting inside his chest. With incredible ease, he dragged it toward the right and made it rush inside his first meridian.


    Once the thread made of mana reached the end of the meridian, where he had connected it, he saw his previous work.


    There, the entrance was slightly larger than the rest of the meridian, and without wasting more time, he began the tough work. He manipulated the mana and made it turn on itself. He was forced to do so slowly, as the area kept swelling bit by bit.


    His mana decreased over time as it was used in the process and the result was so pitiful for so much time and mana used that Rohan felt a pinch in his heart.


    What a warrior should do to become an Intermediate warrior is in theory relatively simple. It was to use the mana and to make a vortex appear where the meridian was connected.


    To do so, Rohan just needed to keep increasing the size of the opening with the same moves. And a vortex would appear at the end, permitting the warrior to increase his mana total and the speed at which it regenerated.


    It seemed easy, but it wasn''t at all. The first key point was that the meridian needed to be tough enough and well made to support such pressure. The most important one was that the moves used to make the mana turned on itself must be precisely the same. Too many variations and the enlarged part would simply be to fragilize and crumble on itself.


    Every time, there were a lot of Beginner Warriors who had destroyed their chances to become an Intermediate one because they wanted to get faster, but precipitation was never a good way to advance.


    Rohan understood this perfectly, but with only the memories of the book he had read and without anyone to guide him, it was difficult to grasp and to know if he was going too fast or not. In the end, he was forced to move by himself. Once he would try to become an Advanced Warrior, he didn''t even have the slightest idea where he should go to find the method.


    After an hour or so, the session of meditation was finished. Or at least, it was the case for half of the session Rohan had envisaged to do.


    He shifted his attention from the mana core to the mana stone, where another job was waiting for him.


    The second rune was much more ridiculously hard than the first one, and each stroke needed all his mana to engrave it on the violet mana stone. He had already drawn 16 of them and was now preparing to draw the 17th one.


    He had already lost a few weeks among the Blackwolf Clan, and his training was thus harder to continue. He was even trying to learn each stroke of the rune whenever he could, especially at night since nobody could spy on him easily, but he couldn''t do it with peace in mind. Even though he had already made 16 strokes, he still had 623 more to do, and that would take him a long time before he would become a rank 2 Beginner Wizard.


    Even if he could openly make his session every time he could, he would take a few months to finish it. Each stroke needed all his mana, which was 10 points.


    As a wizard, the mana resting on his mana stone only needed five hours to be fully regenerated, and this meant that at best, he could only do three, or maybe four sessions a day if he was foolish enough. But even if he could do it, he would still need almost five months to finish it.


    This simple thought made Rohan sigh, and he nearly swore when he remembered that right now, he was only at one session a day.


    He willed the mana to move the way he ordered it and began the engraving. Since he only had to draw one stroke, he found the whole operation painfully easy and dull.


    It wasn''t like the first rune, where he could draw it in a single breath, with a beautiful dance. Here, he could only advance slowly, one step after another. He finished only a few minutes later, void of any mana.


    He was tempted to use his weak mana potions to continue, but he didn''t have many of them anyway. That wouldn''t change anything.


    As he was going to stand up to leave, a strange thought materialized in his mind.


    "If I drink a mana potion right, which one will be filled first? The mana stone or the mana core?"

 Chapter 64 - Invited To Hunt

    Rohan stood up. The sunlight pierced through the tree and dazzled the young warrior. Now that he had finished his session for the day, it was time to come back. He had already wasted almost two hours, and alone in the middle of the forest, he didn''t have a lot of excuses to give to the clan''s members.


    Not that he needed to give them any reasons if he wanted to do anything, but Rohan wanted to prevent them from asking any questions or having any doubts.


    His leather boots stomped on the grass and the dried leaves. His direction was naturally the camp, and as he strolled on this forest, he couldn''t help himself but enjoy the scenery.


    Birds were crying and playing around. The wind was caressing the trees, making them dance under this warm aerial current. The distant river was flowing naturally, far away from the left of the young warrior.


    It was so different from the desert that he couldn''t believe this one to be situated not even a day from here. The Barren Lands were quite bizarre to him.


    He had learned that a long time ago, all the Barren Lands were one and only one big luxuriant forest, stretching and taking the place of the whole south of the continent. But the mana disappeared little by little, the earth was dying and the water flew away. Even the wind restrained his movement.


    And because of this, patches of desert slowly appeared here and there, destroying this part of the world, until its name was adopted by everyone. Rohan didn''t know if it was true. But from what he could see, it was highly the case.


    He had always lived surrounded by mana. The north was said to have it in a much more quantity and quality, but it didn''t change the fact that he was born in a place with more mana than the Barren Lands.


    While being born surrounded by mana and living all his life inside didn''t increase the facility at which someone could rank up, a theory was made that he was extremely helpful to raise the easiness at which a person could control it. What increased was the spirit.


    There were always exceptions, as there were some warriors with a whopping value of spirit even from the south. The wizards were not counted from this theory, since almost all their spirits were coming from the mana stone they had since birth.


    No one knew why this one appeared, or at least Rohan didn''t have heard about it.


    Then, in that case, what about him? A mana stone was said to bring only a spirit of 5. Then why did he have such a spirit, even though he was from one of the poorest lands of the continent? Did it mean that if he was born in the north, where mana is abundant, he would have tripled his value?


    Rohan shook his head to chase away such thoughts. While he was daydreaming, he had already reached the encampment.


    The sun was lighting the whole area, showing off an almost palpable aura of holiness. The camp of the Blackwolf clan was a lively one, and people were moving everywhere.


    As Rohan passed through the entrance, he crossed the path of a team, ready to leave. Each of them had a bow on their back and a spear on their hands. Without a doubt, they were going to hunt. A familiar face was among them.


    "Warrior Rohan! What about accompanying us?" Daina bluntly asked him as they crossed each other. Behind her, some of the hunters didn''t look enchanted by this proposition.


    She was wearing some sort of clothes made of brown leather, a longbow on her back, and a skin bag on her side. Her hair was tied back, and her dark eyes stared at the young warrior.


    All the hunter of this small group was wearing the same equipment. From what could see Rohan, it was their tanned leather probably made off karags. It was far from the modest leather armor he was wearing, which contained some pieces of metal reinforcing it.


    "Daina! Why do you want to bring a dead weight with us, he probably doesn''t even know how to walk in a forest." Some of the men around this young one laughed at his remark.


    It wasn''t the first time that he had received such remarks here and there since he followed the clan. He couldn''t do anything about it, as it was normal that some of them were pissed off by this newcomer tagging along with them for no reason.


    But even so, if there was something that Rohan hated the most, it was without a doubt the lack of respect. Not the lack of respect for his rank as the child of a noble, or as a powerful warrior. Simply the respect that everyone should receive.


    The Blackwolf clan was indeed kind enough to let him come with them toward their sacred mountain, so Rohan wouldn''t play with the fire. The day he had dueled against Daina, the aftermath went in a dangerous direction.


    As he had dared to injure the daughter of the chief clan, some of the clan members had used this opportunity to raise their voices. Fortunately, the victim didn''t care at all and her father even less. But if Daina was a shrewd girl, he would probably have to flee. Or worse, to kill them all.


    That was why he didn''t even look at this guy. He shook his head, and without stopping his walk he refused the invitation politely. Why should he travel along with people he wanted to hit and break every bone?


    "Pff look at this. Such a coward." The smug voice entered the ears of Rohan. A smile stretched on his face. Such a blatant provocation. He continued his way toward a tranquil place where he wanted to continue his training. He felt that he was losing too much time already.


    "You are sure you don''t want us to teach you how to hunt properly? I''m sure you would find it useful one day." Daina didn''t stop here and threw her bait toward the warrior who was already walking away. That would be fantastic if she could plant her spear into the useless guys behind her.


    She had fought against Rohan. And even more than once. In fact, they have been fighting against each other every morning since this duel. It was during these times that the curiosity in her eyes had appeared. When she fought against him, the feeling she had of the warrior was different.


    Right now, it was only an aloof man, always calm who gave the impression he would be this way forever.


    But when she dueled him, it was another story. It was as if a beast was lurking inside his human skin, chained, and waiting for the day it would go out. More than one reprise, when they were almost entranced in their fight, she had felt death approaching dangerously, only stopped by the will of this warrior.


    This man couldn''t be a simple rank 3 Beginner Warrior for Daina.. At least, he felt much more different from her father and the old Garrold.

 Chapter 65 - Learning Everything

    Rohan turned around as he heard the daughter of the chief clan. She was undoubtedly right. He had never hunted anything in his life, and now that he was traveling around by himself, he would need at some point to chase after some real meat.


    The last time he had fought against a powerful beast, which he still believed to be a magical beast, he wasn''t even capable enough to dissect it.


    At that time, he just didn''t have a good idea how to do so, without taking into account the lack of tools to do so. He had indeed read about it, but it was too far away to remember all the details.


    Since he would need to learn it at some point, Daina''s proposition was appealing to the young warrior. The problem was with the group at her side.


    It was only a small team of hunters, counting seven clan members. They were all young, but that didn''t mean they were inexperienced. From what Rohan had noticed since he was traveling with this clan, all the children learned from a young age how to fight, and how to use a spear and a bow.


    He didn''t understand why though, as there wasn''t any threat out there. Maybe it was just a tradition from the clans, to reinforce physically and mentally their members.


    Among them, there were two women. Daina of course, but also another one.


    She had blond hair and was taller than Rohan. She looked exactly like the woman advisor of this clan.


    The five other members were all young men, a bit older than Rohan. But since he looked older than his true age, they all thought to be around the same one.


    Rohan judged one of them to be the leader of the group, from the way he was proudly standing there. It wasn''t the one who had opened his mouth earlier but Rohan was sure of that.


    He had experienced a lot of encounters with nobles when he was still living at Rivoiras, and knowing from one glance who was leading or following was the most basic skill a noble needed to learn.


    At the side of this leader was the one Rohan wanted to cut into pieces. He had a scar on the left side of his mouth, going up to the ear.


    Now Rohan was in a bit of a dilemma.


    The five men and the woman showed a hostile faces: they didn''t want at all to be followed by this random warrior.


    That was the point Rohan didn''t understand. He was a rank 3 Beginner Warrior in the eyes of the Blackwolf clan. Then how could these random people, not even mana users, dare to look at him this way? What if he snapped right there to kill them all in a second?


    He didn''t even need to use any skills to do so, just the superior speed, his blade, and his mighty strength, and he would be able to kill them all in a few seconds before any help could arrive.


    Learning how to hunt would be useful for Rohan, and he couldn''t see himself asking with puppy eyes to the chief clan if someone was kind enough to teach him. His only option was to accept.


    "Yes, if you want to teach me how to hunt, then I''m okay to come with you all." Rohan slightly bowed his head.


    He didn''t know why this fierce woman who always seemed to hate him to the core wanted to teach him anything, but he wouldn''t be afraid in any case. He didn''t think there was an ambush or anything like this, but in any case, that would have almost no impact.


    The group of hunters didn''t hesitate to let go of their frustration and lamented that they didn''t want to drag such a dead weight.


    Rohan was ready to learn anything and to bow his head for that. But he wasn''t known for his patience, and he might punch one or two before they even left the encampment.


    He reckoned that would be the true challenge of this great trip.


    With a small smile on her face, Daina turned around and without wasting more time, she left the camp to enter the forest. Today, she wanted to find the secrets of this unknown warrior.


    Since she was still the daughter of the chief clan, the group followed without adding too much ruckus. They didn''t want to team up with Rohan, but if Daina was willing, how could they protest?


    The instant Rohan entered back in the forest, his foot crunched a twig. This small noise, barely audible in his mind, made the group stop all at once.


    "Fuck mate, seriously? Watch your damn step! We''re going to hunt, not stroll around!" The one with the scar turned around and threw his arms in the void. "See that? I told you all that this thing will destroy all chances to hunt anything."


    Rohan tried everything. For a few seconds, a sea of flame appeared inside his mind. He extinguished the moment it appeared. He released a mouthful of air. He was calm, as calm as ever. Or at least, that was what the group of hunters was believing. All of them but one person.


    Daina gulped down silently. She had felt it for a second, as if the whole atmosphere had changed, crashing on her and crushing her body. She had been paralyzed for not even a second, but that was enough.


    "Stop it Guros. Everyone needs to learn something before knowing anything." The one supposed to be the leader advanced toward the young warrior with a particular purple ribbon tying back his hair. " Rohan it was, right? Watch out inside a forest young warrior, and keep your eyes open. Twig, roots, leaf, I want you to dodge everything."


    The young boy behind, Guros, looked pissed off as he saw the man stop him. But when he heard the following sentence, his disgusting smile went back on his face.


    "Now that I have told you that, if I hear your step only once, you get out of this party, is it understood?" His clear eyes were piercing through Rohan''s, putting a small pressure onto the warrior.


    Rohan couldn''t believe it. Were all these guys completely nuts? Hearing the threat from this man almost made Rohan burst into laughter. It was like an ant insulting a snake. What was even the point?


    ''Maybe the lack of heat is making them stupid? We aren''t in the desert anymore after all.''


    "Thank you for your teaching. I''ll pay attention to it."


    Even if he still wanted to crush their faces at all of them, he wouldn''t lose his precepts. If someone was teaching him anything, then he would thank them for it. Only after would he break their legs if they continued this way.


    The team took back the way and they sank inside this green forest. Rohan, at the rear, was paying attention to where he put his feet. But he wasn''t only doing that, he also watched carefully how the other ones were doing.


    His only purpose from coming was to learn everything he could.

 Chapter 66 - Everything Is Fine

    The group of hunters was rushing inside the dense forest. The luxuriant foliage was bushier here. The sun struggled to pierce through the rampart made off the tall trees trying to reach the sky.


    At the rear, Rohan was struggling to follow them. His ears and eyes concentrated on his surroundings and the path in front, he leaped forward, jumped here and there, reached all the area without any leaves or twigs.


    He was faster than everyone, he was also more agile, had better reflexes, and had the best control over his body. But even so, he was the last one, still trying to catch up.


    He wasn''t even paying attention to the other hunters, only at the disturbances he was making in every move.


    He was following them to know how to hunt, and he decided to put all his energy into it. What he didn''t know was that Daina was moving with a baffled expression. She seldom heard his steps!


    Running inside a forest was an art requiring years to be learned. Each part of a forest was always different, some were moist, some dry. Other areas were full of leaves while others were full of twigs. Thus, there was an obligation to modify the pace depending on the location.


    But all of that was taking years to learn, and at best she could only make all her steps muffled. And here he was, a young warrior running behind while she didn''t hear anything.


    At a moment she had even believed that the warrior named Rohan wasn''t following them anymore and that he was lost somewhere behind.


    But when she had looked back to verify her suspicion, she was utterly shocked beyond words. His movements were simply prodigious. He jumped to his left to land with only the tip of his left boot on a minuscule area, and without even posing the foot on the ground, he was already in the air, reaching another impossible safe area.


    Each time he was landing, he contracted all his muscles. The leather armor on him, the spear on his back that Daidras had given to him, his sword on his hip. Nothing moved, as if trapped in a supernatural stillness. The woman had never seen such a thing in her life.


    It wasn''t only the control over the body or the precision of the movements, it was something else that made her mind spin on itself. And she didn''t even know what it was. She shook her head to continue his way, that wasn''t her problem anyway.


    They continued to travel, at the research of a target, when suddenly the one at the front made them stop. There. He crouched on himself and called everyone to approach.


    As Rohan was nearing the group looking at the same spot, Rohan stretched his neck curiously. All he could see was the soil, some leaves, a few roots showing off their bodies, and some insects walking there.


    "You see that?" Daina pointed her finger at a small mark on the ground.


    One of the younger members, the same one with the scar, sighed loudly.


    "Seriously, are we here to nurse a child? We''re wasting time!"


    Some laughed while the other ones smiled. Rohan, he, saw himself unsheathed his sword and cut his arm. Taking out his spear and thrust it toward the crotch of the man. Making him eat the ground with a Strengthened Blow.


    Everything was fine. He felt his blood heat under the repressed rage he felt. But he restrained himself. Everything was fine.


    "So this is a footprint?" He didn''t even look at the man, and instead focused on the barely visible mark on the ground.


    "Yes, it is. From the freshness of the soil, we can deduce that this beast was here not long ago." Daina explained all she knew about it. Since she had offered to teach this man, then she will do it.


    The man, named Guros, was now playing with his knife. He was exaggerating his moves while playing with the nerves of the young warrior trying to keep himself in check.


    "It''s good now? Can we go? It''s gonna be the night if we cont¡­"


    "If I hear you utter one more word, I''ll cut off your tongue." Rohan fixed his gaze on the boy.


    He couldn''t anymore. Was he stupid? He could crush him right there and no one would be able to do anything. He felt his heart shaking under the rage, but he was doing everything to refrain from it.


    What had occurred back at the party with the foolish girls was still on his mind. He didn''t want to enter another time into this state.


    Guros must have seen that Rohan would indeed do it, as his face turned pale. Then for an unknown reason, a smile bloomed on his face.


    "Sorry what? What did you say? If you touch any of us, the warrior Garrold will have to cut off your neck. Then come, what are you waiting for, eh? You think you''re powerful since you''re a mighty warrior? Hahaha, what a stupid guy, truly from the other side!"


    The rage that was making Rohan''s blood boil disappear in an instant. All his frustration faded away, alongside any emotions he got.


    He had the impression to distinguish small red dots appearing here and there, but he discarded it.


    All he felt was calmness. There was him, standing in front of seven persons crouching to look at the soil.


    He was slightly bent. It was to look at what Daina was showing him. This one was in front of him, in the middle of the group. The other woman was on the left, and near her was the leader of the group. Other than them, there were four men, all crouching.


    Rohan was currently thinking, calculating.


    In less than a second, he could unsheathe his weapon, and sweep it from the left to the right. Before they could even understand what was happening, Rohan was sure that he could kill the seven people in front of him with a single move.


    All the seven heads would fall to the ground at the same time.


    The seven bodies would follow suit, and the blood would flow like a river.


    But what after that? Finding a culprit? Impossible, apart from him, who could kill them? Plus, the clan wouldn''t believe him.


    Flee? Then the clan will know it is him, and if they passed the word to the other clans, it could reach powerful ears. That wouldn''t be the best result since the four clans ruling the foot of the mountain seemed to be powerful. In the end, he still needed to go to Kolmos mountain.


    Kill all the clan''s members? Then he should have planned it correctly, as he couldn''t let a single one of them escape.


    "Rohan?" No one could hear it, but there was a slight nervosity in the voice of Daina. She didn''t know why, but she wanted to get out of here right now.


    Rohan snapped back into reality.. He lowered his gaze and looked at the girl for a second. Was he really planning to coldly kill a few hundred people right now?

 Chapter 67 - I Dont Need A Bow

    In the middle of the darkness of the forest, an animal bent its long neck to eat the fresh and moist grass covering the ground. Its fur was of a beautiful reddish-brown, contrasting with the green grass, but bending with the dried leaves.


    Its gracious body stood on its four thin and elegant legs. Its tail, with the underside being a pure white fur, simply hung there, inert.


    Its long muzzle pointed to the ground, munching on some herbs. Its rectangular ears were standing upright, scanning the region for the slightest noise.


    It was the first time for Rohan to see a doe, and it was a majestic sight.


    Back when he was living inside Rivoiras, it was indeed a frequent occurrence for the noble to hunt here and there. Even his brother participated in these activities, pushed by their mother.


    But for Rohan, it was simply a waste of time to participate in these things. Thus compared to the other nobles'' children, he didn''t have any experience hunting. This was even the first time for him to be able to observe a beast while being this close to it.


    The group of hunters was at his side, watching carefully their target. They were hiding in the bushes, the wind brushing their faces.


    It was another lesson that Rohan had learned today. After Daina had explained to him how to understand to read through the footprint on the soil, the team had decided to hunt it. And for that, the first thing to pay attention to after determining its position was the wind.


    A hunter should never advance along with the wind. That was why after moving away from the print, they had made a large detour, only to feel the wind on their face.


    It was so obvious after thinking about it, but Rohan would probably never have thought about it himself. Even if he had the urge to kill these bastards with whom he is traveling, he was happy to learn that much.


    After he had slightly lost himself and snapped back to reality with Daina''s interpellation, the young warrior had let go of his anger for the sake of the hunt. And after tracking the beast in total silence, they were now hiding tens of meters away from it.


    "Rohan, the honor is for you." Daina whispered in the ears of the warrior, making the other members frown. "I''ll give you my bow, aim at the head!"


    Rohan stopped looking at the surprising show of the beast eating the grass and stared at the huntress with a strange expression. Since when had he learned to use a bow? For the first time in his life, he began to feel embarrassed.


    "Hmm. I never used a bow before." He mumbled back, making the small crowd stretch their neck. When they understood what he had said, the young man that was targeting him from the beginning showed his teeth with a beautiful smile.


    "What a useless warrior! Do you just know how to hit with a big sword, and nothing else? Ha! What a joke, man. Truthfully¡­"


    Rohan couldn''t anymore, he needed to vent somewhere. He abruptly stood up. The branches around him bruised under his contact.


    The sound reaches the ears of the doe, tickling them. It raised its head to observe the surroundings.


    Rohan didn''t give them time to his target to discover his presence. He took out the spear from his back in a light gesture. The whole movement was made smoothly as if he had trained thousands of times to do it.


    He weighed it with his right hand. The beast looked in his direction, while the warrior raised his arm. The weapon pointed to this animal.


    Its tail raised, and it was looking with apprehension at the strange creature that had appeared on its left. It felt something was wrong in the eyes of this animal, and suddenly, it decided to leap away.


    But Rohan was faster. He used a small part of his mana and sent it all toward his arm at lighting speed. It exploded inside his meridian, filling it with mighty strength. The young warrior felt himself able to break rocks with his fist, tear off metal with his fingers, uproot trees with his hands.


    The beast leaped on the side and began to run away, scared for its life. All of a sudden, the powerful noise of the wind being split apart filled its ears. What was it? It turned its head at the doom impending noise approaching.


    Before it could see anything, before it could understand anything, before it could feel anything, darkness appeared.


    The next moment, the beast was on the ground. Blood was flowing on the side. The spear that was thrown by the warrior was now fully planted inside a tree, being the carcass of the doe. Without a doubt, it was now impossible to take it back.


    The group of hunters was watching with their jaws open. They didn''t understand what was this stupid guy was doing as he stood up while taking his spear. A doe was a sensitive creature, and a slight noise was enough to scare it away.


    Most importantly, aiming with the spear was far more complicated than with a bow, and that was because of its speed. Or at least, when it was a normal human being throwing it.


    What they had just seen, however, was just too godly!


    The spear had broken through the air and it had materialized in front of the beast almost instantly. More than fifty meters were separating them from the doe, but the spear had just flown in a straight line.


    After a single breath, the spear had entered through the skull, pierced the brain of the beast, and continue its way. Before the hunters could even do anything, the weapon was already on the tree behind the doe, with only a small part being visible. The tip could probably be seen behind the tronc.


    What they had just seen was far too powerful. Even the young man with a scar couldn''t speak anymore.


    "What are you doing? Let''s go to the corpse. I still need to learn to dissect it." With an otherwordly calm on his face, Rohan glanced at these hunters before walking toward the beast.


    He had let go a bit of his frustration but that wasn''t enough. At least for now, they should calm down a bit.


    Behind him, it was Daina who snapped back first. She stood up to follow behind him. As she was walking, she was lost in her thoughts.


    The reason why she had taken Rohan with them was to find something about him. But now that she had a glance of this strength, she didn''t know if she had succeeded in her goal.


    This blow. She was sure that even Garrold wasn''t capable enough to do it. She was certain. Maybe a rank 3 Beginner Warrior from the other side was stronger than a rank 4 Beginner Warrior from here? She didn''t know. But in any case, she would have to tell her father about it.


    After all, it was him who had asked her to watch this warrior closely.

 Chapter 68 - Only I Can See The Truth

    Lying on its blood, the lifeless body of the doe had a large hole on its head. Blood and brain matter were dropping down against the grassy ground.


    The man gulped down at this sight. He was maybe used to the might of the rank 4 Beginner Warrior of their clan, but he was far too weak compared to this Rohan.


    This parasite had come on these lands. Like all people on the other side, he probably thought of himself as a king putting his feet in a barbarians'' land.


    It wasn''t without any reason that the countries outside of the Barren Lands were called the other side. These despicable bastards were just acting like gatekeepers and any person wanting to get out of these tough lands was simply pushed back. Or worse, killed.


    A few years ago, maybe a decade, there was a clan from the interior ring which had decided to leave these poor lands.


    It was only some time after that all the clans of the Barren Lands had learned what had happened.


    They had been exterminated. This clan knew they couldn''t ask any country or city to live along with them, so they had chosen the only choice they got. They simply live their nomadic life, but on better land.


    They had camped inside a luxuriant forest, and on the contrary with the one the Blackwolf was currently resting, there wasn''t any need to pay attention to the flora and fauna. They could rest on the same area for months and months, and no damage was done to the surrounding area.


    Animals were seemingly infinite, waiting to be chased. Water was everywhere, offering its body. The weather was perfect, welcoming them.


    But unfortunately, it didn''t take long before the country was aware of their presence. What was said was that there wasn''t any warning. Nothing, but a group of powerful warriors had crushed them.


    It was a mid-sized clan from the interior ring, and there was a rank 5 Beginner Warrior among them. But even so, no one survived. The country who had exterminated them, which was called Daksina or something, had simply sent back the bodies to the Barren Lands.


    Guros hated to the core these people from the north, from the other side. Thinking of them as if they were mighty.


    But what was better than them? Nothing. He knew how to hunt, he knew how to cook, he knew how to use a bow, he knew how to use a spear.


    The man in front of him had only his strength, only given to him because of his environment. If this Rohan or whatever was born inside these lands, he would be nothing.


    But for a reason he couldn''t understand, Daina was interested in this man. She was currently crouching in front of the dead doe. She had a knife in her hand and was talking to the warrior. She pointed at some areas of the beast while the warrior nodded his head.


    He didn''t like it. Why should they teach anything to this parasite? He had just shown up like that, snapping his fingers. Now he was here as if the mighty Blackwolf clan was obliged to teach him everything he wanted.


    And what was pissing him off was also the reaction of the other members of the group. They were all around the warrior and Daina, adding comments and more information here and there.


    Did the strength the warrior had shown to them was enough to brainwash them, to make them bow their head and prostrate themselves? He couldn''t tolerate it! It was simply preposterous!


    This guy wasn''t a member of the clan. There was no need to be his slaves or anything. Then why? Why? Why? WHY?!


    He could only gnash his teeth and tighten his fists. If he could, he would have already pounced on this bastard. This one was currently holding a dagger. He could see it from where he was. It was a much better weapon than all he had on him.


    How could he be unable to have such a well-made weapon? Simply because he was from the Barren Lands? He couldn''t tolerate it. This warrior was pissing him off the more he thought about it.


    He saw himself taking his spear to plant it on the stranger''s back. The urge to kill him was stronger and stronger, like a seed burgeoning in his mind.


    His nail entered inside his palm. A few drops of blood left the small injuries and flowed down against the grass at his feet.


    He saw the warrior nodding a new time in his head, and he placed his dagger where Daina had told him to. He sank the blade inside the fur and skin, and without taking too much time, he began to remove the skin.


    With the strength of the warrior, the control he had over his body, as well as the quality of his blade, the job was cleaner than everyone had thought.


    The skin was removed bit by bit, and the warrior didn''t even need to cut it into several pieces. Before long, the whole skin, without any holes on it, without any marks or scratches, was perfectly removed.


    Such a deed was only because of his strength, and such strength was only given to him because he came from the north. Maybe he even had the richness to drink potions every day to increase his rank.


    The man felt his rage grow inside his body, making his hands shake from the surplus of emotions.


    After the skin was removed, Daina and the other hunters began to felicitate this bastard, as if he was some kind of genius. But it was only because he came from the north, why were they congratulating him? That didn''t make any sense!


    Then, they explained to him how to cut the meat of the beast, while removing the blood the fastest possible to have the best savor.


    The six other hunters were fully explaining everything and guided him. This warrior, him, only had to follow their guidance. He took out the flesh, removed the blood, and extracted the best organs.


    The warrior then smiled. A smile sending arrows into the mind of the young man, watching with hatred. It was a smile saying it was so easy, saying they were useful to him. He wanted to torture this bastard, but he couldn''t, simply because he came from the north where becoming a warrior was an easy feat.


    In the end, once everything valuable was taken away from the dead doe, the carcass was separated into a few parts. They wouldn''t let anything here. On the contrary, each member was enveloping a part in a skin bag to bring back everything to the camp.


    They weren''t hunting for anything after all. The Blackwolf Clan needed to make some reserve for when they headed to the Kolmos mountain.


    Guros also bent down with shaking hands, full of rage, to put his part inside his bags.


    He couldn''t but always watch from the corner of his eyes at this warrior named Rohan. He had the urge to kill this bastard, but he was far too weak to do so.


    He was the only one here seeing the truth, but he could only wait for now.. And plan to kill this warrior coming from the other side, to save and bring justice to his clan.

 Chapter 69 - Anyone Able To Hunt Is A Friend

    After Rohan had shown off his strength, the tension in the group miraculously eased a lot.


    They knew he was a warrior, but they apparently needed to see it with their own eyes to be scared by it. Not that Rohan cared about their feelings, but at least the way back would be much more peaceful.


    All the young hunters were now minding their manners. All, but one. It was the one who had initiated all the remarks, the one with a scar on his face.


    He was now slightly behind everyone as if his role and Rohan''s had been exchanged. But the young warrior didn''t like the light he saw in the eyes of this man.


    He was staring at him every so often and that was seriously creeping Rohan.


    Rohan was still feeling some anger in him. He knew that if he didn''t have put all his strength when he had killed the doe he would have directed it toward this odious man. But he reckoned he had used way too much of it.


    Fortunately, no one seemed to have felt it, but he needed to take it on himself. He still needed the help of this clan, and he wasn''t under the protection of Delia or Horim here.


    One wrong step, and it might be the end for this adventure in the Barren Lands.


    On their way back, the group found another trace for a beast. But they didn''t choose to track it since they already had hunted their prey.


    From what Rohan could understand, the clan was trying to protect this environment and thus were only hunting the minimum they could. That way, this area would still be useful for the next time, or the next clan.


    As there were other groups of hunters here and there, one beast per day was their limit. That way, the clan knew they wouldn''t destroy this ecosystem.


    The day the Blackwolf clan had installed the encampment for the two months here, they had sent a few people around. Rohan guessed they had wanted to know how much they could take from this forest, and carefully analyzed the resources this wooden region was holding.


    They traveled silently toward the camp, running at high speed. They didn''t even care about the noise they were making anymore, as there was no more meaning to do so. They already had their amount of meat, and they weren''t scared of any potential predator with a warrior at their side.


    Although Rohan didn''t mind, he was still trying to run while making the least noise possible. He had learned a lot today, but a single day wasn''t nearly enough to assimilate everything.


    As the sun was still high in the sky, the group of hunters reached their camp. Now that they had come back with all the meat, skin, bones, and everything from the doe they had killed, what they needed to do was to process it.


    For that, without wasting a second, they headed toward the east of the camp where a tent was installed. This one was special, or at least it was here that Rohan had seen every day all the hunters going with what they had hunted the day.


    As they approached the tent, suddenly a large man lifted the door made of skin and showed off his imposing body. His arms were as big as a tronc, And he was tall enough to overlook everyone. Though he could scare a normal being, since he wasn''t a warrior or even a mana user, Rohan didn''t put him into his eyes.


    "So it was your team going to hunt today, eh?"


    His powerful voice, fierce enough to shake the wind, was directed to the young man Rohan had supposed to be the leader. It was strange to Rohan since the daughter of the chief clan should be the one with the higher rank here.


    "Then go, put everything you got." He took out a cloth from behind him and cleaned up his hands. It was with this gesture that Rohan saw the blood on it. This man was probably the one who was drying and cleaning up the carcasses the hunter brought back.


    Everyone then took out their skin bags and put them on the ground, so the man could look at them. This one approached and put everything on the grass, not caring at all to put dirt on it or blood in front of his tent. A small exclamation left his mouth.


    He looked deeply at the skin that appeared, in front of him. He was the most expert among all members of the clan to dissect any animals, and the skin that was in front of him was almost perfectly intact. There were no marks, no scratches on it. The one who had removed it from the beast should be really good, but the most important point is also that the beast should have been killed with a blow to the head.


    His eyes lingered a bit on it before he turned his eyes toward Daina among the group. Normally, she wasn''t part of this group, so he didn''t know why she was among them. It was the same for the stranger, the rank 3 Beginner Warrior, but he doubted him to be able to hunt anything.


    Plus, the daughter of the Chief Clan was known to be among the best ones when it came to hunting and fighting. A pity that she wasn''t able to become a warrior.


    But as his eyes posed on her face, she simply smiled and shook her head, before looking at the warrior at her side, who was called Rohan. He couldn''t help but widen his eyes. Was it him who had done so? Impressive!


    "This skin is one of the best we have been able to have since we are here. I should be able to do something with it. I didn''t think a warrior from the other side could hunt this well, you impress me, warrior."


    He didn''t lie, and compared to some other members of the clan, he didn''t care about the fact this warrior wasn''t from the Barren Lands. Any powerful person was strong, nothing else. For this young man to be a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, even if he was coming from the other side, was still an incredible achievement.


    "Actually not at all, it was the first time I hunted in my life, it was only under the teaching of this group that I was able to kill it in the first place."


    After all, if he hadn''t learned how to walk, how to pay attention to the wind and other details, he wouldn''t even have been able to approach the beast. It was indeed evidence to walk without making any noise, but the way to do it wasn''t easy to guess.


    When he had observed the other hunters walk inside this forest, he had seen that every step they were doing changed if there were leaves, roots, slippery ground, or anything else. Just the way to run inside a forest was valuable teaching for the young warrior.


    Hearing these words, the large man was furtherly rendered speechless. Even under the guidance of a dexterous hunter, killing and removing the skin of any beast this well was simply proof of talent.


    Looking at the group in front of him, almost all members were showing good sentiments toward this warrior who was still pretty much unknown.


    There was only Guros who was trying to hide his anger, but it wasn''t a surprise at all. If there should be someone in this clan to hate someone, then he was without a doubt the most inclined to be the one.


    After all, seeing his father coldly murdered and his mother raped in front of his eyes by a man coming from the other side was enough to let a lifelong mark on anyone.


    But as long as this warrior knew what he was doing, helped the clan, and wasn''t thinking anything dangerous, then it was enough for him.


    In any case, anyone who knew how to hunt was able to become a good friend.


    Rohan was watching this man with a ruff voice commenting on the carcass while glancing at him from time to time. Such a big man doing such action was making the young man shudder.. All he wanted now was to get out of here.

 Chapter 70 - At Least, Theyre Better Than The Nobles Ones

    Rohan parried the tip of the spear on his left in a loud clash. He sent it away with a sharp gesture and made a step to the side. Just in time to catch with his blade the second spear coming to this right.


    As his sword was locked with this spear, the first fighter charged again toward him. Without more choices, Rohan rushed in front to bump into the man standing there to get his weapon out from there.


    While the man was forced to take a couple of steps back, the warrior turned back and slashed at the incoming spear. The force of the blow deviated the weapon to the side. The holder lost his balance.


    As the two members of the Blackwolf clan were fighting against Rohan, a small crowd of spectators was watching them, shouting some exclamations from time to time. Among them stood Deidros and his sister who was full of sweat. A few minutes earlier, it was her at the place of these two men fighting this monster.


    She had discovered that the more they fought each other, the more Rohan was hard to deal with. She didn''t know it, but it was simply that Rohan was getting used to restraining his force.


    Since Horim had taught him how to forge, and since he had better control over his body than any other human, it wasn''t that difficult for a rank 5 Beginner Warrior to restrain his force. But in a fight, such control was hard, as it was always the reflexes taking the ascendant and acting before anything else.


    But since he was here, forced to pretend to be a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, and even less, it had given him a goldy training every day. Feeling repressed every time he fought was putting a stroll on his mind, and the frustration was complicated to bear, but he had still won a lot in the end. That was why he mostly fought while not even using the strength of a rank 1 Beginner Warrior.


    Otherwise, a simple blow from a rank 3 was enough to send his opponents flying and crashing to the ground.


    The two fighters charged at him at the same time, one of the left and the other one on the right. His sword flew through the air to intercept the spear on the right. His body bent along with his blow to dodge the second one which almost grazed his flank.


    He slashed to the right and struck the left. He dodged one and parried the other. The shrieks of the iron hitting the sharp stones echoed around the whole arena again and again, as a piece of music never-ending.


    But it was time to stop here. Rohan evaded a weapon and let it pass near his body. He caught it with his free hand, and, turning on himself, he lifted the man who screamed from the sudden force sending him flying.


    Rohan threw the spear and the man to the side. This one crashed against the green and yellow grass with a muffled yell. One out. The warrior followed this move smoothly and dashed in front of the other opponent.


    This one snapped back from the shock he had felt when his companion had been sent flying. He tried to defend himself from the tempest of blows coming his way, but Rohan was putting against him formidable pressure.


    His swordsmanship was now nothing in comparison to what it was he was a young boy. Rohan still thought he was weak, and that it was perfectible, but his improvement was easy to see.


    With an intricate and powerful gesture from his wrist, the warrior sent the weapon flying in the air before the tip of his sword rested against the throat of his opponent. This morning''s training was put to an end.


    After these fights, all the members left the area to proceed with their activities, and Rohan headed into the forest for his daily meditation. No one was asking him what he was doing, and no one was trying to find either. Rohan found it a bit strange at first.


    A warrior leaving for the forest every morning for seemingly no reason should make them curious, but no one cared about it. Even so, Rohan would pay attention and turn around inside the forest, before sitting on the floor for a short time.


    After increasing a bit the size where the vortex would appear and drawing another line on the mana stone, Rohan stood up in the direction of the river.


    If Jonas was seeing him at these times, this one would have mocked him for days. What he was doing in this river was of course cleaning himself, but also cleaning up his clothes, a task he had never done in his life. He was doing like he could since he felt too embarrassed to ask anyone. So he was simply there rubbing the clothes he had worn a few minutes earlier.


    He then wrung these clothes, put them inside his bag, and left for the camp, with new ones on his back. It was still a habit he had since he was the child of a nobleman, but feeling dirty was making him too uncomfortable.


    He reached the camp in no time and headed to the tent of the chief clan where he was lodging when abruptly, a group of children surrounded him.


    "Warrior from the other side! Is it true that in your country they eat children alive when they have been naughty? My mother said they are all horrible monsters in the north, isn''t it difficult to live there?"


    "Warrior Rohan! I''ve heard that there are huge tents that no one can move made of precious metal and that the people aren''t moving around like us, is it true?"


    "Warrior Rohan! It is Deidros who had sent us there! He had said we could play with you without any problems!"


    Rohan suddenly felt like going to find Deidros to punch one or two times. Or even three.


    If there was something he didn''t like, it was children. Then again, the five ones in front of him weren''t like the ones he was used to. Back when he was living at Rivoiras, he had met a lot of noble families, and among them some monsters a few couples of years old.


    He hated them to the core. Without exception. Treated since birth like mighty leaders, as if they were future kings. And the result was obnoxious children, talking at their servants as if they were dogs. Each time he saw one, he always had to suppress the urge to hit them.


    At least, the children that were looking at him right now were quite different. They were only five, with two young girls and three young boys. They were all looking straight at him, probably waiting for a reply.


    He ignored their stupid questions. He didn''t have enough strength on him to take the time to answer. Anyways, his answers would probably be filled with sarcasm, and children weren''t a good public for those.


    But he couldn''t refuse them while they were looking at him with puppy eyes.


    Maybe.. Just maybe, he could play along this time.

 Chapter 71 - Interruption

    Rohan was walking under the sun with a spear in his hands. Before he could reach the area he had in his mind to refine his skills, a large and robust man appeared in front of him. His imposing shadow was cast onto him.


    "Ah, Rohan, good day to you! Are you planning to go hunt today? You can tag along with any team, I''m sure they would love it!"


    "Hello, Barulf." Rohan nodded back at this powerful but kind man. "I''m not planning to go today, I''ll just improve my spearmanship, nothing more."


    "That''s a pity! I still don''t know what to do with your skins you had brought back, it would be ridiculous to make banal clothes with it." Barulf stroked his chin, before lowering his gaze with a great smile. "By the way, I saw you this morning playing with the children, aren''t they lovely?"


    Rohan always felt strange when hearing this giant man, with his throaty voice, talking and acting this way. But this professional in the way of the meat and skin of the beast was one of the few who didn''t mind that Rohan was coming from the north.


    "Well it was more these children playing with me than the other way around, but I guess they are¡­ kind." His monotonous voice reached the ears of Barulf, and this one laughed with his powerful voice.


    "I''m sure it was fun for you! Anyway, I need to go, have fun with your spear!"


    Rohan stared at the back of the burly man as he moved with giant steps toward his tent at the east of the camp. The young warrior then continued to walk around the tents standing on the grass.


    But not only a few steps later, he was also stopped by someone else.


    "Ho Rohan, going to train I see! Hahaha, when I was younger I was also training every time I could! Sadly now, I have too many things to attend to, I don''t have the slightest time to myself."


    It was Dairas, supposedly the chief clan. Rohan couldn''t help but wonder about what this man was talking about. He was obviously just strolling around with a lazy face!


    Since Rohan had met this man, he didn''t understand how this clan was still somewhat standing until this day.


    He had more the appearance of a kind middle-aged man playing the role of a neighbor that being the chief as well as a powerful rank 3 Beginner Warrior. Maybe all his tasks were thrown onto his two advisors. ''Let''s pray for them I guess.''


    "By the way, Deidros had said to me that you are enjoying being with the clan lately, that''s great! You can even think about following us forever if you want to, hahaha."


    "I''ll think about it later then, thank you for the offer." Rohan was feeling somewhat sorry. After all, he would have to enter their sacred mountain at the end of this trip, without a doubt becoming an enemy from all the clans.


    In any case, this leader was far too easygoing about that. They had only encountered Rohan a few weeks ago, and he was already offering him to rest here. Of course, it could be said as being nothing more than words. Rohan doubted that anyone would be this easy with a stranger coming from the other side, even more from the chief clan.


    "No problem! I''ll let you go then. If you need anything, I''ll be resting inside our tents." With a big smile on his face, he patted Rohan''s shoulder before getting away at a slow pace.


    ''Weren''t you supposed to have no time at all for yourself?'' Rohan asked himself as he was puzzled. This clan chief was far different from the nobles he had encountered until today.


    Rohan squeezed the spear he had in his hands. It was time to train.


    Unfortunately, not even a minute later, as he was reaching the area he had thought about, another shadow stopped him. It was a man walking leisurely with a little girl at his side.


    "Warrior Rohan, hello!" He bowed his head politely with a slight smile.


    Rohan didn''t know his name, but it wasn''t the first time he had seen him. There were only so many people inside this clan, so Rohan was sure to already have seen everyone at least once. However, it was the first time he had seen this person saying hello to him.


    "Hello." He felt uncomfortable for a short time not knowing his name, so he only nodded back with a light salutation. It was the little girl at the side who chased the tension easily. Replacing it with another kind of pressure.


    "Warrior Rohan! It was fun this morning! Let''s play more next time!" Her clear and joyful voice filled the area, and Rohan could only awkwardly smile back at her.


    "The children were all enthusiastic after playing with you, now almost all the others are jealous. You should take more time if you can, everyone will find it kind of you."


    The man softly spoke to the young warrior in front of him. When his daughter had reported to him earlier how she had played with this stranger, he had nearly suffered deadly damage. But now that he thought about it, there should be no problem about this well-behaved young man playing with a few children.


    "I''ll make sure to take some time for them in this case."


    Rohan weakly smiled back. Playing with the children, no, these demons had emptied him of all his rank 5 Beginner Warrior energy he had. And now he should play with more of them? What a fearful thought. And for an unknown reason, he couldn''t even find the strength to say no.


    "Great! Come, Elena, let''s not disturbed the warrior more. See you later, Warrior Rohan."


    "Later Warrior Rohan!"


    Rohan watched as the man walked away with his daughter jumping around him. He looked at the sun hanging in the sky. With all these interruptions, he had nearly believed it would soon be night. Finally, he could continue his way.


    "Hi, Rohan! How are you?" Rohan nearly snapped his spear in halves with his grip. He turned his face and looked at Deidros who was standing on his left, with a devious smile. Rohan felt like practicing how to throw a spear on a moving target.


    "So, was it fun with the children? I''m sure they have liked it! They always seem to talk about you since you were a stranger coming from the north, you know? So I didn''t have the choice but to send them to you."


    His smile grew larger the more he was talking. Just seeing the expression of the warrior in front of him was enough to make him burst into laughter. He truly enjoyed this warrior, as his answers were always funny.


    This warrior, Rohan, always appeared with the same emotionless face, with a transcendent calm almost. But in the end, it was really easy to guess what he was thinking. And that made Deidros want to play with this young man some more.


    Rohan sighed.


    "Well, if they want to play some more, I''m fine with it I guess." Even he himself didn''t know why he answered this. The smile of the young man in front of him was now fully showing his teeth.


    ''Can I go training now?'' Rohan could only plead inside his mind.

 Chapter 72 - Time To Go Back Under The Sun

    The days passed one after another and Rohan, who always like to have a routine, had set up another one during this time.


    Each day, after waking up with difficulty, he put on his armor and took out his sword before leaving the tent. He headed toward the training ground, which was just an area with yellowed grass crushed by the countless people who had fought here.


    Then, like every morning, he fought against the daughter of the Chief Clan. After the first duel they had that day, they were now enjoying these fights. When the other warriors were also training, Rohan would sometimes fight against them and their powerful spearmanship.


    They would also use their sword sometimes, but it was in these moments that the differences between the two fighters were fully shown. Rohan, who had learned how to fight with the sword for more than six years, was much more dexterous than the warriors wielding their blades.


    In the end, they all chose to fight against Rohan with their spear. Sadly, or at least for Rohan, he didn''t have the chance to fight against Garrold or the clan leader and could fight the rank 1 or 2 Beginner Warriors.


    But still, this period was much more valuable for him than the two years he had spent training alone inside the shop.


    During these fights, he never used any skills, even the skill Overload. The reason for that was because, after the training morning against the Blackwolf clan''s members, Rohan walked alone toward the forest.


    The goal was of course to meditate, far from their sight. Each day he was progressing, slower than ever. The increase he felt each day was truly nothing. Plus, as the construction of the vortex needed to be absolutely perfect, Rohan could only feel frustration accumulating bit by bit.


    After the meditation to advance his warrior rank, it was the time for the wizard one. He could only draw one stroke, and it took less than a few minutes to do so. Sadly, a wizard wasn''t like a warrior.


    The mana the warrior could accumulate inside his mana core was always growing. Each time Rohan was improving into his session of meditation, the Essence Stone was catching the bit of mana his mana core could contain.


    But such a thing was impossible for a wizard, and as far as he would be a rank 1 Beginner Wizard, he would only have 10 mana. He would have to wait for the second rune to be fully drawn before the capacity increased to 20 points of mana.


    Of course, such pitiful value was only for the Beginner ranks, and once he would be an Intermediate rank, his capacity of mana would explode.


    After his session for both his mana core and mana stone was complete, he left the forest to go back to the camp.


    What he was doing most of the time inside was simply reading. Rohan was reading all the books he had on him and was even peeping at the wizards'' ones when he was sure no one was around.


    Sometimes, he tagged along with a group of hunters leaving the camp and moved with them. His precision was an extraordinary one, and at some point, Daina even wanted to teach him how to use a bow.


    Sadly, a longbow broken on the ground later and an arrow planted near the foot of someone, Rohan had let go of the idea to learn anything about it. He was good at the sword, and that was already good to him.


    He also learned how to use the spear in his free time. He didn''t want to replace his sword at all and wanted to concentrate on it, but learning a bit about the spear could only be useful for him.


    That was Rohan''s routine, with every day filled with different activities. His relationship with the clan was somewhat easier than before. Training against them, hunting with them, eating with them, in the end, not all these clan members had something against the young warrior.


    During this period, one of these members, though, only felt his rage grow and grew, as he saw this parasite, this useless inhabitant of the other side befriend the whole Blackwolf clan. For him, he was the only one seeing what was happening.


    This warrior was simply trying to use them all for a devious act!


    The weeks and then the months succeeded the days, and soon, it was time to leave.


    During these two months, the Blackwolf clan had taken all the resources they could. They had dried enough meat for more than a month of traveling, enough food for a greater period in case of, composed of dry fruits, roots, and vegetables that Rohan had become accustomed to during this time.


    They had taken all the water they could, and along with the food, every family would have the same amount. It was the duty of everyone to transport everything for their needs, and it was their duty to ration their resources.


    The camp was then dismantled. Nothing was left behind. The fences were taken off from the ground, all the beasts they had hunted were fully used, even the grass was kept with the clan, as it would be stored for the karags.


    Each cart then transported everything the family driving it needed to survive, as it was far better than having it stored by a single person.


    Like that, after two months of a peaceful life inside this paradise, this heavenly forest permitting them to live a blissful moment, the departure had come.


    Rohan was looking at his horse, Barakas, with a face fully saying at which point he wanted to go. These two months weren''t near enough to make him forget the pain of this damn sun. Maybe he should just give up his goal and go back home?


    He sighed at this thought, and patting his mount, he jumped with a light step to put him on the top. Once again, he had put his cape on him, ready to cover his face with it.


    As everyone was then ready to go, the Blackwolf clan took back the road and headed toward the desert.


    Their direction was the Kolmos mountain, where the yearly event was waiting for them.


    From what Rohan had understood, it should be a festive event, where the clans gathered to drink their magical water of whatever was their thing. But as he looked at the faces of the members of the clan around, what he saw on them made him curious.


    Some of them were excited, some of them were in a hurry to go. It was once a year but such an opportunity was a great one for them. Since this magical water was said to improve their chances to rank up as a warrior, it was understandable.


    But more importantly, there wasn''t only an overjoyed expression among them. Some of the nomads were stressed, and some others were even showing a strange emotion for such a happy gathering: fear, and apprehension.


    But after a small reflection, it was a normal occurrence. Even if Rohan had seen a lot of differences between these people and the noblemen he was used to, ultimately humans were the same.


    Since there would be the four most powerful clans attending at this gathering, some pressure was to be expected.


    Rohan was right in this thought. But not for the reasons he was thinking about.. After all, he had forgotten an important piece of information about the Barren Lands.

 Chapter 73 - Trouble

    Inside a room of the most grandiose mansion of Blanche, the only rank 5 Beginner Warrior of the city was currently looking through the window. The sun could be seen sneaking behind white clouds strolling around. The trees of the garden were dancing under the wind. It was a peaceful sigh.


    "I want to know why my disciple is dead."


    The deep voice almost made the most powerful men of the city jump from the shock. He hastily turned around, only to see an old man with severe eyes glaring at him. The captain of the guards took some time to ponder where he had already seen this man. He was sure to have already seen him somewhere.


    But how could he appear here? The door was still closed, and no one should be able to enter without being presented by anyone. His hand slightly moved toward the pommel of his sword.


    "Who are you? And how did you get there?"


    He didn''t know what was happening, but the man in front of him seemed to be dangerous.


    "When I ask a question, I want an answer." His deep voice filled the room with an intangible might and even made the warrior feel dizzy. "Why has one of my disciples, Jared, been found dead?"


    The captain couldn''t help but widened his eyes. He finally understood who the man was in front of him. And this knowledge nearly made him drop to the ground. The worst-case scenario was here. The court wizard had come out of his tower!


    "Sir Wizard, it is a pleasure to see you today." Sweat was flowing down his back as he fully bent his body to welcome this old man. This man was a bona fide Advanced Wizard. No wonder anymore how he could have appeared there. He only had to teleport!


    "Answer to me, insect, I''m running out of patience. Can''t you answer a damn question?" The wizard moved a step forward as he bellowed against the warrior. The once-powerful nearly crouched against the ground.


    He didn''t have the choice anymore, he could only save himself. Without wasting more time, and being scared for his life, the captain threw away two names.


    "Court Wizard, the two warriors who had killed your disciple, even though I have explicitly told them not to do so, are the warrior Matthew as well as another warrior, named Rohan." His voice was shaking as didn''t dare to look up toward this mighty individual.


    "You have a week to bring back these men to the capital, or if I am forced to find them myself, it is this whole city which will burn down, do you understand?" Without even waiting for an answer, he disappeared from where he was standing.


    The warrior plopped down against the floor. This was bad.


    The next days following the apparition of this wizard, a storm engulfed the city of Blanche. The warrior Mathew had taken the daughter of the viscount, Elia, as a hostage and had found a way to run away. And the warrior Rohan couldn''t be found anymore. Worse, even the blacksmith that supposedly lodged him had disappeared, only leaving a shop full of weapons and rubbish.


    It was only after Delia had spilled the truth that the captain and the count understood where the young warrior was: the Barren Lands. They could only be cursed for their bad luck, and without a lot of choices, they decided to release a warrant, with a reward for whoever found these two targets.


    Unfortunately, this warrant didn''t only take place in the kingdom of Daksina.


    A man was standing at the center of a training ground. He was wearing armor fully made of metal, showing off the riches he could afford. After all, these kinds of armor were a rare sight for the countries of the south.


    On his hand was a beautiful greatsword, which probably weighed more than his body. But even so, he didn''t have any difficulties wielding such a piece of work. It was obvious that he found this weapon too light for him.


    Even for a warrior in the beginner ranks, a normal sword was far too light to be comfortable with it. Because of that, there were a lot of weapons made exclusively for these powerful fighters. But for an Advanced warrior such as himself, it was still complicated to find a good weapon in this ridiculously poor country.


    And the worst was that even going to the north to try to purchase a better weapon was almost impossible, as it was costing far too much.


    He didn''t have the time to begin his training, so abruptly, a butler yelled behind him. A sigh left his mouth.


    "Lord Hanshen, we have special information from the neighboring country."


    "Ho?" He felt curious about this appetizer. What could be so interesting?


    "Lord, do you remember the rebellion of the duchy of Barnes a few years ago? You have asked all of us to find the traces of all nobles that had participated in it." The warrior suddenly felt his interest plummet to the ground. Was it only for that?


    "And then? One of them had tried to flee inside one of the neighboring kingdoms and had been found?" His monotonous voice left his mouth, what was the point of telling him that?


    "Do you remember the name Rohan, Lord?"


    Hanshen felt his eyes glow when he heard the name. Of course, he remembered it. After they had taken over the duchy and searched through all the documents they had, a name had resonated for quite a time. The former Duke of Barnes had tried to hide everything, but it wasn''t an easy feat when a lot of people were in the know.


    This Rohan was at this time a young warrior. Hanshen remembered this name because of the mighty talent he had. He had become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior in a day, and not even a year later, he was already a rank 2 one. It was unprecedented.


    Sadly, there was no way to know if he was alive or not. After the passage of the old monster, all soldiers had simply been transformed into ashes, so they couldn''t find a way to know if he had died that day. Has he been finally found out?


    "It is as you are expecting, Lord. A young rank 3 Beginner Warrior, holding the name Rohan and with the same characteristic, is being searched by the kingdom of Daksina. The reason for that is that he had killed a wizard more than a year ago, and his master was the court wizard of this country."


    "A rank 3 Beginner, a year ago, killing a wizard? Find a way to snatch this boy from their claws, he belonged to our kingdom! If these greedy bastards find out about the potential of this boy, it will be hard to have him here." Hanshen hastily walked back toward the mansion. Now wasn''t the time to train anymore.


    "Don''t worry, Lord. This boy wouldn''t be caught before quite a time. After all, he had already left for the Barren Lands a few months ago." These words made the warrior stop in his tracks. A smile bloomed on his face. At least now, it would be easier for them to catch it before the other kingdom.


    Rohan, oblivious to what was happening on the other side, was currently cursing the sun in his mind.. The Blackwolf clan was heading toward the Kolmos mountain, while the wheels crushed the rocks, as dust and sand created a trail going up behind them.

 Chapter 74 - Encounter With Another Clan

    Once again, Rohan was finding himself with his cape hiding his face from the burning sun. He rode on his horse, while the carts of the Blackwolf clan were all around him, making a small trail of sand and dust go into the sky.


    While he was advancing with a book in his hand, he abruptly remembered what he was doing at such a time a few years ago.


    At that time, he was also reading a book. That could have been about a story, a romantic one, about history or geography, anything. But the most important difference between now and then was the juice that was on the table near him. The chair he was relaxed on. The light sun lighting him. The garden surrounding him, and the light wind caressing his face. And Jonas, always there to serve him for the best.


    And now here he was, with the atrocious heat making his rank 5 Beginner Warrior body want to melt. He was of course exaggerating it, as it was only uncomfortable for him, but he was still hating the sun to his very core.


    Since the clan had taken back the road a few days ago, they had always advanced, in the same direction. South. Now wasn''t the time to stroll around to research some good paradise to live one. It was time to reach Kolmos mountain.


    On this peculiar day, after Rohan had chased away his good memories to plunge back inside his botanic book, a perturbation came from afar. The whole clan roared at this sight, making Rohan look at what was happening.


    There, to their left, was another trail of sand going up to the sky. It was still quite a distance away, but Rohan knew immediately what it was: another clan.


    The Blackwolf clan cheered and shouted, and like a single man, without the clan chief ordering anything, all the carts changed their direction to the other clan.


    Rohan didn''t understand what was happening, as the cheers of the clan''s members were a bit strange in his ears. They were joyful, yes. But it wasn''t the joy expected when they saw another friend. It was more savage. It was dark.


    As if what they saw weren''t friends, but preys.


    The clan moved forward, with Rohan slightly at the rear. Shouts of excitement still echoed here and there, and the view was becoming clearer and clearer.


    The other clan had also seen them, but compared to the excess of happiness exuding from the Blackwolf clan, their movement was much more restrained. They simply stopped where they were, waiting there as the dust around them was falling back.


    A few minutes later, Rohan was able to see how many nomads there were in this clan, and from what he could see, the number wasn''t that different from the Blackwolf clan. There were maybe a dozen carts in less than for the clan he was following.


    A clan was approaching, while another one was waiting for them. Rohan couldn''t see the visages of these nomads, but he felt as if doom had befallen on them. As he was thinking about what was happening, he saw all the nomads get out of the cart.


    Rohan widened his eyes. His expression became serious, and his left hand posed itself on his sword. They all left with a spear in their hands. But what baffled the young warrior was their postures. With tense movements, they put themselves in front of their carts.


    All young, old, women and men were there. What seemed to be the leader as well as the most important ones of the clan were standing upfront. It was at that time that the Blackwolf clan stopped the karags.


    Apprehension grew inside his heart. Rohan didn''t comprehend at all what was happening. It was at this moment that he reckoned something he had heard about the Barren Lands.


    He had forgotten about it since he had only met a clan, and they were quite welcoming for the most part.


    The Barren Lands were said to be continuously at war.


    Every member left their carts, with a weapon in their hands. They all directed themselves toward the waiting clan in front of them.


    The tension was palpable for Rohan as he followed them. But it wasn''t the same one he had felt when he was in the ranks attacking a city. That was why the warrior didn''t understand.


    The fight seemed to be imminent. It was as if the two groups were scornfully eyeing each other. But even so, they were walking leisurely. They were all with a smile on their lips, even talking among them as they moved behind Dairas taking the lead.


    As no more than ten steps separated the two leaders, the Blackwolf clan stopped their march. Rohan was almost expecting a huge warcry followed by a rush forward, claiming the lives of the other clans. But what he saw almost made his jaw hit the rocks.


    "Chief of the Blackwolf clan, it is a pleasure and an honor for us to meet you." The leader of the opponent''s clan bent his body to bow in front of Darias. "The Greybat clan is honored by your presence."


    This man was old. He had grey hair going on his back, and a white beard reaching his chest. Even though he was looking old, his muscles were still there and shown proudly. But in front of the Blackwolf clan, he only bowed his head.


    "The Greybat clan? It is a pleasure to meet you all." Only a smile stretched on Darias face. "So, I believe you are ready, right?"


    His voice was powerful. It was such a contrast with his usual self that it created tension targeting Rohan.


    "Yes, we are, chief of the Blackwolf clan." Even though he was overly polite, Rohan still perceived the sadness and hopelessness the old man was feeling.


    This one looked behind him and nodded at someone. Rohan couldn''t see his expression, but he felt that he didn''t want to. The one being designated nodded back solemnly and advanced with his spear between his hands.


    He was a middle-aged man, with brown hair tied in the same way as everyone here. He glanced a bit at a young man behind him, and as if he was ready to fight his greatest foe, he walked with a fierce expression and posted his body at his chief clan side.


    Darias looked behind him and designated one of the rank 1 Beginner Warriors waiting there. This one showed an excited expression as he leaped forward. He wasn''t wearing a spear, only his sword at his side.


    As the chief of the Blackwolf clan had looked behind, his eyes crossed Rohan''s, for not even a breath. But it was enough. It wasn''t the look of the kind middle-aged man, strolling around in the morning and resting in the afternoon.


    No. It was the eyes of a powerful leader, having an iron grasp over the situation.


    What was happening? Rohan could only guess. He was sure that a fight would burst at any moment, but it seemed as if it was only the two designated fighters who would duel each other.


    The other members of both clans were merely spectators.


    Not even ten minutes had passed since the two clans had seen each other from far away.

 Chapter 75 - The Way Of The World

    Rohan was standing among the crowd, still wondering what was happening. This gathering of people was separated into two distinct groups.


    One of them was the Blackwolf clan, cheerful and exalting of happiness. They were all chatting among themselves, talking about the great show that was about to take place.


    Some even talk about what luck it was to encounter this other clan there.


    The second group was the Greybat clan. In contrast to the other clan, they were all solemnly standing there, with mournful expressions.


    Some of them were even shedding tears, while others were turning away their look.


    In the middle of the circle formed by the two clans, stood four persons. Two of them were the respective chief clans, while two armed men were at their side.


    One of them was a warrior, while the other one wasn''t.


    Darias spoke first.


    "In agreement with the ancient treaty, as well as the rules of the clans, a duel will now take place."


    His powerful voice echoed in the whole area, reaching the ears of everyone standing there.


    "In front of the Blackwolf Clan." A huge clamor filled the rank of the nomads as they all stomped the ground with their feet.


    "In front of the Greybat Clan." Nothing but silence prevailed among them, only perturbed by some snobs.


    "This duel will replace any wars, and the result will be accepted by the two clans. The loser will give a tenth of everything, while the winner will take it."


    Darias didn''t have his simple smile on his face. He wasn''t the middle-aged man Rohan had seen countless times anymore. He was now a powerful rank 3 Beginner Warrior. He was now the chief of the Blackwolf clan.


    "The Blackwolf clan will send this man, a rank 1 Beginner Warrior."


    The man standing beside the chief looked with a disdaining smile at the one who will be his opponent.


    "The Greybat clan will send this man, one of our greatest fighters." It was now the other chief clan to seriously declare the fighter of his clan.


    The man was with a solemn face, ready to brave the hell that was in front of him.


    All the members were watching the center, the sort of conflict between the two men that were glancing at each other. But Rohan wasn''t looking there.


    He already had taken conscience of what was happening here, and also about another fact. He remembered when the chief clan Darias had said to him that his clan was in the top 3 more powerful ones of the exterior ring.


    He didn''t understand at that moment. He still didn''t know what exactly was the ring he was talking about, but he was starting to comprehend the top 3 points.


    After all, in the Greybat clan, there was only one rank 1 Beginner Warrior. All the other members weren''t mana users. In front of this clan, was the Blackwolf clan, which had a couple of warriors and even a rank 4 Beginner Warrior in their ranks.


    Another point was also the fact that Darias hadn''t acted as if he knew the clan before him. For clans living in this region for probably centuries, not knowing about one specifically meant only one thing: there were too many of them.


    But in this case, why was the opponent so polite in front of this chief clan? Why are all these nomads bowing their heads, fearful and crying? There was only one answer possible.


    Rohan, By luck or by bad luck, had encountered one of the most powerful clans of this part of the Barren Lands, and these lands weren''t as peaceful as what he had believed.


    He looked away from the two men facing each other. There wasn''t any need for it after all, since what would happen and the result was obvious. He was looking at a young man standing among the members of the Greybat clan.


    His gaze was locked onto the back of the middle-aged man. Tears were flowing down on his cheeks, while his eyes were burning with hatred, but also with weakness. He couldn''t do anything to this situation, forced to watch his father fight for the clan while everyone already knew the outcome.


    For the first time since Rohan was following the Blackwolf clan, he was feeling sick.


    "You don''t seem to like what will happen." A soft manly voice entered his ears. Near him, Deidros had suddenly appeared.


    "What do you mean, of course, I love it. I always love to see a rank 1 Beginner Warrior shed the blood of a normal man in front of his family and friends while hundreds of people laughed all around." His tone was sharp, and his sarcasm filled his voice. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Deidros smile weakly.


    "The life of the Barren Lands is¡­"


    "Yes it is tough, so let''s go vent on the weaker clans. That''s what you''ll say to excuse it?"


    Rohan turned his inquisitive gaze and looked deeply at the son of the chief clan, while his father was still talking and announcing the future fight. Deidros could only widen his eyes at these words and the sight of this man.


    It was the first time he saw this young warrior act that way. The eyes of this terrifying man made him gulp down before he took back his countenance.


    "No. I wasn''t planning to say that, but you are indeed right. It isn''t about venting or not, it is about resources. Our clan is one of the most powerful ones in the region. If we wanted to, we could just swipe through them, kill this unknown clan and rob them of everything."


    He watched as the two fighters were moving to the center to prepare for their fight.


    "But we do not."


    "Hahaha." A laugh left the mouth of the young warrior, a joyless one. "And so this clan must be thankful for that, and bow down to you all for this great offer you are doing?"


    He was feeling sick and betrayed. It was ridiculous. He had formed interesting bonds with the Blackwolf clan, but seeing this, he felt as if all was a lie.


    Barulf was easily found with his large stature, watching with a blank expression.


    The children were shouting here and there, following their parents.


    Daina was with her spear in her hands, stomping it against the ground.


    "Yes. Each clan needs more resources. What we have found inside the forest was indeed great, but on these chaotic lands, there are never enough resources. If the roles were reversed, that would be us shedding our tears while one of us would have to fight. The strong chase the weak, that is the way." He braved the scary eyes and looked deeply at this warrior. "But Rohan, that isn''t only the way of the Barren Lands, that is simply the way of the world."


    The last sentence made Rohan frown when he heard it. He thought back at the kingdom of Prasthana blocking all ways for his duchy to buy food, at the war that had been schemed in the dark. And at the Old Monster of the Empire destroying them all, simply because he had the power.


    Deidros wasn''t wrong. And that was what made Rohan feel his blood boil inside his body.


    He couldn''t even talk back. It was like he said, it was the way of the world. The strong live the way they want, while the weak pray each day to survive.


    ''One day. One day I will change that.''


    He looked at the two fighters at the center. His mind was clearer than ever, his resolver stronger than ever. This world was dirty.. So he will become powerful, and he will clean it of everything.

 Chapter 76 - Duel

    While Rohan and Deidros were talking, the climax at the center of the two clans had reached a new peak.


    The two fighters were now facing each other, ready to fight at the orders of their leader. The man fighting for the Greybat clan looked the last time behind him. The old clan chief nodded his head.


    Further away, his son was looking at him with a blank expression and tears on his cheeks. The man weakly smiled at his son. At least he would be the next hope for his clan. He was young, but he was the only rank 1 Beginner Warrior that the clan had successfully made in decades.


    He would die today, and he knew it. But that wasn''t a problem. His clan would lose a few resources, but that wasn''t a problem either. In the end, they could only grow back. His son could only grow, and maybe even become more powerful.


    One day maybe, his clan would be one of the most powerful ones of the exterior ring. He wasn''t even daring to think about the clans residing in the internal ring, or the four great clans living beside the Kolmos mountain.


    He chased away these ridiculous thoughts and gazed at the warrior standing in front of him. He was only a rank 1 Beginner Warrior, but he knew that he would have no chance to win against him. Their physique was too far apart from each other, and that was enough to outclass him in everything.


    But even so, he wouldn''t give up like that. He was a good fighter, one of the best of their clan. He would fight till the end and die for his clan. He squeezed the spear he had in his hand.


    His opponent leisurely drew his sword as if he wasn''t going to fight in a few seconds, but just to cut some vegetables. Their eyes were locked in each other. The scornful expression of the warrior had disappeared, and the eyes of a true warrior replaced them. They were both members of a clan.


    One will die, and everyone knew who it was. But even so, respect was to be given to this man braving death for his clan. There was no pity in a duel opposing two clans. There was only a winner and a dead body.


    Under the acclamation of the spectators, excited for some and mournful for the other, the fight began.


    The man with the spear took the initiative and rushed forward. He thrust his weapon on the left and the right while running at full speed. He leaped to the side to follow with a powerful kick, before he aimed the waist of his opponent with the blade of his spear. But all of that was for naught.


    It wasn''t like the fight between Rohan and the other fighters, where the warrior was doing his best to restrain his force. The rank 1 Beginner Warrior let all his strength explode. He let his inhuman speed take the ascendant. He let his reflexes control his body.


    He easily parried the first two blows, as if he was only chasing away a fly. With a single sidestep, he evaded the kick. And with apparent ease, he caught the spear with his left hand before it could slash him.


    The fighter, seeing his spear being caught at the junction of the blade and the wooden part, felt a bad omen. He didn''t try to take back his weapon, as it would be pointless to compete with strength against a warrior.


    Instead, he decided to advance. He threw his body forward. In front of the blade that was coming his way with an unbelievable speed, he let go of his spear and slid against the rocky ground. The rocks tore open his leather clothes and blood rested behind his path, but he didn''t care.


    Arriving in front of the warrior at high speed, he pushed his body with his hands, bent his shoulders, and stomped the ground. All his muscles were contracted. His heart exploded in his chest as his blood was rushing in his veins. The man used all he had in this blow. All his strength, all his energy. It was his only way to have the slightest chance to win.


    His left shoulder collided against the chest of the warrior with a terrible choc. The warrior, with his sword in his right hand, and the spear still in his left one, spit some saliva under this powerful blow. He didn''t have the time to defend, and he hadn''t seen such an attack coming.


    He was forced to take a few steps back, but other than the pain, that was all. He hadn''t suffered any injury. Only his pride was left with a small wound, as this normal warrior had succeeded to hit him, and even pushing him. But it wasn''t enough to win, and they both knew it.


    As his foot landed on the ground, the warrior took the initiative and delivered an attack with his sword. His sword cleaved from up to down, slashing through the air at great speed. but under the bemused shouts of the crowd, the fighter of the Greybat clan threw himself on the ground and managed to dodge the sharp blade at the last moment.


    He rolled on the ground before he stood up again. His right leg was bloody as he struggled a bit to stand up. His left arm pointed to the ground in front of him, while his right one was slightly hidden behind him. He seemed to be seriously wounded.


    The warrior nodded his head at him and threw away the spear to the side. The fight was nearly finished, now it was only the last part. He walked toward the weak fighter panting from exhaustion. He had successfully hit him with a powerful blow, this man was without a doubt a great fighter. If he was himself a warrior, the result would have been different. But fairness didn''t exist in the Barren Lands. Fairness didn''t exist in this world.


    Reaching the man, he slashed with his sword, intending to put an end to the duel. The man, without any weapons in his hand, smiled as he saw death approaching him.


    "I am Kirek, from the Greybat clan! Remember my name, you fool!" His bellows filled the whole arena, and as the blade reached his body, the man rushed himself against it.


    The sharp blade entered his body as if it was cleaving through the water. It sank at the base of the neck and continued to go down toward the waist. Not even his bones could resist the descent of this blade coupled with terrible strength. But as the sword was going to cut him clean into two halves, the man used the last strength he had.


    He ignored the pain, he forgot the death that was approaching, and he threw his right arm against his opponent with a large gesture. The warrior only had time to see the hand of the man descending from the sky. He widened his eyes. This hand, holding a hard rock, smashed his face with powerful might.


    The warrior was sent against the ground and blood and pieces of teeth burst from his mouth. Silence prevailed as everyone was watching with widened eyes. From the Blackwolf clan or the Greybat clan, everyone had the same expression.


    The warrior was on his four, stunned by the blow. The man, a normal fighter, fell to the ground with the blade still inside. His body was nearly cut in halves, blood was painting the rocks and his organs and guts were all around him.


    The result was the same as everyone had thought. The warrior had won, and the other man was now dead. But even so, Darias wasn''t in a hurry to affirm his clan''s victory. Respect for the strong was always to be held. And this man was strong.


    Rohan had the same face as everyone as he looked at the dead body lying under the sun. He suddenly turned his face to the side to look in front of him, where a young man was also watching. His fists were tight. Tears were flowing down.


    A ridiculous thought appeared in his mind as he watched this man trying to control his rage.. This unknown young warrior, was from today onward quite the same as himself.

 Chapter 77 - External And Internal Rings

    The night had fallen for a long time already. Rohan was sitting on the ground, on a pile of rocks making up for a chair. In front of him, a bit away was a large fire surrounded by the Blackwolf clan. It was a feast.


    The same kind he had seen when the clan had stopped after finding the Green Miracle. Laughs and yells echoed all around. The warrior who had fought earlier was in the center of attention, with some of the other warriors bashing him for the teeth he had lost.


    But Rohan''s attention wasn''t on them. His face was turning on his right, where another fire camp could be seen. It was one of the Greybat clan.


    After the duel had been won by the Blackwolf clan, the chief clan had put himself on the front of the other one. There was respect in his gaze. This man, Kirek, was without a doubt a great fighter.


    Since the duel had been lost, the Greybat clan had then no choice but to give a tenth of all their belongings to the other clan. It was the rules, and it was to be expected. But it was the next scene that had deeply shocked Rohan.


    The two clans had then started to install a camp. A camp for the two clans, simply separated into two parts: one for the Blackwolf members, one for the Greybat members.


    And here they were now. One clan was feasting under the nose of the one mourning. But even so, and that was the part making Rohan look with disbelief, there weren''t any problems between the two clans.


    The members of the Blackwolf clan weren''t even trying to rob or to bully the other clans, even though they had the power backing them. It was simply a duel. A duel deciding the winner and the loser. And once it was done, the two clans weren''t enemies anymore.


    Rohan watched the area of the other clan. There, the only warrior of their clan, which was probably hiding it, was consoling a woman. She was crying. She was probably his mother. At this moment, the young man turned his face, crossing his gaze with the one of Rohan.


    Their eyes were locked onto each other for a time.


    "Ha, you are here, Rohan!" Deidros appeared behind like a ghost and sat down next to him.


    This man had always the habit to move without making any noise, and while Rohan thought about the idea of giving him a small bell, the son of the clan chief lean back and sighed toward the night sky.


    "What do you think of the Barren Lands Rohan?"


    "Hot. Cold. The most terrible lands I have ever seen, and the clans have strange traditions. Only small patches of land are great enough to see them."


    "Hahaha." Deidros burst into laughter as he heard the warrior. It was already more than two months that Rohan had joined the Blackwolf clan, and he and Deidros could be considered friends. It was the first time in his life that Deidros could talk with a person coming from the other side.


    It was his dream, to one day, leave this hellish place and find a way to live outside the Barren Lands.


    "The interior ring is quite semblable, but it is much easier to live there. We should reach this area in a few days, so you''ll be able to see it!"


    "If it is better, why can''t you live there?" Rohan watched back to the place where the mother and son were hugging each other while asking this question. There was nobody. Only the light of the fire.


    "Because of the rules of the clans." He smiled, his eyes glued at the stars high in the sky. "Once two clans meet each other, a duel must take place between two members. The winner takes a tenth of what the other clan had."


    "So the clans inside the internal ring are much stronger than the Blackwolf clan?" A chill ran down his spine as he asked this question. If it was the case, then it was the best idea he had ever had to follow this clan.


    "Yes and no! We are still on the top 3 stronger ones of the external ring, and we are quite strong. After that, we have still Garrold, who is a rank 4 Beginner Warrior. But even so, there are a lot of clans as strong as us, so it is better to live here, without too much struggle."


    "So you all prefer to be the master of the pond instead of a fish of the sea?"


    "Yes! That''s why we had waited until the last moment to descend toward the sacred mountain. This way we shouldn''t encounter a lot of clans. And once all of the clans of the Barren Lands are gathered at the foot of the Kolmos Mountain, duels are forbidden. So we enter last, and we will leave first. All the clans of the external ring try to do the same."


    "Then what about the two other clans of the top 3, wouldn''t it be bad if we fall against them?" At least that would be bad for them since he was probably the stronger one out there.


    "Don''t worry about that!" He waved his hand as if there was no problem. " We all live in our area. The Blackwolf clan in the north, the Whitetiger clan in the east, and the Purplestarling clan in the west. That way, we all are the strongest in our area."


    ''What a strange way to name their clans.''


    Deidros continued to explain the differences between the rings while Rohan was quietly listening.


    The Barren Lands, taking up the whole south of the continent, could roughly be separated into three areas which had the shape of rings. The first one, as well as the largest one, was the external ring. It was the area far away from the mountain that stood on the center of these lands and was also the poorer one. This area was connected to the sea at the west and the south, the different kingdoms at the north, and a high chain of mountains at the east.


    In this area, there were countless clans. So much in fact, that it was impossible to know them all. After all, the exterior ring represented an area much, much larger than the Empire of Elyria composed of the empire itself, and the kingdoms of Prasthana, Daksina, and Storona.


    And among them all, the Blackwolf clan was known for being the third most powerful one. Or second. As from the explicit words of Deidros, they were tight against the Whitetiger clan.


    The internal ring, which was surrounded by the exterior one, was smaller than the first one. The main differences were the resources that could be found, as well as the life which was much easier out there compared with the exterior ring.


    Inside this area, the number of clans was also important, but not as numerous as the weaker clans. These clans were composed of much more members, as it was easier to find the resources for everyone. Most of them were also composed of warriors, which was a rare occurrence for the smaller clans of the external ring.


    The strongest clan out there was the Greencobra clan, with a mighty rank 6 Intermediate Warrior. After Rohan heard that, he fell into deep thought.


    He was himself a rank 5 Beginner Warrior. But not only: he was also a rank 1 Beginner Wizard.. Was it enough to fight against an intermediate warrior? His blood boiled, as curiosity slipped into his mind.

 Chapter 78 - Leaving The Desert

    In this desertic area, heated by the sun all day with nothing but rocks, pebbles, and sand stretching toward the horizon, a new sight materialized a distance away.


    Under the sunlight, in the hazy smoke of the heat, hills were standing in the direction the two clans traveled to. After their duel, and since these two groups were heading to the same mountain, they naturally took the road together.


    Even if the relationship between these two clans should be a bit complicated at least, Rohan rapidly found out it wasn''t the case at all. Although they were far from being friendly to each other, they both showed cordial manners.


    It was as if the death of their clan member wasn''t the fault of the Blackwolf clan, that it was simply a fatality no one could protect against. The result was thus the absence of tension between everyone, and the carts of the two clans mixed in a sole group, going to the south.


    Rohan, situated in the middle of this strange group, was still mounted on his horse as he braved the heat of the sun. This horse, Barakas, was since the start of this trip probably cursing its master, as it stood against this heat every day.


    The two months inside the luxuriant forest, it had enjoyed life like never. Each day it was sleeping, eating the delicious green grass, and didn''t have to have anyone on its back. And now here it was, again, under this furnace, eating dried herb its master gave to him and drinking warm water.


    It could still remember the paradisiacal life it had when he was under the city, taken care of by several people, and treated like a king. But since this man had begun its master, all of that had disappeared. Now, there was only pain and an infinite march under this damn sun.


    While the horse was dreaming of better days, the hills were coming closer.


    They were small, with a path in the middle as if a gigantic sword had cleaved a mountain. The cliffs around the path large enough to let several clans go through were a few couple meters high. It would be an easy feat to escalate it, but it was obviously impossible with the carts pulled by the karags.


    The moment the horse with Rohan on its top put a hoof inside this small canyon, the temperature instantly fell. It was still hot, but it felt as if there was a fresh wind caressing their faces and cooling their minds. Horse and humans almost shared the same expression on their faces.


    Vegetations could be seen all around, as high trees were growing here and there, surrounded by dried grass and rocks. Most of the area was under the shadows of the cliffs which protected the clans from the sun.


    Rohan took out his cape enveloping his face and looked in front of him with interest. The path seemed almost infinite, and this canyon stretched in a straight line. It wasn''t even possible to see the end of it.


    From the information Deidros had given to him, it was one of the paths connecting the external ring and the internal one.


    The two clans continued forward without the need to stop. Just like that, they left the desert filled to the brink of rocks.


    Rohan was looking forward to leaving this path and entering the internal ring. Deidros had explained to him that once they entered this area, they would be able to perceive the Kolmos mountain far away. The young warrior couldn''t help but feel excited to see it.


    Since he was born, he had only seen that many places. He rarely leave this house, and he had never put a foot outside his duchy. The only time he had to do so was for the war, and that certainly wasn''t a good experience.


    Due to his lack of experience, because he had never traveled around, he had never seen snow. He had already read about it in countless books, and that was the same for the sea and oceans, but he had never seen it with his eyes.


    Since the chief clan, Darias, had already declared the mountain was obviously with snow on its peak, Rohan felt excited. He wasn''t here to sightsee or to lose time and watch around, but he wanted to experience it with his sight and body.


    In any case, the coldness of these small and white particles was currently attracting him far more than the burning rocks he had seen for days and weeks.


    As Rohan was nearly ready to make his horse sprint at full speed, a yell came from one of the carts at the spearhead of this group divided by two clans. As one man, every karags stopped abruptly.


    Rohan could see the one who had just yelled leave his cart and rushed forward to look carefully at the ground. He had already seen this man, he was a member of the Blackwolf clan but he couldn''t remember his name. He never had a good memory for names anyway.


    The two chief clans jumped off in unison of their respective carts and headed with a small group of people to the front, where this man was crouched and looked to the ground. Curious, Rohan directed his horse to this scene and put away his book. As he approached, he saw that the expression of the man waiting for the two leaders wasn''t happy at all.


    The young warrior jumped off his horse and walked leisurely, as a serious discussion reached his ears.


    "Are you sure of yourself?" Darias spoke solemnly to the man standing in front of him.


    "Without a doubt chief clan, see for yourself, I am sure you will all agree with me." Before the man could even finish his sentence, Darias as well as a few others rapidly passed through him and crouched on the ground.


    Rohan could only walk as he was interested in what was happening. He nodded his head to the Greybat chief clan as the two of them stood next to each other. One was there by curiosity, while the other could only erase himself in front of the powerful chief clan.


    They watched together on the ground, and Rohan was trying to understand what they were saying. The men bent to talk to each other with a muffled voice, so it was impossible to hear them from where he was.


    He tried to stretch his neck on what was on the ground, but apart from the ground, the grass, the sand, and some rocks, there wasn''t anything else. Before Rohan took a few more steps to see what it was, the old man next to him almost yelled inside his ears.


    "The footprint of a dracass! How is it possible?!" He rushed forward without minding his position and crouched along Darais and the other members of the Blackwolf clan. They were still vigorously talking to each other and didn''t care about this old man.


    All of them were acting as if a terrible catastrophe was hanging above their heads. Countless questions popped inside his mind as Rohan advanced to look closely at the ground.


    He had hunted for two months inside a forest, and while it wasn''t enough to truly learn anything, it was sufficient for the young warrior to perceive a faint mark on the soil.


    Whatever beast it was, it should have terrifying claws.

 Chapter 79 - Dracass

    The two chiefs of the clans were currently speaking with their advisors and a couple of people, while the members of the clans were talking all around. Deidros and his sister, Daina, were both talking to each other as Rohan was headed to them.


    From the Blackwolf clan or the Greybat clan, everyone seemed to act as if the apocalypse would destroy the whole world in a few minutes. The young warrior was almost expecting to see these members flee in all directions at any point.


    Since he still didn''t understand what was happening, and since the two chiefs were talking about the surety of their members, Rohan decided to let them together and to find answers with the children of Darias.


    As soon as he approached the siblings, Daina turned her face toward the warrior. There was still disdain that could be seen in her eyes, but there was also respect, as well as something else. But Rohan didn''t care about her and instantly asked Deidros about the dracass or whatever it was. This one showed a peculiar face when he heard this question.


    "Don''t you know about it? It is without a doubt the most dangerous creature out there. Don''t you have them as well on the other side?"


    "I know about them. That''s why I ask you this question. So, what are they exactly, and why did everyone seem to be this frightened?" Rohan resisted the urge to roll his eyes at this ridiculous question.


    Hearing this answer, the two siblings showed to the warrior two distinct reactions. The brother laughed to the sky while the sister gnashed her teeth and looked with anger at the warrior.


    Before Daina decided to throw herself against Rohan to fight him to the death, Deidros answered his question after his smile faded away. The dracasses weren''t to be taken lightly. His first sentence nearly made Rohan shout out loud.


    "They are magical beasts, and they have the habit of living in a pack, with the strongest of them being the leader."


    Rohan watched stupidly at the frail young man in front of him while this one was telling everything he knew about this beast. Wasn''t it said that these lands had zero mana? Wasn''t it said that the inhabitants couldn''t become warriors? Wasn''t it said that magical beasts couldn''t exist here?


    Rohan swore to himself that once he would go back to Daksina, he would track and hunt every single person responsible for these stupidly wrong pieces of information. At least he would punch Horim who had declared to him that he wouldn''t encounter any troubles out there.


    ''Well, maybe not punch. I don''t want him to strangle me back.''


    "...a description of the beast, I haven''t seen one myself, but everyone knows what they look like. They have dark scales with four powerful limbs. Each of these limbs is ended with sharp claws that could tear through leather as if it was nothing. But the most important point is that they are always in a pack."


    That wasn''t helpful for Rohan to have a visual of this beast, but he continued to listen to Deidros, currently moving his hands at extreme speed to show at which point this creature was so fierce and incredible.


    "They are the only magical beasts we can encounter inside the Barren Lands, and they are extremely rare. The Blackwolf took this path every year to go to the gathering, and it is the first time to seen these prints here. You don''t have those beats on the other side?" He curiously looked at the young warrior. He had always believed that this creature was a nightmare for everyone on the continent.


    Rohan shook his head. He didn''t know if these dracasses could be found in his kingdom, but he knew that the magical beats were extremely rare in the south. So rare, that it was impossible to encounter them.


    For a beast living in a pack, Rohan would have heard about them. Maybe the powerful warriors of the different duchies simply killed them all. Since he was young, as well as a son of a nobleman, he didn''t know what was the goal of the warriors under the duke other than the protection inside the cities.


    Plus, Rohan had never encountered any magical beast. The black tiger he had fought back then probably wasn''t one since there wasn''t any core, and the corpse he had seen inside the wizard''s room was already dead.


    His eyes widened. His jaw almost hit the floor as he thought back at this creature with a large wound and its heart missing. Dark scales were forming its whole body while four limbs with terrifying claws were lying there, inert.


    "Say, your beast there, does it have a long tail with a pointed tip?" He remembered the creature he had seen. Most importantly, he remembered the information that was written in the notebook he had discovered near the body.


    "Yeah! So you also have this creature in the north!" Deidros smiled as if he was the happiest man in the world. Daina could only shake her head on the side.


    Without bothering with these people, Rohan sharply turned around and stride in the direction of his horse. Since he had plundered all the belongings of the wizard, he had already read this notebook. It was the personal research he had done on this beast, which was named dracass.


    The two siblings shared a look as the warrior left in a hurry, and as if their minds were connected, they both decided to follow after him.


    While Rohan was reaching his horse to take a look at the book, the two chiefs and their advisors were still talking.


    "We can''t continue this path! It is far too dangerous, what do you want, to kill everyone?!"


    "The print was there for at least a few days, the pack is probably not there anymore! And we can''t go back now!"


    "He''s right. If we take another path right now, we will be undeniably late for the gathering, it isn''t a good solution either."


    They were all in the middle of the camp. There wasn''t any separation between the two camps anymore, as the group was divided with the one who wanted to continue and the other, who wanted to take another path.


    Suddenly, from the crowd standing around the leaders talking, a man yelled his opinion.


    "We should continue forward! The gathering is the most important at this point!" With this man voicing his opinion, other people began to shout as well, that they should continue. It didn''t take long before the situation almost became a brawl.


    Seeing this, the man who had first yelled watched with a smile. All he had to do was to make the critical difference with his voice as well as some others, and now he was sure the chief clan would choose the only solution he had.


    Curiously, the division between the ones searching to continue and the others wasn''t centered around their strength, and even the warriors were with a different opinion. No one was a fool, and no one believed they could fight the beasts.


    They all knew that if the clans met a pack of dracasses, almost none of them would be able to survive.

 Chapter 80 - Is This Beast A Joke?

    While the two clans were debating about what to do about the footprints they had discovered, Rohan was in front of his horse with a man and a woman looking over his shoulder.


    Since he was quite taller than both of them, Deidros and Daina could only stand on the tips of their toes. The last one had even let a curse pass through her teeth to this warrior. Rohan didn''t care about them and simply browsed through the notebook he held in between his hands.


    He had already read this one quite a time ago, but since it was only the description of a random beast, Rohan had pretty much already forgotten about the content. Even so, he remembered a special sentence at what point that had made him ponder back then when he had read it the first time.


    The wizard, whose name was forgotten, lost inside deep well called Rohan''s memories, had written the observation he had made about this beast. From these, Rohan knew that it was the wizard who had killed it, or at least he was in a group.


    The first few pages were taken to describe the external appearance of the beast, from the mouth filled with terrifying teeth to the long pointed tail while passing by the dark scales and strong-looking limbs. It was simply the rudimentary knowledge about the dracass, and Rohan didn''t care about that.


    The following was about the capacity the beast had shown to them, and the wizard had finished all his explanations by a single sentence: it was, overall, extremely weak for a magical beast.


    This wizard seemed to know a lot of information about these powerful beasts possessing a magical core, and he passed a large part of the notebook to compare this one who he didn''t know about and a normal magical beast.


    It was fast, able to run through the air at high speed due to the scales letting the wind and the pressure of it glide against his body. Its claws were sharp, and it was even able to pierce through a metal piece of armor with all its strength.


    The pointed tail could also be used as a weapon, and if someone wasn''t paying attention, he could be gravely injured. But other than the surprise effect, it wasn''t the strong point of this beast.


    His teeth were as sharp as his claws, able to pierce through the metal. But even so, and as the claws, it wasn''t able to tear apart a piece of metal completely, and could only pierce through it if it was with its most powerful blow.


    Since the clans were mostly equipping their members with clothes made of fur and leather, these claws were enough to make them scared for their lives. But for the leather armor of Rohan, reinforced with strips of tough metal, it wasn''t life endangering.


    The most important point this wizard underlined, and the ultimate reason why this beast was probably the weakest magical beast of the whole world, other than its body being quite lacking, was its intelligence. What this man said, was that this beast was simply stupid, only pouncing on its nearest target without caring about the potential danger there was around.


    It was as if the beast acted like the mightier being of the world and thought to have no opponent able to kill it. Thus, the wizard could only call this beast, that he had never seen before and didn''t have heard about, a failure as a magical beast, and the weakest one out there.


    While Rohan was skimming through all its content, the siblings were also trying to read everything. The more knowledge they learn, the more baffled they felt. Daina even felt rage growing in her body, and the urge to find this wizard to punch him. Was the most ferocious beast of the Barren Lands, striking fear only by its name, simply a joke?


    Even Deidros felt like defending his lands while pondering on its meaning. Rohan was asking himself the same question as this man. If this was considered to be the weakest one, what was considered to be a normal one? And what about the strongest of the world?


    Rohan continued to read this notebook. After the description of its physique, as well as an explanation about its capacities, it was now a detailed part about its body after death, as well as the weak points of this beast.


    Its lack of intelligence was for the wizard a fatal one. Rohan didn''t know how the beast was dead, but from the tone of the wizard in his text, it should probably have been found dead from a tiny trick.


    Although the scales seemed to be hard, almost any blade could easily pierce through the body. What was hard was to slash at it, as the edge of a weapon might simply slide against the slippery black scales. Rohan took note of this information.


    Earlier, it was described that the beast was a fast one, but sadly, the wizard also had put it on the weak points of this frail magical beast. It was because even if it was fast, it was almost always charging in a straight line to pounce at its target. It was then an easy feat to predict its move and evade any attack.


    The more Deidros and Daina read through the books along with Rohan, the more they felt the whole situation to be a bad joke. Was this beast that weak? They wore puzzled expressions.


    While the trio was still reading this notebook, the commotion in the middle of camp reached a climax. Even if shouts and angry bursts of voices could be heard all around, they were too attracted to this book to be even slightly deranged.


    The two leaders looked at each other as they saw the situation taking a strange turn. Everyone was now giving his opinion, almost coming into a fight with those who didn''t think like them. Sometimes, being a clan chief wasn''t as great as others could think.


    "Garrold." It was simply a calm voice leaving the mouth of Darias, but he was trying hard to not charge into the melee to punch them all. This situation was done by the first one who had shouted, he was sure of this.


    The worst was that he knew who it was. After all, there were only a few hundred people in his clan, and he knew them for decades. That was why he was sure the man was a member of the Blackwolf clan, and he was also sure who it was.


    After his voice left his throat. A light scoff echoed in the middle of this cacophony. Not a lot of people recognized who it was, nor even heard it. But the next movement, made everyone stop and gulped down their words.


    A terrible explosion shook the earth as the mighty shockwave sent pebbles and pieces of broken rocks flying everywhere. These pieces flew at high speed before they collided with the members of the clan watching with open mouths. Apart from the pain stopping them from the heated discussion, there weren''t any injuries.


    Everyone turned their faces to the center where the two leaders were sitting. The dust was flowing down against them, revealing the calm expression of the chief of the Blackwolf clan, the scared to death expression of the chief of the Greybat clan, and the fist still sunken on the ground of the old man.


    This one spoke with a severe and rusty voice.


    "The ones who will decide the path are the clan chiefs, not some random members. At least have the decency to shut up and listen."


    Not a sound could be heard anymore, only the flipping of a book from the side. Darias broke this silence.


    "What do you think we should do, Greybat clan chief?" Darias asked the old man sitting in front of him.


    Before this one could answer, opening and closing his mouth in an attempt to say something, anything, the chief of the Blackwolf clan answered his own question.


    "I believe we should continue this path. The prints are only there for a few days, and these terrifying beasts would rest there, where no food could be found for them. And like had said one of the members of my clan this well, we can''t afford to be late to the gathering."


    "Y¡­yes, I, the chief of the Greybat clan, agree with you!" What a joke, he certainly has no choice here!

 Chapter 81 - Call From The Mountain

    After the two leaders had given their decision, no one could affect the result. Even if some of the advisors had another opinion, or even if the members were afraid to continue, the single order of their clan chief, Darias, was enough to make them all shut their mouths.


    Such leadership was without a doubt incredible, and it couldn''t only be because of strength. The Blackwolf clan had full confidence in their chief, while the Greybat one could only follow behind the strong.


    For the Blackwolf clan to be one of the top 3 clans of the external ring, it wasn''t because of their strength initially. After all, no clan was great and lucky enough to nurture a couple of warriors among only a few hundred people.


    Now feared for their might, this clan was only a small and weak clan a few decades ago. Garrold was the only warrior back then, and they were among the weakest clan. After Darias had become the chief clan with his strength after becoming a rank 1 Beginner Warrior, he had swept through the Barren Lands.


    Garrold had always been stronger than Darias, but he had never fought for the place of the leader. He would be fully under the command of this man, and this until he died. It was his oath.


    Rohan didn''t know the story, but this man wasn''t as simple as his joyful smile could make him appear.


    From the day Rohan had appeared, Darias always acted like an easygoing person near him. Even the clan admitting him that easily was without a doubt coming from this man.


    Since Rohan had seen the true face of the great leader that was Darias a few days ago, watching with cold eyes as his warrior killed his opponent, he assumed that he should always be prepared for the worst.


    He even felt that he was becoming closer to the people of the clan. Too close. Such a thing mustn''t go too far, as there was a great chance to become their enemy once he would try to enter the mountain.


    After the decision was taken, no one dared to express their disagreements. They all dismantle the camp which only consisted of the carts surrounding them and the karags lying on the ground. Now that all members were ready and the beasts pulling their homes, it was time to advance.


    The two clans took back the road inside this canyon and moved forward, at a snail pace. Even if they believed the beasts to be already gone, they wouldn''t play with their lives, and the warriors were thus placed at the front within their carts.


    A few more traces were discovered along the way, all dating from quite a time already, further enhancing the belief of the beasts leaving this place. Although the width of the path was considered to be quite huge, it would be too restrained for a pack. Plus, as there was no prey or water for them here, it made sense for the clans to think they had already left a long time ago.


    The karags were slowly pulling the carts, marching without exhaustion while dodging the few trees growing up. A light warm wind was making those trees move, while a few yellow leaves fell to the ground, nourishing the dead soil.


    Some hours later, as the sun started to descend, the end of the path between the internal and external ring could be seen. Rohan crisped his hands in the leach as he directed his horse forward.


    If it wasn''t for the robust and large animals all around him, he would probably already sprint to reach the edge of this canyon, with the sole goal to look at the mountain. After a few minutes, which seemed like an eternity to Rohan, the clans finally left the shadows of the path. The light of the sun shone down and blind Rohan for a while. A hot wind welcomed him on these lands. He was back on this wonderful desert.


    After a short moment, Rohan fully opened his eyes to look in front of him. The sight cut his breath.


    Far away, at an unimaginable distance, the shadow of a peak stood there. As it was the only mountain of the Barren Lands, with nothing to compare with the ridiculously small hills behind him, the Kolmos mountain couldn''t be missed.


    It was alone, pointing to the sky where clouds gathered there, attracted by this mighty mountain. Even from this distance, Rohan could see the white of the mountain, while the real peak was hiding inside the pack of clouds. Or maybe he was simply imagining it.


    Rohan stood there, on his horse while this one kept advancing. His eyes were locked against this crushing being. His mind spun. His face became ashen. It wasn''t the magnificence of the mountain that was dazzling him. It wasn''t the height, nor the snow. His whole body was paralyzed, and none of his muscles wanted to move.


    His heart raced, ready to jump off his chest at any moment. His blood rushed inside his veins, running through the veins. His mana boiled inside his mana core, flowing toward his meridians. His mana condensed and constricted inside his mana stone, crashing against the stone here and there.


    The mountain. The Kolmos mountain. It was calling him. The pressure descended against his mortal body, crushing every bone, ordering him to come. Chills ran down his spine as he stared at the mountain.


    It wasn''t chilling due to the fear he was feeling, or the confusing sensation he had. It was because of the warmth growing from his heart, spreading to all his body. He had never seen this mountain. He had never seen any mountains in all his life. But even so, the sight in front of him made him feel as if he had encountered someone he hadn''t seen for many years.


    Rohan blinked. The sensations all disappeared like snow under the sun. His limbs could move again, without any restraint. His eyes were sore as he had kept them open for a long time, and a tear rolled down his cheek. Was it because of his emotion, or because his eyes were kept open too long? He didn''t know. But he didn''t want to.


    The noise of the thousands of people embarked inside their carts came back to fill his ears. The wheels crushing the rocks, pebbles, and sand, as well as the chatter here and there encompassed the whole area around Rohan.


    The heat from the sun came back to burn his skin, and with a heavy and slow gesture, he put back his cape around his face. He was still looking at this strange mountain, but nothing happened.


    It was simply a mountain, all alone as it was holding the sky with its might.


    They were now inside the internal ring, where the clans were all stronger. Since the gathering was approaching, the chance to meet any other clan there was extremely small. Even so, no one let their guards down.


    The landscapes were a bit better than the desertic area from the other side of the canyon, as at least there were rare patches of yellowed and dying grass standing over the rocks.


    The clans moved in the direction of the mountain, and everyone was smiling while doing so. They hadn''t met any dracasses along the way, and that was a relief. Now that they had left the tight canyon to the huge desert, they shouldn''t encounter these dangerous beasts.


    The days and nights succeeded each other with a peaceful atmosphere.. Unbeknownst to everyone, a man was trying everything he could to attract the dracasses.

 Chapter 82 - What Are You Doing Here?

    The smile of the moon overlooked the mortal world, mocking those poor humans sleeping in the middle of the desert.


    Inside one of the tents, a young man and his family were currently all sleeping. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of the tents. All he could hear was the quiet breath of his grandparents and siblings sleeping. His parents were both dead for a long time already.


    Slowly, slower than he had ever been, he pushed away the sheets made of brown fur and stood up from his sleeping place. He moved like a ghost, like a shadow as he paid attention to all the rustlings he was doing.


    He stuck his face to the skin of karags making up the walls and waited for a short instant. Nothing.


    A step after another, with a slight pause between each, he left what could be called his room and walked toward the side of the large tents keeping away the coldness of the night. He didn''t need to search for anything with his eyes, as he knew perfectly the position of his target: his family always put it there.


    Reaching the place, he crouched down and blindly searched around with his hand for the pot in the darkness. It didn''t take long before he found out what he was looking for, and after grabbing it, he opened it. He took out an item from inside and decisively enveloped it with a cloth the faster he could. He didn''t want the smell to wake up his grandparents.


    Before long, he was already outside. Before he had laid down on the fur to sleep, he had already prepared the clothes to protect him from the cold of the night.


    The light of the moon shone onto him, making him hastily close the entrance. He stood there for a few seconds. As he heard nothing, he breathed in and out before moving.


    The whole camp was asleep, and only a couple of the members were sitting near the big fire, supposed to take the guard. But since his tent was far from there, at the outskirts of the camp, no one could see him in the darkness of the night.


    He delicately shifted his weight to his left leg, and carefully stepped on the rocks over the ground. He wasn''t in a hurry, and he was taking all the precautions he could to not be discovered.


    If someone suddenly caught him here, it would still be fine as he would simply tell some random lie like going for a night walk, or to pee, or whatever. However, if he was found out when he was outside of the camp, that could be more delicate.


    Using the cover of the night and the shadows of the tent, he headed in the direction of the fence he could see in front of him. He gulped down. Now, the problem was the karags.


    They all lay there and completely covered the ground with their huge bodies. No one was awake. The man cursed inside his head as he thought about the next action.


    He could choose to slowly walk back to jump from the fence at the other side of the camp, where these stupid beasts couldn''t be seen. But he quickly disregarded this idea. His target was just in front of him, behind the karags and the fence. If he decided to cross at another point, that would make him turn around at least twice.


    He couldn''t afford the risk. Thus, without any more solutions, and as he didn''t want to cancel the operation, he calmed his nerves and concentrated his mind. He would go through the beasts still asleep.


    His shoes touched the ground. First, it was the heel, delicately, then he replaced his body to follow the move. The snoring of the beasts made his chest pond on his chest, as the rocks were slightly cracking under his weight.


    Under the coldness of the night, gradually numbing his limbs, his body couldn''t help but sweat like crazy, further enhancing the freezing sensation the young man felt. He closed his mind. He ignored everything. What he was doing was for the clan. He must do it.


    He was the only one seeing it, and he knew it was already too late for the majority of the clan. But he was too weak to help them, he was too fragile to kill this great enemy. Thus, his only way was the beasts.


    The Blackwolf clan was mighty, and the old Garrold was a powerful rank 4 Beginner Warrior. He knew for sure that the dracasses would meet their doom under the hand of the strong members of his clan. But even so, he expected the beasts to at least have the time to kill someone.


    But he couldn''t be sure that the beast would be able to do it. That was for this reason he had already prepared everything. Even if all the beasts were killed like the ridiculous animals they were before they accomplished their task, they would still be useful.


    He would use the opportunity to reject all fault so that everyone believed it was this despicable man that had tried to attract the pack of dracasses. The man couldn''t help but smile at his ingenious plan, and the scar on his left cheek, growing up from the corner of the mouth to the base of his ear, deformed under the moonlight.


    Abruptly, one of the legs of the karag near Guros swept the ground and dangerously approached his own legs. With fright, the man jumped forward. By luck, he had successfully evaded this damn animal, but that wasn''t the immediate problem.


    He landed against the ground, his foot ripped against one of the infinities of rocks there was all over, and under the shock, this one bumped into the back of another karags. Guros gulped down. He stopped to breathe and stared at the huge creature. He stood there like a stone statue, ready to flee at any moment.


    Fortunately, nothing happened. He let go of a mouthful of air, and a cold white fog exited his mouth.


    The rest of this small journey passed without any problem, and under the dark clothes covering the sky, Guros finally reached the fence. From these past few days, this time was the hardest. He shook his head and easily crossed the fence only used to fend off from the small animals like the fire snake or other.


    He continued to walk, then as he thought he was far away, he accelerated his pace. Soon, he looked around him. He was in the middle of nowhere, only a small distance away from the encampment of the clans. Here would be fine.


    He took out the cloth covering what he had taken earlier and prepared to put it on the ground. A slight smile appeared on his face. He was sure that the dracasses would come at some point, and it would potentially not be too long.


    He crouched on the ground and unfolded the piece of rag.


    "What are you doing here, Guros?" The loud voice made the young man jump from fright, letting the item slide from his hand and falling on the floor. He turned around hastily with a terrified face. He focused on the tall and powerful man standing there.


    As he saw who the person was under the moonlight, he lost all strength. He felt against the ground full of rocks as his legs couldn''t support him anymore.


    "I asked you a question, Guros. What are you trying to do exactly?" The voice was irritated.


    "C¡­Clan chief¡­I¡­" He couldn''t find his words in front of his chief, and soon, tears filled his eyes. He knew he was in deep problems, but his first thought was he couldn''t finish his plan to save his clan.


    Darias frowned as he gazed at this pitiful boy. Since that day, he knew that Guros was up to no good, but since he hadn''t seen anything, nor the guards reported anything, he had found it strange.


    It was only a random idea he had this night as he couldn''t sleep. He had decided to leave his tent, but the second after he had put a foot under the moon and strolled around, he had seen this young man suspiciously leave his tent.


    He squinted his eyes at the item on the ground.. Whatever he had held a few seconds earlier should respond to his question.

 Chapter 83 - Fleeing Under The Moon

    Since the boy couldn''t answer, then he would find the answer by himself. He walked over to look at what it was. There was a white cloth, with some stains on it. The color was hard to guess with this dim light from the moon. The rag was open, showing what was inside.


    It was a large piece of dried meat, but there was a large quantity of blood on it. Darias stared blankly at this piece of bloody meat.


    "Dried¡­meat? With blood on it? What do you even wan¡­" He couldn''t achieve his sentence. His face darkened terribly. He rushed to the boy at full speed, the one of a rank 3 Beginner Warrior.


    He caught Guros by the collar and lifted him with an abrupt and easy gesture.


    "How many?!" He roared under the silent night as he shook the boy refusing to answer. "How many nights did you do that?!"


    The camp jolted awake under his powerful voice exploding in the whole area. For the first time in a very long time, Darias felt his rage boiling under his skin. He couldn''t wait anymore. An answer wasn''t of any help now.


    He resisted the urge to kill this boy right now and here, and ran back to the camp. For how many days? How much bloody meat this bastard had left behind them? How long do the clans have to survive this apocalypse? He didn''t know. He didn''t know anything, but one thing.


    They were dead if they didn''t move now!


    "Blackwolf and Greybat clan, wake up and move your ass!"


    His bellow thundered, stricken panic to all the members and chasing all sleepiness. It wasn''t the best action he could have done, but time was against him.


    He rushed to the center of the camp and even wondered for a time if they should leave the tents there. Sadly, they couldn''t, as, without any resources, death would wait for them after a few days.


    "Dismantle the camp, prepare the carts, wake up the karags! We leave in twenty minutes! I don''t want to see anyone slack off! All warriors and advisors, on me!" They were in an atrocious situation.


    All the members of the clans were hurrying. They didn''t know what was happening, but hearing Darias and seeing him running at high speed with Guros treated like a rag doll, the situation could only be a dire one.


    Rohan was woken up by the yell like any other member, and he rushed to put on his leather armor. He had learned how to put one alone for a long time already, as he always hated having a servant helping to change. Even in the total darkness, he only needed a couple of minutes to put it on him.


    He exited his room with his sword on its scabbard and saw the two siblings tidying the tent. He chose to not help them and headed outside. Although he wasn''t a member of the Blackwolf clan, he was nonetheless the stronger one out there.


    He looked outside. Under the only light of the moon and the huge fire in the center, the nomads were quickly cleaning up the area. They removed everything in their tents with extreme dexterity and habit and put everything inside their carts. Some of them ran to the karags to bring and equip them.


    No one knew what was happening for the clan chief to act unusually serious. Rohan darted to the center where this one was standing. Seeing this man always with a smile on him now exuding an aura of rage, with a young man on his hands, stunned the young warrior for a short time.


    Rohan took some instant to recognize the young man, he was the one nagging at him the first time Daina wanted to teach him how to hunt. After that day, none of them had talked to each other, and Rohan had already forgotten the name of this guy. He approached Darias as the others were also nearing at full speed.


    All the most important members of the two clans were gathering there.


    Without wasting time, Darias spoke only a few words. "This bastard was trying to attract the dracasses. Bargas, find something to tie him up and bring back one of his grandparents."


    "Yes, clan chief!" The man with short hair took some time to recover from this news and quickly ran to execute his mission.


    Rohan tilted his head on the side when he saw all the warriors being this afraid. Was this beast that terrifying? From what he had read in the notebook, it seemed to be as dangerous as a stray cat at most.


    The warriors were looking furiously at the young man who could only shrink and plopped to the ground under their might combined. But at this moment, when Rohan thought this young man would pee his pants, this one turned a hateful gaze and looked straight at him. There was too much hatred and anger in those eyes.


    Rohan didn''t seem to understand what was happening, but all the other members of the Blackwolf clan didn''t have any difficulties doing so. The whole clan knew about what had lived through this boy since they all live through this hell as well.


    When they first saw Rohan on his horse, in the middle of nowhere back then, the first reflex they had was to defend themselves. The last time the clan had crossed the path with another warrior coming from the other side a long time ago, things had rapidly escalated.


    Yes, it was indeed the Intermediate Warrior who had found nothing but death at the foot of the Kolmos mountain. And by lack of luck, the Blackwolf clan had also met this horrible character.


    That was why back then when Rohan had declared to be a warrior, they all had taken a careful approach. It was also why the majority of the clan was first dubitative with the choice of their chief to accept this man to tag along with them. Now that it was more than two months since this warrior was there, no one had any problem with him, or at least on the surface.


    Among those who had a grudge against the warrior, Guros and his family were undeniably the ones who had the most reasons to hate him. After all, if his parents were now dead, it was because of this Intermediate Warrior. Even the scar Guros had was made by this man, who had cut his mouth till his ear only to have fun.


    This person thought of himself as the master of the area, as if since he was the most powerful out there, he could do whatever he wanted. The clan couldn''t do anything to protect themselves back then.


    A normal human could run away from a Beginner Warrior with a bit of luck, but a Beginner Warrior couldn''t flee from an intermediate Warrior. The power was too far apart, and every member could only grit their teeth in anger.


    It was only at the next gathering at the foot of the sacred mountain that they had seen a lifeless body hanging at a tree, rotten and eaten by predators. At least, justice had been given by one of the four great clans.


    Rohan listened carefully as Darias quickly explained to him the reasons for the man to employ such a deed. From those, Darias had already more or less understood what was the goal of Guros. Attracting these beasts was probably to use them and threaten Rohan.


    What he couldn''t understand however was how this stupid boy could think of this terrible idea. Did he want the whole clan to die along with this random warrior? Darias contemplated the situation as he felt rage surging from his body.


    He suppressed it. He didn''t want to spill any blood right now. He looked at the warrior in front of him contorting his face from this story.


    The young warrior narrowed his eyes from how incredulous he felt. He and the other warrior were two entirely different people, and judging him because of another one simply because they came from the same part of the continent, was for Rohan a lack of perspective and reflection.


    Rohan felt a headache incoming. This lunatic was mad enough to put all his clan into danger simply to drive him away or kill him? What an absurd idea!


    He suddenly felt that he should have indeed murdered him that day, in the middle of this forest.

 Chapter 84 - Panic

    After Darias had given all the information he had to the warriors as well as the only he had which was to flee the earliest possible, Bargas came back with an old man at his side. His face was solemn, but he was mainly hiding the two emotions he was currently feeling.


    He was ashamed. His grandson had gone too far, and because of him, the whole clan was now in danger. He was angry, against this grandson of his, but also toward another person. It was selfish of him, and he knew it fully. He looked deeply at Guros, which was just like an old rag on the ground before he turned his face to look at the heart of the problem.


    The young warrior, Rohan, was looking back at him. If it wasn''t for the Intermediate Warrior, his family wouldn''t have to live through this horror. If it wasn''t for the appearance of this young one, his dear grandson wouldn''t have to do such a foolish action. If only Garrold could have killed this warrior right when they encountered him, everything would have been perfect.


    Rohan stared at this old man. He didn''t know what this one wanted, but from the way he was looking at him, he had the sudden urge to smack him. The situation would only become worse if he did that, so Rohan simply looked away from Darias. What was the plan, now?


    "The responsibility of Guros is ultimately yours, I believe you agree with that, right?" He was talking to the newcomer with a deep voice.


    The pressure emitted from his eyes said that the only answer he wanted to hear was a yes. Otherwise, he would kill right away. Such a crime had never been done against his clan, and he was ready to take appropriate measures if necessary.


    "Yes, chief!" The old man could only accept.


    "Then tie him up and carry him with you. I don''t want to see him before we get out of here."


    The grandfather quickly nodded before he took the rope he had with him and tied up his grandson without any words. This one was staring at him with a glint of hope inside his eyes. But hope wasn''t coming. After tying the young man, he hurried to leave with him. The voice of the leader echoed in his ears.


    "Don''t forget the situation." A fierce and ruthless aura emanated from his body, making the old man gulp, even if he wasn''t directly looking. "He will die or be banished. But if anyone is to help him¡­"


    The middle-aged man didn''t finish his sentence. It was clear as water to all the onlookers what he wanted to warn. Rohan didn''t understand why the leader had given the task of the grandfather to take care of his grandson, but he didn''t care.


    Maybe it was only contempt from him, but he didn''t care what normal humans could try to do.


    The camp was now almost fully dismantled, and only the fences were to be moved. Darias used the time remaining before leaving to prepare his warriors.


    Their role, if anything happened, was to defend the whole clan and permit the maximum number of people to flee. It was the only plan he could make, as he knew they couldn''t win against the dracasses if those were to come.


    The warriors were now rushing to help and remove the fences around the camp. Even Rohan felt obliged to help them, as he didn''t want to just stand there looking at them.


    The members of the two clans weren''t deaf people. The information had already spread all around, and they all ran in all directions, faster than ever. The only mention of those terrifying dracasses was enough to strike fear at them.


    Almost none of the nomads had ever seen those magical beasts, but everything about them was passed down at each generation. From Rohan''s point of view, it had only increased the might of those beasts for no reason with a lot of incoherent stories.


    Less than twenty minutes after the leader had given his order, the clans were ready to move. Rohan was mounted on his horse. At least the advantage with a horse was the speed at which he could equip it.


    But as everyone was ready to leave, as Darias hoped they were fast enough, a roar echoed from a distance away. Responding to this command, a river of roars almost as powerful followed suit.


    For a second, the world quieted down. Every people froze their gestures, paralyzed by these bestial cries. It was near. Too near.


    Then, the time decided to come back, flowing like always and making the inevitable coming forward. Panic struck the camp abruptly. Screams and cries filled the area while the nomads all ran in a random direction. The karags couldn''t move and crouched down against the ground, obviously scared to death from what was coming.


    Darias looked around with the most solemn expression he had ever had. Back when the Intermediate Warrior had appeared, he was ultimately a man, and there was little chance for him to massacre them all for no reason. But the dracasses weren''t the same. They were beasts chasing them.


    It was the end.


    His eyes looked at his children behind him, on the cart. He had already lost his wife on these lands, taken away by a disease. He wanted to rush to them and protect them until death. But he couldn''t. The camp was losing its mind as only one thought was on the head of everyone: they will all die there.


    The chief of the clan couldn''t let this situation fall apart. The chief of the Greybat clan was already lost in the chaos and was in the impossibility to take back any control. There was only him that could do it, he was the only one who could calm down the clan at this point.


    He turned his face away from his children with a weight crashing his heart. It was his responsibility. Everything for the clan.


    "Took out your weapons!" He couldn''t infuse his voice with mana like an Advanced Warrior, but his roar was enough to wake up everyone from their state. "Fight for our families! Warriors, you all have a duty, and it is the time to accomplish it!"


    Garrold appeared with a spear on his hand and a sword at his waist. It was his time to shine, even if it meant dying there.


    "Blackwolf clan! Greybat clan! Wait for the beasts to come, and don''t run in any random direction!"


    The dracasses were feared so many times. It was impossible for the clans of the Barren Lands to not have any solution to counter them.


    Sadly, the only solution they had after so many years was pitiful. It was to wait for the beasts to appear, to stall them with the warriors and fighters, while everyone else ran away in the other way.


    At least, some of them would be able to live. And who knows, they might even be able to kill one or two of these monsters.


    All the members of the clans knew what was happening. They brave their fear and took out their weapons. There weren''t any young or old members anymore. There weren''t any men or women in the Barren Lands at this time. There were only fighters, and everyone was with a bow or a spear on their hands.


    They all learned how to fight and to survive in these lands from a young age, and compared to the inhabitants of the other side, they were able to seal their emotions much more easily. Their survival was in play, and they certainly didn''t want to lose it.


    More than a thousand nomads gathered in the center of the camp, only illuminated by the moon and the dying fire no one bothered to fuel before.


    Rohan was among them on his horse, in the front line. His sword was already in his hand, and he scanned the area to discern these beasts. Behind him, the nomads were shaking with their poor weapons in their hands, waiting for the appearance of the dracasses.


    No one knew from which direction they would come.


    Answering their call, shadows suddenly appeared in front of Rohan. It didn''t take long before their bodies were in full sight under the white light shining on their dark lustering body.


    They were exactly like the one Rohan had seen before, albeit they were very alive, and the warrior''s pupils shrunk when he saw them.

 Chapter 85 - Fight Against A Dracass

    There were fifteen beasts forming a semicircle in front of Rohan and his horse neighed at their appearance. He was braver than the karags before, but now he could see these monsters, these carnivores, Barakas slowly crouched down.


    Their dark scales shone under the moonlight. They were standing proudly and savagely on their four legs, while their claws sunk under the soil and broke some rocks. Their yellowed vertical eyes stared at the group of preys waiting to be butcher, as their open mouths showed off their long fangs.


    Even Rohan wanted to kowtow to those powerful beasts the moment he crossed their eyes, and forgot everything there was on the notebook. He had indeed overlooked a truth, and it was the same for Deidros and Daina.


    Jared, the one who had written this book on his research, was a rank 2 Beginner Wizard, and he was far from being alone when he had hunted the dracass. He was with a fully equipped team composed of powerful warriors. Plus, he had only one beast to kill.


    But there wasn''t only one magical beast in front of the warrior, there were fifteen of them. One of them was seemingly stronger than the others, probably the alpha. Their height only reached the waist of the adults, but their powerful might was enough to make them as huge as mountains.


    It was the first time Rohan had seen a magical beast, and he instantly knew that the black tiger he had encountered back then was just a stupid cat. A magical beast had a mana core inside its heart, and along with this one, it was continuously sending a flow of mana along with the blood.


    And that was what Rohan felt as he saw these couple or so incredible creatures. They were exuding power, and he could even feel the mana circulating on their body. He didn''t know if he could feel it because of his fifth meridian, his mana stone, or any other reason, but it was enough to scare him.


    He gulped down. In his world, there was him, all alone, and these terrible overbearing monsters. Then screams filled his ears and woke him up. It was time for the clans to act, and to put into action their ridiculous plan.


    The warriors charged toward the place the beasts were along with a few other fighters ready to fight. All the other one, with jelly legs, slowly backed down and waited for the best opportunity to flee.


    Sadly, not all of them had the mind to bear such pressure. The beasts were only standing there, watching and mocking these puny humans, when some of the nomads couldn''t help but run away.


    They overlooked the initial plan, and without caring about any consequences, they urgently flew away.


    This action only served to excite the dracasses.


    Hell followed. The warriors ran at their maximum speed. But since they were all around the members before trying to know from where the beasts were coming, the scaly creatures were hardly intercepted. The few fighters weren''t enough, and the beasts disappeared with a mighty speed.


    The fifteen bloodthirsty monsters pounced on the targets like a wolf pack. Unfortunately, wolves would have been better. A beast dashed directly toward Rohan as this one leaped from his crouching horse. His heart skipped a beat as he shook his head. He was a strong rank 5 Beginner Warrior, he should fear nothing!


    The dracass reached him in a few seconds, and Rohan waited until the last moment. But the beast was fast, way faster than he had thought. He only had the time to step away to dodge the claws of the beast splitting the void. Before he could hit the magical beast, this one made a sharp turn and pounced again on him with claws and fangs ready to strike.


    He didn''t have the time to look at what was happening around him, but what Rohan heard was enough. Death rattles and terrible screams sounded all around. The noise of the flesh being torn apart by the claws made chills run down Rohan''s spine. The beasts kept roaring as they played with the humans dying under their strength.


    All nomads were in panic. There were no plans anymore, and everyone simply fled in a random direction.


    Rohan strengthened his grip over his blade. It wasn''t the time to be foolish. Even if it was only a few months, he had seen every member of this clan. Hiding here and there was now meaningless.


    Curiously, his mind eased. His body relaxed. A weight fell from his body. It was only now that he remembered that he had never used his full power. The full power of a rank 5 Beginner Warrior.


    Under the dimness of the night, the black creature leaped from the shadows and appeared in front of Rohan. Faster, much faster than previously, Rohan stepped on the side. The strength flowing inside his body had nothing to be compared with the one of a normal human, and his constitution was far above anyone.


    It was even above a normal Rank 5 Beginner Warrior. His body cracked with pleasure. His energized muscles moaned under his skin. Rohan wasn''t restraining anything.


    The might of a warrior wasn''t his mana. It wasn''t the huge consumption making him able to use a strong blow like Strengthened Blow or Charge. It was his body. His body, reinforced by the mana through the meridians, with the might of a god.


    The rocks sank under the ground under the powerful stomp of Rohan. His speed was unimaginable. With a fierce glint, he chopped down with his weapon after dodging the beast still in midair.


    The blade cleaved through the air in silver light.


    The dracass couldn''t evade in time, and it contorted its body to meet the blade with its paw. Sparks jumped all around as the sword slid against the sharp claws of the beast. Rohan was slightly faster and stronger, and he managed to cut a large gash on the paw before backing down.


    The dracass whined and roared from pain and anger. It ignored the deep cut and blurred under the night, hiding in the shadows created by the moon covered by the clouds. Rohan concentrated on his surroundings.


    There. He slashed to the right with a low angle. The beast appeared with its mouth full of fangs approaching dangerously. But the sword of the warrior was perfectly placed. The blade below its mouth and aimed viciously at the throat of the beast.


    The dracass stretched its neck up and leaned to the side. The sharp edge of the blade met the scales of the beast as this one was beautifully accompanying the blade. The sword only scratched ultimately, leaving a long injury and blood flow down. Rohan had difficulties believing what he had just seen. This dodge was so perfect he couldn''t believe it.


    The words of this damn wizard couldn''t be more false, and Rohan reaffirmed the strength of these dracasses. Even with his strength, he was sure to win one against one, but against a full pack? And against the alpha? He would be dead already.


    He narrowed his eyes. He didn''t have the time to reflect. He didn''t dare to look away from this beast, but he knew that the clan was being slaughtered at this moment. He charged forward this time, taking the initiative.


    The beast answered by charging forward with its claws stretched on the front. Rohan smiled. He suddenly stopped there and waited. At the last moment, letting all the strength of his body explode, he didn''t dodge the sharp claws. He moved forward. He thrust with all his might his sword, aligning the tip on the heart of his mortal enemy.


    The beast was too fast, too fast for its own good. It couldn''t change the direction and tried to hit the human standing there. But the range of a long sword wasn''t to be trifled with. The sharp tip, along with the mighty strength wielding it, pierced through the air and reached the paw of the beast.


    Like the notebook had said, the scale of the beast made the slashing attack earlier miss the vital spot. But not this attack. It entered through the scales as if it was nothing and continued its way, exiting from the other side of the clawed paw.


    The speed of the beast was still there, and along with the great acceleration of the warrior, the sword fully entered the body of the beast. The front leg was thus nailed against his throat and the beast collided with the body of Rohan.


    The shock sent them both on the ground and they rolled a meter or two before a random object stopped them. Rohan was lying on his back with the dracass on him, lifeless.


    The first beast of this pack was dead.

 Chapter 86 - Fighting The Beasts

    The time wasn''t for Rohan to take a pause. He pushed away the beast from him as the chaos around him was still there. He stood up and with the help of his foot, he removed the blade.


    His shard weapon wasn''t a random piece of metal forged by a blacksmith as good as him, but by Horim. Another would probably be stuck there, but not this one. With a tearing and slashing sound, he fully took back his weapon.


    It was only at this moment that he saw what was happening in his surroundings. His heart skipped a beat as once again, he saw the same experience. Blood.


    A beast leaped against the back of a member of the Blackwolf clan. With a sharp move, it bit the neck. Its powerful jaws closed as the fangs pierced the skin. With a loud crack, which echoed and slipped into the inside of Rohan, the man had his neck snapped before the dracass threw away the dead body. Blood dripped from its open mouth, as well as saliva.


    It clearly enjoyed the moment. The dracass didn''t even look back at the prey he had just killed and pounced on its next target.


    While darkness was locking the area, the atrocious smell of blood permeated the air, flowing inside Rohan''s lungs.


    A beast rushed at lightning speed and slashed with its sharp claws. The man running for his life didn''t have the slightest chance, and even as he tried to drop on the ground to evade the blow, he was too late. With a spurt of blood flying in the air, contrasting against the night sky, the man was sent on the rocks. Five lines of open flesh and blood were on his body. He was dead.


    Like the other one, this beast didn''t care about this bloody corpse and attacked the nearest victims.


    Rohan didn''t waste more time and charged at full speed toward the beast. His feet crushed the ground and he flew like an arrow. It was the first time he could use all his strength and speed. He arrived in a few seconds in front of the beast and attacked it with a tempest of slashes.


    This time, while Rohan was fighting, he kept a part of his attention towards the rest of this battlefield.


    While some of the dracasses were on a full killing spree, the two clans weren''t simply watching.


    Three warriors were currently fighting one of those. Two were using their extreme techniques with their spears to restrain the creature while the third one slashed here and there with his sword. His whole left arm was red, and a broken spear was on the ground.


    Darias, Garrold, and a few others had chosen to attack the most terrifying beast of the pack. Its speed was simply phenomenal. It was stronger than the other, and not only a bit.


    It continuously dashed, only letting the eyes catch the glint of the claws, and the noise of the wind being cut apart. The old warrior roared as he advanced his feet and used the inertia to thrust and spin at the same time his spear.


    From the corner of his eyes, Rohan saw Garrold using Strengthened Blow when the beast was in midair. The air exploded under such pressure from the weapon, and the rocky blade teleported in front of the beast. Such was the speed of this attack.


    The technique was great, but compared to what he could do himself, it wasn''t worth mentioning. It was even bland against the duel of the two rank 5 Beginner Warriors Rohan had seen.


    Rohan dodged the slash of the claws of his own opponent, moved at a blurring speed, and used his Strengthened Blow. His blade moved with a dazzling shiny arc, reflecting the moonlight. Rohan''s sword cleaved the world apart and made the wind scream as its path.


    The beast, already known to be extremely fast and with quick reflexes, couldn''t do anything against such an attack. It only attempted to jump away, but before its muscles could even contract, the sharp blade was already there.


    From the scales to the skin, from the skin to the flesh, from the flesh to the bones, nothing could stop this weapon made by Horim. With a geyser of blood and guts, the waist was cut clean. The two halves of the beast collapsed on the ground, as everything that was inside its body scattered all around.


    As Rohan looked at the horror that was happening all around him, a piece of information from the book that caught his attention came to his mind. The beasts were only attacking the nearer targets and didn''t care about what was happening around them.


    The alpha was still fighting against the small group of warriors supported by some members of the clans. Rohan hadn''t seen the result from Garrold''s blow, but it didn''t seem to have done anything to the large beast. Every second, one of the nomads fighting it dropped dead on the ground.


    A few meters away, the three warriors were still fighting the beast. The stalemate made them sweat profusely, as they didn''t dare to make the slightest mistake.


    All the other beasts of the pack were simply killing all around, fighting and slaughtering the members of the Blackwolf and Greybat clans. They simply moved around, and none of them thought about helping each other. They were in a pack, but no strategy was put in place, and they all proceeded to their joyful killing spree.


    Not too far from Rohan''s position, tens of nomads charged toward a beast with their spears on their hands. Some arrows pierced the air, but even under the night, the beast easily dodged everything.


    It rushed forward, caught the spear coming its way with its mouth. The body of the spear was only made of wood, and under these powerful jaws, it easily cracked and broke.


    The dracass continued as fragments of the spear flew all around, its claws swept the air and lacerated the face of this man. This one dropped on the ground, one of his eyes was sent away from its socket, and five deep furrows appeared on his face. He was dead.


    The beat looked away and pounced against the nearer target. The woman yelled as she thrust her wooden weapon, but this one couldn''t touch anything. A few seconds later, she followed her previous comrade and collapsed while blood left her throat.


    The dracass threw itself against the other members. The blade of the spear came to its left, it stepped to the right. A man jumped on the air and stabbed with his spear toward the soil, it leaped forward. A young woman wielded her bow a couple of meters from the beast and released an arrow, it crouched while running and let the arrow slide against its scales.


    Arriving near the last one, it jumped in the air and fell against her with its sharpened claws extended. She watched with horror at the dracass approaching at high speed. She was too slow to get out in time. She would die. She could only take an arrow from her quiver, and try to use it as the key time.


    A sword flashed in front of her eyes. A torrent of blood landed on her ashen face. The beast crashed on the ground as its head fell at her feet. There, a young man was holding his sword with a calm expression. His dark hair was tied in his back with a purple ribbon, illuminated by the moon and the remnant of the fire far away.


    It was the warrior coming from the other side, and as the woman watched him with mouth agape, she thought that she could fall in love at any time.

 Chapter 87 - Wind Blade

    Rohan took out a potion from his back and quickly drank it. Inside the leather bag hanging there, it was its most important belonging as well as a couple of weak mana potions. He had prepared this bag before leaving for the trip, as he wanted to be ready under any circumstances.


    He let the empty vial fall on the ground and rushed toward his next target. Although the material used for the vial was without a doubt magical, Rohan wouldn''t put back an empty potion inside his bag right now.


    If he needed at some point to quickly take one to regenerate his mana, and he only caught the empty, that would be a ridiculous moment. He preferred to evade this situation and gave up the vial which fell on the rocky ground.


    He had only killed three beasts, and none other had been killed by the nomads. At most, some of them were in a stalemate against the warriors or a large number of fighters, but it was only a question of time for them to be eviscerated.


    The other beasts freely run all around while letting the blood flow after their passages. But Rohan decided to ignore them. He knew that they would kill more people because of his inaction, but he reckoned that the alpha was most important. Too many warriors were fighting it, and too many forces were used to keep it at the same place.


    It was a selfish thought, and Rohan fully knew it. But in the end, a warrior was more useful than a normal person, he couldn''t let them die like that.


    Following this thought, the young warrior rushed toward the large beast, almost as tall as him, which was fighting in the center of tens of people. Among them, the clan chief Darias stabbed with his sword to the flank of the beast while Garrold, the stronger of the Blackwolf clan, simultaneously attacked the other side. But this dracass was faster than the others, and much smarter as well.


    It leaped back and decided to not attack these two warriors. it concentrated his bloody claws on the other preys, far weaker, trying to slow him down. Blood was dripping against the ground from its body, and the red liquid flashed against its dark scales. It was unknown how many bodies there were lying there, dead.


    Rohan dashed in this direction, preparing to enter this brawl. A scream echoed from his left.


    Since the appearance of these beasts, everyone was screaming and yelling repeatedly. The shouts were omnipresent all around, but without any particular reason, this one attracted the attention of the young warrior. He turned his head and stopped in his tracks.


    A little girl was crouching on the ground while crying out loud. Not far from there, a man was lying in his own blood, with his lifeless eyes still open. Rohan felt his heart crushed in his chest. He knew this girl.


    It was one of the few he had played with. He had even encountered this man one day, he was sure of that. Elena. This name echoed on his mind as he looked at the dracass rushing to the small girl.


    Rohan always had difficulties remembering the names, as well as the face of the people surrounding him. It wasn''t that he didn''t care about them. Or at least, he didn''t think so. But not this time. The name of the little girl was engraved in his mind.


    He couldn''t do it. He was too far away to arrive in time. His mind spun as he stood there. His calm expression cracked under this horrific scene. The beast was only a few meters away from the blond-haired girl. In a second, she would be dead.


    He didn''t care anymore. He couldn''t watch it. He lifted his left arm and pointed his palm toward the beast. He wasn''t planning on hiding it anymore. He was who he was, and his power was his power. Rohan would use it and show its might to the world.


    His mana boiled inside his mana stone. His body couldn''t help but shiver under the excitement he was unconsciously feeling. Rohan willed the intangible force and directed it to coil around his arm. With a divine speed, mana entered the rune dissimulated by his sleeve.


    He had never revealed his naked arm to anyone, as he didn''t want to show them the rune that was inscribed on the inner side of his left forearm.


    Before he had left Blanche, he had decided to fully engrave the spell on his arm. It wasn''t a difficult rune as it was only a Beginner spell, but the pain he was forced to go through was simply terrifying. Even the construction of a meridian wasn''t that painful. He had let his mana fuse with the wind element and had cut his skin deep enough to touch the bone underneath. Such pain wasn''t one anyone could bear.


    With control and precision that would let any Beginner Wizard rooted from shock, the mana dance on the rune and activated it. Once the mana had been fully integrated inside the whole runes, from the first strokes to the last one, the mighty spell took form in front of the stretched palm.


    Nearly a meter-long blade hovered there. Because of the night, the almost invisible blade fully made of wind blinded in its environment. No one was watching him, but if the clan members had the time, they would only see this man with his palm open.


    His eyes locked on the beast dangerously approaching the shaking and crying girl, Rohan flicked his wrist.


    The spells made of wind were known for two characteristics. The first one was their almost invisible state, while the second was their speed. Although those spells were considered to be mildly strong, they were often privileged because they didn''t make any noise, didn''t smell anything, and in a tough fight, it was hard to catch their sight.


    Compared to the lightning spells which were faster and stronger, the blue or purple arcs, as well as the thundering noise they produced, were far too catchy.


    The wind blade cut through the void at a mighty speed, much faster than Rohan using his Charge skill. The warrior didn''t simply wait there and followed suit at high speed.


    The claws of the beast had already reached the girl. They descended from the sky and their metallic glows blinded the young girl. She closed her eyes as tears passed through, waiting for death to take her. Maybe it was what she wanted at the end.


    But the blow never touched her. The Dracass let a terrible whine from the pain it felt. With a plop sound against the ground, one of its paws was cleanly cut from its body. It was the one it had stretched toward the fresh prey.


    The dracass leaped back with its remaining legs as it glared at the man rushing from the side. It was now only standing on three, and there was also a deep cut on its face, made by the spell which had cleaved its limb.


    It wasn''t in a capacity to put on a fight against the stronger foe, and Rohan easily killed it. The strength of these beasts was their speed.. Without it, they were utterly weak.

 Chapter 88 - Slaughtering The Dracasses

    After using his rank 1 Beginner Wizard power, the slaughter inevitably continued. But this time, it was the slaughter of the beasts.


    Rohan ran toward the alpha of the pack fighting against the ever-decreasing group of fighters. He went past the members of the clan, and without any words from him, he unleashed his power.


    Darias let out an angry bellow as he slashed at the creature. He had forgotten how many times he had moved his weapon already, as well as how many times he had to dodge those terrifying claws.


    Garrold was on the side, attacking with red eyes. The stab coming from his weapon was weaker than what he had done previously. After all, he wasn''t using his right hand to wield his sword.


    His arm was nowhere to be seen, and even the sleeves had disappeared. All there was to be seen was a bloody emptiness. The leather armor and the furs were badly damaged, and the cut wasn''t clean at all. It was not the claws that hat copped his arm: the dracass had simply torn off the limb with its jaw.


    Suddenly, as the two swords flashed against the beast, as well as tens of spears appearing here and there, a violent wind made Darias'' hair jump on his head. The hiss passed only a small distance from his ears, and the following scene left him completely dazed, as well as every member.


    The beast perfectly dodged a few weapons while letting some deflect against its tough scales. At the same time, it swept its claws around him to let the blood flow. At least, it was what it intended to do. Before its claws even leave the ground, a gruesome gash appeared on its left flank.


    Blood spurt at the dracass sense this attack merely notching its bones. It roared with all its strength and jumped away with a speed much more incredible than before. It didn''t even think about killing the other members and watched with dread as another one of these supposed insects approached. It was without a doubt this newcomer who had injured its flank.


    Darias looked at the warrior slowly advancing with his raised sword. His mind didn''t understand what had happened. Only an Intermediate Warrior could send a mana blade. He haven''t seen it because of the night, but he was sure to have felt it. There was no mistake. This young man was a mighty Intermediate Warrior!


    He felt that he had been played by this young man since the start, but he didn''t mind it at all. On the contrary, he was relieved as he starred as this young warrior. He didn''t know his age since he had never asked it, but Rohan should be around the same age as his children, around 20 or maybe a bit less.


    For him, being a rank 3 Beginner Warrior at this age was already impressive, much less an Intermediate one.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t be more wrong in all his suppositions. Rohan was only 16, nearly 17 years old, and he was still quite a distance away from beginning and Intermediate Warrior.


    The pairs of eyes from all the members nearby were locked against this young man as he headed toward the beast observing him. With a loud shattering noise, the warrior blurred under extreme speed.


    Almost immediately, he appeared on the left of the creature and struck with his sword. The dracass wasn''t expecting such a speed and only reacted at the last moment. Rohan barely missed the hit as only the tip of the sword scratched his scales. Only a white line appeared, failing to injure the beast.


    But Rohan didn''t stop there. At the same time, his sword screeched against the almost metallic black scales, he raised his left hand. In no time, under the stunned members of the Blackwolf and Greybat clans, an invisible blade hit the large dracass and another ghastly wound appeared there.


    The leader of the pack whined from the pain. This human dared to injure him! Rage and indignance swelled on its mind as it crazily jumped and swopped down upon its new target.


    Darias watched the fight with his mouth totally open. He was so shocked his blade fell on the ground in a clinging sound. He couldn''t believe what he had just seen, but as the warrior was fighting against the beast, he used this strange capacity more than once to injure the beast from a distance.


    He knew that he should charge forward to help Rohan, but he couldn''t do so as his mind was overheating. It wasn''t the attack from an Intermediate Warrior at all. It was no wonder he had thought his speed was lacking for such a warrior. This boy was even more terrifying than one! There was no mistake possible, he was a mighty wizard!


    All the fighters around him were coming to the same conclusion, and they were too dumbstruck to provide any help. Rohan was battling alone against this beast, but he didn''t need any help.


    He slashed and stabbed with his sword while dodging the crude blows of the beast. Then, sometimes, he would unleash a wind blade and increase the number of injuries the dracass had. It was only a question of time before the beast was too tired, and this situation quickly appeared.


    Now. Rohan used Charge and blurred another time, evading the fangs of the beast and appearing on the side of the still opened maw. His mana rushed to his right arm and his sword cleaved toward the dracass powered by a Strengthened Blow. The beast was far too exhausted to react in time.


    His head was cut clean. Blood spilled on the ground and jumped against Rohan. The body collapsed. The head fell a distance away.


    The fighters jolted back to reality when they saw the alpha dead in front of them. Now wasn''t the time to watch curiously a show. Under the command of Darias, they all rushed around to protect the maximum number of fellow members they could.


    The three warriors fighting the beast earlier were now only two, and they started to feel their arms going numb. The exhaustion was intense as they put greater control over their body they had never had.


    The beast in front of them was also covered in injuries, and its speed had immensely decreased. But even so, they believed that would soon be the end for them. But before death could catch them, Garrold appeared and clumsily struck with his sword.


    He was a rank 4 Beginner Warrior, and the control over his body was excellent. Even if it was clumsy, it was under comparison with his previous might. He had no difficulties killing this injured beast occupied by the two other warriors.


    After drinking more potions to recover from the expenditure of his mana, Rohan rushed back on the battlefield. The situation quickly turned around, with his bloody sword cutting through scales and limbs and his godly powers cleaving through flesh and bones.


    Along with his massacre, the other clan members followed to kill these terrifying. They were mainly playing the role of a support, as without Rohan they wouldn''t be able to kill these magical dracasses.


    Before long, all the beasts were killed. They had lived through this night, but at what price

 Chapter 89 - The Scavenger

    The sun shone on the horizon and lazily went up bit by bit. The dazzling light was bright, and with this beacon of hope, cries, and grievances descended onto the nomads.


    The desert made of rocks, sand, and dust was now covered in red; a disgusting red. Dead bodies were laid all over the area, and the few survivors had no choice but to gather them all.


    A little girl with blond hair was there, crouching in front of a couple of corpses. She stared at the void, while tears were flowing down. She was now all alone.


    A strong-looking man, twice as big as everyone else, was watching with a solemn expression at the dead woman in front of him. Sadness inhabited his mind. His fists were clenched, a sign of his powerlessness.


    A young man walked around aimlessly, looking at the bodies. He was searching for someone, but he couldn''t find her. He had already seen his father die in front of him, and now his mother was nowhere to be seen.


    A woman with a spear on her hands, and blood all over her body walked with a dead man on her back. She was bringing the corpses of her fellow members. She had been useless during this fight, watching her father fighting courageously while she couldn''t do anything. She wasn''t strong enough.


    A frail man was sitting on the ground looking at the sky. He was exhausted, and he couldn''t even move anymore. Sweat flowed from his face as he felt his inside breaking bit by bit. He had fought alongside everyone even with his particular state, as he couldn''t simply watch.


    An old man with a missing arm was also gathering the corpse, stopping here and there as he looked deeply at the face of these previous sisters and brothers.


    A middle-aged man stood in the middle, overlooking the situation. His heart weighed on his chest. He couldn''t believe his once-powerful clan was reduced to that. This day was the worst one for the Blackwolf, but as well for the Greybat clan.


    Rohan headed toward the corpses of the beasts. He was only an outsider, and he didn''t consider it normal if he was going to gather the dead bodies. He preferred to let them do it. It was maybe only a cold endeavor from him as he ignored the bodies and crouched in front of a beast cut in halves, but Rohan firmly believed it wasn''t his role to make peace with the dead.


    Instead, he concentrated on the task before him. He took out a dagger from his waist, one of those he had forged himself, and prepared to cut the meat in front of him. He directly aimed for the heart.


    A dagger wasn''t made to dissect, but it was one of the best weapons he had forged, and the blade was better than what the nomads owned. Coupled with his mighty strength, and the teaching he had received back in the forest, he had no difficulties extracting the bloody heart of the dracass.


    In this situation, even with a loud atmosphere, he couldn''t refute his emotions. He suppressed the joyful smile almost blooming. He felt excited as he cut in half the organs in his hand. He even almost let an exclamation leave his throat when he saw the small stone that shouldn''t be found inside a normal heart.


    The vital organ was the size of his whole hand, while this stone was talking only taking a small place inside. The stone covered in blood wasn''t perfectly round and was uneven like a mana core, but Rohan could feel the mana inside. It only took a glance to know there was more mana inside that was inside his mana core.


    Rohan had now a bit more than 50 points of pure mana without taking the mana stone into account, and this stone was containing more. Much more.


    He wasn''t able to deduct how many exactly, but at least he knew for sure that it was equal to more than 5 weak mana potions. Also, it couldn''t be used in a fight since it would take too much time to absorb the mana, it was a perfect way for the sessions of meditation.


    Taking back the role of a plunderer like he had done inside the wizard''s place, Rohan scavenged the remnant of the battle and took away all the mana stones of the beasts. He would keep some for the clan, as well as for himself.


    It was maybe egoistic from him, but it was with his strength that all the beasts were now dead. He had the full right over those stones. In any case, it was only useful for a mana user, and there was now only a couple of them left.


    After this terrible night, a lot of people died, painting the ground with their dark red blood. From the thousand and more composing the two clans, not even two hundred of them were still alive. Among them, more than half were injured while tens of nomads were in between life and death at this moment.


    The numbers of warriors had also somewhat decreased, and only a few of them were still alive. Garrold who was crippled; Darias, the young man from the Greybat clan hiding it; two other warriors, one rank 1 and the other rank 2 Beginner warriors; and Deidros, a false warrior.


    It hadn''t been hard for Rohan to feel it from the very first day he had seen the son of the clan chief. He was sure to have sensed an emanation of mana coming from his body, but the feeling was strange. It was only now that he understood why. His mana core inside his chest was on the verge of fully breaking.


    His first meridian that he must have opened a few years ago was still there, but it was in a weak state. Rohan could even feel the flow of mana entering through it while passing through obstacles.


    It was somewhat reminding Rohan of the mana combustion he had gone through against the wizard back then. The difference was that Deidros couldn''t reverse his situation, and it was now far too late to try.


    No one talked at all during the day. The nomads were all gloomy as they gathered the bodies of their families. Under such heat, the smell was simply atrocious, but no one fled from reality, and they bore with it.


    Darias was checking the bodies, searching for someone with anger swelling inside his chest. He wouldn''t be able to rest until he saw this man, but he couldn''t find it.


    Even at the end of the day, when virtually all corpses were gathered in a large area, this man couldn''t be found. His family members were all dead, and such a knot was painful to watch. The clan chief could only assume the worst outcome. Among the 26 lost persons, who had probably fled in the desert in a random direction, there was a man with a scar on his face.


    He could only expect from the Barren Lands to kill this man, as he had no way to search through the huge lands. He swore in his mind. He should have directly killed this bastard when he had the chance to do so.


    Unable to vent his anger and kill this ex-member of his clan, Dairas forcefully put away Guros from his mind. The situation was now dire. It was his duty to protect his clan members, but also to talk to this warrior.


    He knew what he had seen. Rohan wasn''t a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, he was too strong for that. At least, far stronger than him. But most importantly, this young man was also a rank 1 Beginner Wizard.. Although he had never seen one personally, it was the sole explanation for the strange power he had made appear.

 Chapter 90 - Forward With A Broken Clan

    No more than thirty karags were currently pulling their carts in the middle of the desert. It was the only brown beasts that had survived the massacre of this night, and inside those were the almost two hundred clan members. Two-thirds of them were from the Blackwolf clan while the last one was from the Greybat clan.


    Under the leadership of the clan leader, there was no problem between the former members of the Blackwolf and Greybat clans. They had all lived through the same hell, and this experience had instead wilded these people together.


    Rohan was currently sitting inside one of the carts. Unfortunately, when he had found his horse, this one was already dead. He was sad for having lost this horse, but he felt sadder at the prospect of returning the news to Delia.


    From the beginning of this trip, it was almost a dream for him to enter one of those carts. The sole reason for that was for protection from the sun, but now that he sat on the wooden planches trembling and shaking, it reminded him of the carriages. Rohan had always hated these uncomfortable transports, but compared with what he was sitting on, he felt that he had been too harsh.


    He almost couldn''t prevent himself from jumping out and walking along with the karags.


    In front of him, with a blank face in a daze, a little girl was sitting there. She hadn''t talked a single time and had only moved like a doll when the time to leave had come.


    Rohan turned away his eyes and looked at the rear of the carts. A trail of dark smoke went up in the sky. It was the fire they had set up to release the dead bodies from their torment. They had lived all their lives inside the Barren Lands, and they had died there.


    Seeing the reaction of this girl who had lost all her family in a single night, Rohan thought about himself. It was normal to be in such a shock after leaving through it, and she was still young, no more than ten years old.


    But for him, he was now so numbed to see all these deaths that he felt like he couldn''t feel them anymore. Seeing the dead bodies of the people he had seen every day rendered him sorrowful s, but it was a light emotion. Deep inside him, he felt that it was simply meant to be.


    His father was dead, his guards were dead, thousands and thousands of people died in front of him.


    A time ago, he could hear the screams of these soldiers burning simply by closing his eyes. But now, it felt so far away. It was only more than two years ago, but even so, it was enough to decrease his emotions.


    He was only a boy of sixteen years old in the end, and rare were the people who had seen as many deaths as him in their whole life. For a curious reason, he thought that it was only the beginning and that he will have to see much more. He had to kill this Old Monster at some point after all, and such a deed wouldn''t be done without spilling some blood before.


    On the contrary with this little girl, he felt the young man sitting beside was more resembling him. He was there, watching the horizon while lost in thoughts. Rohan didn''t remember if he had heard his name or not, but this man was the son of the fighter from the Greybat clan.


    Rohan wondered what he was thinking since he traveled with them. To wake up in the morning only to see the killer of his father at some step away from him, laughing and enjoying life. He wondered what was his emotions when he realized this warrior was now dead, killed by the dracasses.


    Maybe he was feeling happy to have his revenge, or maybe angry because he couldn''t do it himself.


    Rohan shook his head and chased away his reflections. He turned his head to the other side, and his eyes fell on the back of the driver, as silent as the other two. Rohan knew this man, and he even had talked to him a few times.


    It was Barulf. He was the one who always loved to see him come back from the hunt as the skin was always in a perfect state. The man wasn''t someone to speak a lot, but now a strange grievous aura had enveloped him. He had lost his wife during the slaughter.


    This cart was thus full of broken people, and Rohan suddenly had the ridiculous urge to laugh out loud. He contained himself.


    The few carts continued forward every day in the same direction. Even though they had escaped a deathly situation, they couldn''t back away. They needed to reach the gathering of the clans at the Kolmos mountain.


    Darias perfectly knew what would happen once they entered the central ring, ruled by the four great clans. His clan was in the top three in the external ring and was quite strong even for the internal ring. Once they would appear in front of all the other clans, with so few members, everyone would believe they were done for.


    They would pounce on them like dracasses, Darias was sure of that. No one would dare to provoke them into a duel while the gathering took place, but no one would have such qualms after.


    He didn''t hide this situation from Rohan, since he was the strongest of them. The response of Rohan was to simply shrug. He already knew the strongest of the internal clans was an Intermediate Warrior. The chance from this one to personally act was low and other than him, no one was a threat for Rohan.


    At least, the rule of clans was slightly protecting the rest as it would be his role to duel if they are targeted. Of course, that was only the case if the clans believed it would be too hard to kill everyone.


    The rule of the clans was that once they met in the desert, only the duel against two fighters was permitted. The choice of the fighter was left for the leader, but their honor was in-game, and they generally didn''t choose the worst.


    The only reason the clans didn''t break this rule was because of the four great clans. If they decided to plunder a rival clan, but a mistake happened and one of them survived, that could truly be the end for the clan that had dared to attack.


    In the end, if a clan believed to be strong enough to kill everyone without letting any survivors, a clan could simply disappear like that, and no one would ever know what had taken place.


    That was why the risk right now was real. With only two hundred members in this pitiful state, as well as the well-known Garrold with a limb missing, the other clans would easily assume they were weak, and maybe some of them wouldn''t hesitate to launch an assault against them.


    Thus, the remnant of the Blackwolf and Greybat clan traveled with a gloomy aura following them, as each step got them closer to potential doom.

 Chapter 91 - Toward The Foot Of The Mountain

    In the center of the Barren Lands, stood the higher mountain of the whole continent. Its lonely peak pierced toward the celestial being while the forever present clouds dissimulated a large part of the colossal mountain.


    Snow could be seen on this protruded part of the earth, only appearing at a certain altitude. Contrasting with this cold rendering all climb up a harsh difficulty, the base of the cone-shaped mountain was covered with trees and meadows of green grass.


    Further away from this paradisiac area surrounding the base, rocks, yellowed dying grass and trees could be seen stretching toward the horizon. The limit between those two regions separated by the climate was the frontier with the internal ring and central one.


    The inside of the central ring, which was without a doubt the best region to live in, was fully under the control of four clans. Thus, the circle area around the whole mountain with abundant resources was perfectly separated into four parts, each controlled by a great clan.


    The Whitefenrir clan was ruling the east, the Yellowphoenix clan the west, the Reddragon clan the south, and the last one, the Bluekraken clan ruling the north.


    It was unknown how strong they really were in these clans, but from what Rohan understood, there should at least be an Advanced Warrior somewhere. The worst case would be that each clan had one, but he thought it to be highly unlikely.


    There was a lot of information that he had found wrong since he had put his feet on the Barren Lands, but becoming an Advanced Warrior was far from being an easy feat. It was already hard to become a Beginner Warrior in the south, but the reality was that in the north part of the continent, where mana is more abundant, one could see those warriors everywhere.


    Rohan had even read a long time ago that the most powerful and biggest human Empire had its armies with only at least Beginner Warrior: there wasn''t any non-mana user.


    Such a comparison with his own empire was the harsh reality of the world. But even then, an Advanced Warrior was still extremely rare, and a new Supreme Warrior would only appear once in a century - if the whole continent was taken into account.


    Obviously, if becoming an advanced warrior is still this hard on the north of the continent, then it wasn''t worth it to talk about the Barren Lands. One Advanced Warrior might have appeared in the four great clans, but Rohan found it unbelievable that each of them would have one.


    Those clans were all composed with no less than a few tens of thousands of members, and the Yellowphoenix clan which had the most members was around 70 000 members. But even so, the central ring was almost as big as the whole Empire from which Rohan came from, composed of the three kingdoms under its control.


    When Rohan heard that, he had frowned as it seemed to be preposterous. From his understanding of the situation, he knew that the central ring was the one everyone wanted to live in. The reason for that was a large number of resources one could find, as well as the climate far more clement that this damn sun he had to go through himself.


    Since this area was so huge, then all clans of the Barren Lands should simply live there. If there were more resources as well as an improved quality of life, how could only a couple of hundred thousand people only live there all alone when millions of them could inhabit the place.


    The answer to his interrogation was really simple. The four great clans didn''t want any other clans to freely live in this region. The only way a clan can get to install itself here was to become members of one of the four great clans. But those clans were already the strongest of the Barren Lands, so becoming one of their members wasn''t an easy feat.


    The yearly gathering thus served two interests. The first one was to have a bit of the magical water which came from a special limited source inside the mountain, and the second one was to shine sufficiently so one of the great clans was interested to accept this person or even the whole clan.


    For both of those situations, the outcome was decided by a ranking. This one was conducted at the gathering, and it revolved around the only value taken into account in the Barren Lands, and even the whole world: strength.


    Two rankings will be made, one for all clans without restriction, and one for each ring. It was by this way that the Blackwolf clan had entered the top 3 of the strongest clans of the external ring.


    As Rohan thought back at what the other members of the Blackwolf clan had explained to him, the karags finally reached this area after days of traveling.


    The hard shaking of the carts against a large number of rocks suddenly softened.


    The moment Rohan entered into the central ring, he raised his head and looked outside. His sight was simply crushed by the colossal mountain standing there. He was forced to lift his chin toward the sky to try to see the peak, only for the clouds to block his view.


    Ever since the first time he had seen the mountain, the sort of call that had resonated inside his body had never again appeared, and even now, he didn''t sense anything.


    The second sight he could see after the mind-blowing mountain was the crazy amount of people out there. From all sides, he could see full clans coming at any time. Some of them were far more numerous than them, and some with even more than thousands of members.


    Living in the external ring meant the resources were scarce and only up to luck for those who found them. Thus, the larger clans out there were only around five or six hundred members. For a clan to have more than a thousand members, it only meant one thing: they came from the internal ring.


    All the clans all around also enter the central ring, only delimited by the fresh grass contrasting with the rock and desolated area touching here. The duality of the Barren lands was fully shown, and the thousands and thousands of members headed in the same direction without stopping.


    Since they were now inside the central ring, no one stopped to duel another clan since it was forbidden here. But after the appearance of this small clan with only two hundred or so members, the other clans all glanced over there as if their preys had appeared.


    Rohan felt as if a pack of dracasses was watching them and he suddenly had the urge to show off his strength to make them step back. However, doing so here would be pointless. He would get up and fight for the clan at the right time. That was what he had discussed with Darias during the trip.


    Even Darias had felt that Rohan had accepted way too fast his proposition to fight for them. It was now almost three months since the young warrior was following them, and for Darias, he wasn''t the kind to put his life in danger without any reason. And from his lack of interaction with the others, he also knew that this warrior wasn''t the kind to fully fight for another person because of any emotions he might have.


    Thus, he was truly perplexed as to why Rohan had easily accepted to put himself on the front for them. He couldn''t know the answer, but it wasn''t really complicated.


    Rohan wouldn''t dare to forget his primary goal for coming here. From the information Darias had given to him, it was the one fighting for the clan that had the honor to take the magical water or whatever. The source of this water was said to be inside this mountain, somewhere near the peak.


    Rohan wouldn''t miss this opportunity to enter the mountain. The only point that needed his careful reflection was about the order the fighters entered the mountain, as the first one would enter the first, and so on until the last representative. Because of this, Rohan felt that it would be better if he was either last or first in the ranking.


    And since the result would affect the Blackwolf clan, he couldn''t be last, right?

 Chapter 92 - A City Made Of Rocks

    At the foot of the mountain, was where the Bluekraken clan was living. Surrounding the whole place were countless smaller clans with their big tents bursting with people and activities.


    The difference between those people and the area where the great clan was living was obvious to everyone. The first ones were living in their tents all around the rocky area, while the camp of the Bluekraken clan wasn''t composed of tents. Even calling it a camp was wrong.


    It was a city. The crude buildings were made of grey rocks, and although weren''t as refined as the houses Rohan had seen in his country, it was without any doubt much more comfortable than the large tents. It also reminded everyone that while they were walking around all their life, the members of the great clans had an easier life.


    Hundreds of thousands of people were moving all around, all members of the smaller clans. Since the gathering was made here, the four large clans were also probably in this city, while virtually all the clans could be fully seen.


    From what Rohan could see from the inside of the cart, it wouldn''t be impossible to say there were millions of people there, as the area taken by the tents was incredibly large. This surface was probably even greater than the one taken by the capital of Prasthana.


    The thirty karags entered the area and went to find a place to put their camp. As Darias was on the front, with his face visible for everyone, the infinite crowd around them was looking at them all.


    Fingers pointed at them, and shock could be seen on many nomads out there. Darias was the great leader of the Blackwolf clan and was thus well known. But the pitiful amount of people coming with him could only mean one thing. His clan had fallen!


    But the situation was only this one, only words of curiosity. Anything could happen in the Barren Lands, and the number of members inside a clan wasn''t what mattered the most. What was important was the strength of this one, and that would need to be investigated.


    Because of this, some members previously strolling around rushed back to their camps to inform their leader. The whole place was thus sent into chaos as the news of the Blackwolf coming with only thirty or so karags was released everywhere.


    Clans of the external or internal rings alike, they were all interested in this news. The fall of a clan was always funny to watch for the large clans of the internal ring, while the clans of the external ring would fight to be the ones responsible for the fall.


    As the Blackwolf clan walked toward an empty area, countless people were following them, keeping an eye on the strength they still possessed. Darias knew perfectly it would happen, but he couldn''t do anything about that.


    The clan stopped there, and without caring about the spectators acting like dracasses, they began to set up a camp.


    Everyone left the carts and took out their tents to put them around there. In this place, there was no need for the fences since the fire snakes only lived in the desert and the other creatures wouldn''t dare to come near so many humans.


    Before this terrible night, all tents were generally separated by family members and allowed six or even seven to sleep inside at the same time. But now, the tents were simply shared among them, without familial bonds.


    Even the onlookers could feel the tension crushing them as those members of the Blackwolf clans were installing their tents. But although they were filled with sadness, that didn''t stop the members of the clan from being lively.


    However, what made the crowd burst in a loud uproar was the sight of one man. He was previously known as the strongest of the Blackwolf clan, but he was now crippled: he had an arm missing.


    This sight made members of the different clans run back at the best speed they had. They knew that now was the end of this clan, they would fall! For many years, they had been an overlord in their region, the resources they had on them shouldn''t be low. Since they now didn''t have the strength to protect it, doom would fall against them.


    While craziness was taking over the people looking at them, the members of the Blackwolf clan merely glanced at those future enemies without caring more.


    "Elena, took out this part and sank it on the ground." Barulf was looking after the little girl as she was helping him to install their tents. Even Rohan was helping on the side, as he also used this one to sleep.


    Elena only nodded before doing as she was told. She hasn''t uttered one word since that day.


    Inside the cart, a young man was taking out the important parts and bringing them. It would be used to lift the skin and the fur for making the tent stand up.


    The four of them were inside the same carts for a few days, and they also slept in the same place. Because of that, Rohan felt that they quickly created good bonds between them.


    Life in the Barren Lands was tough, and everyone knew it. They all had to live through a terrible event, but they will not let themselves die like this.


    Such a mindset was for Rohan something worthy of respect.


    "Okay everyone, continue to install everything. For those who need to accompany me, we''ll go announce our presence. Let''s go without wasting more time, the other clans are already sharpening their claws."


    ""Yes clan chief."" Even Rohan yelled back at Darias, and without hesitation began to walk toward him.


    Before long, a small group was ready to set off and headed toward the city of the Bluekraken clan. Since they appeared on his lands, the clan must present their goodwill, as well as give a little something to them.


    But the most important point was to announce their participant which will represent them. That was why Rohan was following them.


    Darias was taking the front while directly behind him was Garrold and a couple of other members followed as well. Rohan was among them.


    They walked the large area and before long, they entered the city made of grey rocks. The houses weren''t tall and only were one-story buildings. While it was only crude for the son of a count, the other clan members looked around with desire in their eyes.


    It wasn''t the first time they came here, but each time they had the chance to see the city of one of the four great clans, it made them almost desperate to become a member of one of these clans.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t something easily done.


    They kept walking through the street, bypassing many people strolling around, as well as a place that greatly surprised Rohan. It was a market, he couldn''t be wrong.


    The more he saw the people walking around while some others had put on stalls to sell whatever they had, the more Rohan felt that it made sense. Several thousand people were living in the same area. It was a given that such a system would be made at some point.


    The only difference with the market Rohan knew was that they didn''t pay with currency, they were bartering.

 Chapter 93 - The Whitetiger Clan

    The group passed through this market without slowing down and walked toward the mountain overlooking them. As Rohan looked in this direction, he could see over the rooftops of the small house a large building that was the tallest one in this city.


    It wasn''t as incredible as the large mansion Rohan had lived in, but he could see far away from a large palace with half of it embedded inside the tall mountain. The slope of the mountain behind this building was quite sharp, but the peak was still invisible, too high in the sky.


    Without the need to ask any question, Rohan knew this place was where the leader of this great clan was living. Seeing this huge building from afar even made a smile appear on the face of the young warrior.


    Whatever place he was visiting, the ruling ones always wanted to show off their might with all means in their disposition. Curiously, he also had seen two clan chiefs, and both of them had the same tents as every member of their clans.


    Maybe they need to show the power only came for those resting in the same area for too much time. As the leaders didn''t leave and had nothing to do every day, maybe they felt bored and thus decided to innovate their architecture. Or they simply wanted a larger area to walk over since they couldn''t leave the area.


    Rohan followed at the rear of the group as he pondered about the psychology of the leaders governing an area. He almost bumped into the members in front of him who had all of the sudden stopped to move.


    "Blackwolf clan chief Darias! It has already been a year since we saw each other! How are you, tell me?"


    Rohan looked over the frowning members and saw a group of people standing there. There were ten of them, a group of women and men, while the one talking was probably the leader. He was also a warrior, and from the sharp sense of the young warrior, he felt he should be a rank 4 Beginner Warrior.


    From the expression of this man, Rohan understood immediately he was up to no good. Darias coldly answered.


    "Whitetiger clan chief Tarag, what displeasure to see you here. We''re going to see the great clan chief, don''t stand in the way like a fool." Rohan almost felt his eyes fall from their sockets as he heard Darias.


    He knew that he was in a bad mood, but it was the first time he had seen this man answer with this tone. He didn''t know this Tarag, but he knew about the Whitetiger. Rohan had previously classified this clan as the rival of the Blackwolf clan. It might be worse than what he had initially thought.


    "Garrold, my friend! I see something missing there!" Tarag ignored Darias and laughed as he looked at the old man. The members of his group behind him grinned.


    Seeing that the old man didn''t want to answer and that Darias began to get around them, Tarak continued. "I will crush you in a duel, Garrold, and your clan will fall in the abyss. You may have won last time, but now you are just crippled."


    The members of the Blackwolf clan didn''t react and passed by this man. Rohan followed behind them, and the moment he was going to pass near this Tarag, this one asked with a mocking voice without turning his face.


    "How is your son, by the way, Darias?"


    The clan chief froze. His eyes turned red. He was ready to turn around and launch a brawl when Garrold put his hand on his shoulder and whispered to his ear. "Not now chief. There''s only one person that can be his match, and it is better to keep it a secret."


    Rohan looked deeply at this middle-aged man slightly taller than himself. His straight blond hair burned by the sun was tied back. A smile of contempt and eyes of ridicule was on his face.


    "What are you looking at, boy? Want me to crush you like a twig?" Tarag snapped at this foolish boy looking at him. Who does he think he is?


    From the question and the reaction of Darias, Rohan didn''t have difficulties understanding what was happening. This man was without a doubt the reason for Deidros to have this mana core on the verge of destruction. He even imagined the scene as he was now sure it was indeed mana combustion.


    Rohan didn''t answer the man and continued his way to catch up with the other already a few meters away. Tarag would be his opponent at some point since he would participate in the ranking. ''I''ll cripple you then, that''s the least I can do.''


    "Oi, bastard! Didn''t you hear the question of our chief! Did you pee your pants?" A man appeared in front of Rohan with a disgusting face. Unfortunately, Rohan couldn''t hide the feeling this man was bringing, and he guessed it should have been visible on his face as the man instantly became angry.


    "Have you a death wish, pretty boy?" He approached with a step and put his hand on the shoulder of the boy. He was himself a rank 2 Beginner Warrior and one of the stronger of the Whitetiger clan. A duel was strictly forbidden here, but a bit of strength was enough to break this boy and teach him a lesson.


    His hand fell on the frozen young man foolishly standing there. He was scared to death, it was obvious. With a sadistic smile on his face and while everyone else was looking, he put his strength on his hand. His smile gradually faded away.


    He increased the amount of strength he could use and his hand was shaking as he used everything. But his smile didn''t come back. Sweat appeared on his forehead as he looked again at this young man.


    He wore a calm expression and only stood there, staring back straight in his eyes. There was no pain, no fear. Just a calm expression, as if he was looking at a child playing around.


    He might have done a stupid mistake. As he was thinking of a way to ease the situation, his comrades dug his grave.


    "What are you doing, Guran? Crush him already!" Rohan raised an eyebrow at this sentence.


    This moment didn''t escape Guran as a light shaking appeared on his hand. His hand was still on the shoulder of this man, and his mind raced faster than ever. All possible solutions appeared one after another as he pondered on how to get out of there.


    He stepped back and put his shaking hand behind his back. "No, he''s just a boy. Today is a good day, and I''m in a good mood! I let you go, for now, you don''t even need to thank me! Hahaha."


    Tarag and his group looked strangely as the man awkwardly laughed while sweat flowed down from his face. Did he suddenly feel a heat stroke?


    Rohan, after glancing at this man who quickly put himself to the side to clear the way, leisurely walked toward the large palace a distance away.. '' What a funny fellow.''

 Chapter 94 - Target

    It didn''t take long for the group to reach the stone palace, and after approaching the large entrance, one of the guards walked forward to stop them.


    "Clan chief Darias." He slightly bowed his head, and after lingering his eyes on Garrolds and the empty arm, he looked back at Darias. "Are you here to announce your representative for the gathering?"


    As Darias was the clan chief of the Blackwolf clan, virtually everyone on the Barren knew of this man. After the leader simply answered the questions of the guard, this one led them inside the building.


    The interior was also made of stone, while torches hung on the wall to light the building. It was only an imposing palace, and for Rohan, it was far from being as incredible as the mansion of the noble he had seen countless times.


    The floors and the walls were made of the same grey stone, probably coming from the mountain, while the doors were made of brown wood. Albeit the crudeness of the place, the architecture wasn''t that different from the houses that could be found on the other side.


    This city should have been made with those cities in mind.


    They climbed a stone staircase, and before long, they found themselves in front of a closed door. The guard simply knocked three times, and after he heard an answer, he opened the door. He didn''t enter and let the group pass before him, he wasn''t planning on entering after them.


    The scene nearly made Rohan spat out, as he truly didn''t expect that. A woman was sitting behind a desk with countless sheets of paper all around the wooden furniture. She had a feather in her hand and was writing something, without caring about the group waiting in front of her.


    Where did those people find the ink and paper? Did they have some links with the countries of the other side?


    Darias wasn''t going to interrupt her in whatever she was doing. He wasn''t foolish enough to do that. This woman was one of the advisors of this clan, and she was also a rank 5 Beginner Warrior.


    Rohan was eyeing her with widened eyes when he discovered her strength. He was stronger than a normal rank 5 Beginner Warrior, so he should be stronger than this woman with her blond hair with a few white strands here and there.


    He knew that there was probably an Advanced warrior somewhere, but seeing this warrior with his own eyes was still a shock. There were several millions of people outside, and he couldn''t help but think that the proportion of warriors out there was higher than the duchy of Barnes.


    Of course, it was simply a misconception he had, as the number of clans without any warrior was far higher than what he was thinking. It was just that he was lucky enough to only meet the stronger clans with warriors in it.


    After a time, the woman finally lifted her chin and looked at the group standing in front of her.


    "Clan chief Dairas, what a pleasure. I believe you are here for the gathering. What do you have for me, then?" She asked with a small smile, clearly waiting for something.


    "Advisor Alma, It is indeed a pleasure. I brought with me a little something for the Bluekraken clan chief, I hope he will like it." He took a step forward and presented to the woman an item.


    It was a red precious stone, and Rohan reckoned that this thing should even be valuable in his kingdom. He still had some copper, iron, and gold coins in his bag, remnants of what he had earned from his master in Blanche. Maybe he could buy it here at a small price to sell it when he would go back?


    "Ho, interesting! I believe he would be happy indeed. I think you want to have Garrold to represent you, like always, right?" She snatched it before putting it away and went back to business in only a few seconds.


    "No, Advisor Alma. This time, it will be someone else, his name is Rohan." Darias turned his face to point at Rohan who was listening behind.


    The woman looked at him with her brows furrowed.


    "Are you sure Chief Darias? He doesn''t seem like he is that strong, you know? Even if Garrold had his arm missing, he can still fight I am sure."


    Rohan stared at this woman as he suddenly understood something. When he had seen this warrior sitting there, he had immediately felt that she was a rank 5 Beginner Warrior. He had thought that it was because he had opened his fifth meridian. From the look of it, he was the only one that was capable enough to sense the strength of a warrior.


    While Rohan and company were talking with the woman, inside a large tent in the middle of the countless clans all around, a small gathering was taking place.


    They were all sitting on the floor, with a man presiding over the reunion. His brown beard reached his chest while he had no hair on his head. he was the leader of the Greencobra clan, one of the clans residing inside the internal ring.


    The other members of this gathering were all leaders as well, but each of them represented a clan living in the external ring.


    The man with the black beard took the initiative to talk.


    "This clan is now pretty much finished. The resources they should have on them will be enough for everyone even if we share everything."


    "But everything is pointless, we can''t steal anything in this place. Or are you asking us to die?" One of them frowned.


    "Who is talking about openly fighting them? We only need to send some people in the night, kill them, take everything, and that''s all. Remember that there are only a few people in their clans. Even Garrold is now crippled! What do you want?"


    "Then how should we share the resources at the end?" A woman stroked her chin as she thought about the risk.


    "That is simple, 40 percent for me, 60 percent for you all." The man grinned as he answered this question. He was the one providing the plan, so it was a given, he would have more than them. It was even a good deal from him.


    "Preposterous! Do you think you can rob us like that?" A man furiously stood up as he pointed his finger at this leader.


    "A little reminder that you all are here after I invited you to talk about plundering the Blackwolf clan. Since you are all here, then it meant that you were ready to do it." His icy stare fell on this man. "Now is too late to give up. Don''t forget where you are."


    The man sat down immediately. Everyone cursed inside their mind. Now that they were here, it meant that they knew about his plan. It was obvious that the leader of the Greencobra clan wouldn''t let one of them spill this plan to the great clans.


    They all acted together, or they will die here.


    "Now that everyone agrees to follow my plan, we will attack at night. Let''s discuss the plan, you will all receive something!"


    The only reason he had made those weak clans participate was that he was too afraid of the great clans. Now, even when the massacre will be discovered, he would be able to put everything on those stupid clans.. A smirk appeared in his mind.

 Chapter 95 - The Last Step

    In the middle of the desert, surrounded by nothing but rocks, a man was walking in a random direction. The sun was hitting his head with all its might, forcing the young man to slowly advance one step after another.


    Although he was only walking at a snail''s pace, he constantly was panting, trying to catch his breath every time he tumbled against the rocks. His clothes made of leather were cut everywhere, and dust was stuck to it, to his hair, to his face.


    His mind spun on itself as he kept advancing. The lack of food was making him lose his head. The lack of water was slowly killing him. He kept walking, with the thin hope to find a Green Miracle.


    But his strength rapidly decreased. His right foot left the soil, moved forward, and landed on a rock. This unstable rock moved under the weight of the man, and his foot slid to the side, making him lose his balance.


    If he had better reflexes, if he wasn''t sluggish due to the lack of everything, he could have reacted in time. Unfortunately, he couldn''t. He violently crashed on the ground. His head struck a sharp rock and a muffled scream was kept on his throat.


    he couldn''t rest here. He couldn''t die here. He rolled on himself, ignoring the pain he was feeling. He gnashed his teeth, and with a mad expression, he pushed his body and try to stand up. But his strength had already given up on him. Once again, he collapsed.


    His body was giving up on him, but his hatred was still there. His plan didn''t work, and he was forced to flee under those terrifying beasts. He didn''t even know if this warrior, this parasite was dead or not.


    Tears left his eyes and landed on the dust, mixing up with the soil.


    After the beasts had roared that night, his grandfather had cut off the rope that was tying him up. But Guros didn''t care about that in the start. He fully believed his clan could destroy those dracasses.


    But his grandfather had taken him and fled toward a direction, at a random direction. It was opposite the place where the clan was gathered, ready to fight those beasts. While his old man was holding his arm and was running at high speed, he was looking behind with a big smile, hoping the beasts would at least kill the warrior.


    But it was a mistake. His smile had quickly disappeared, as blood was flowing everywhere. It was a slaughter. The dracasses were killing everywhere, and the screams had echoed in his ears.


    At that moment, his grandfather had thrown him on the ground. He didn''t even have to look at him as he let him here. He hadn''t even uttered a word, he had run back toward the massacre, toward the rest of his families, toward the screams.


    "Fuck. It''s all because of this Rohan!" His loud scream was nothing more than a raspy whisper.


    He had been forced to do that to kill this warrior. No! It was the warrior that had forced him to take this decision! He had played with his emotions. Guros now was sure of him, he had played in the palm of this warrior.


    All of those coming from the other side were bloodthirsty bastards, wanting nothing less but to destroy his clan! But he wasn''t strong, and now he was here dying all alone.


    His clan was probably destroyed at this time. This warrior should even be laughing in the middle of the corpse, taking all the resources his clan had gathered for many years. Maybe he was even mocking Guros for his foolishness.


    The young man felt his rage eating away the last forces he could muster. He couldn''t even move, he couldn''t even think properly.


    His cheek with the scar on it was laid on a burning stone. A blurring veil had fallen for a long time on his eyes already. Suddenly, he saw a couple of feet approaching him.


    Several people were coming this way, slowly reducing the distance between them. Soon, those people were in front of Guros'' face, looking at him.


    Guros felt a mighty strength flowing inside his body, chasing away all the pain and numbness from his body. He stood up as if he wasn''t on the verge of dying, and looked at the kind people in front of him.


    He knew them, of course. Guros looked at the elderly man who looked at him with a severe expression. Beside the old man, there was his wife, as old as him, sighing as she looked at the young man. He could only foolishly smile at this couple.


    He slightly turned his eyes and looked at the youngest people in the group. He couldn''t even apologize to them, and they only looked at him as if he was an imbecile. But there was also love in their eyes, and that was enough for Guros.


    Then he looked at these people. He hadn''t seen them for a few years now. The man and the woman tenderly smiled, waiting for him to step and close the distance.


    Guros knew it. That the end of his life was here. Without wasting more time, without any more hesitation, he advanced, making the last step of his life. At least, he was reunited with his family.


    Rohan was in the middle of the small camp. The gathering would officially begin in a few days, so to occupy his days, he took back his old habit to train.


    Now that he didn''t need to hide his strength, or at least if there was no one looking, he wasn''t fighting with one or two opponents.


    Daina charged forward with her spear and thrust to the side. With a small flick from Rohan, her weapon was sent away, and the girl followed behind. Kilem attacked almost at the same time, only to be repelled without any difficulties.


    Even if his father was killed by the Blackwolf clan, this rank 1 Beginner Warrior fully knew it was simply the rule of the clans. He would simply become powerful, and with his strength, he would create his own clan.


    Following the man, another spear appeared on his left. And then another one on the right. A sword cleaved toward his back, while a spear stabbed from a tricky angle. Even Garrold was among them, and together with tens of opponents, Rohan was feeling pressured.


    But with Overload, nothing mattered. It was only a second for the others, but it was much more for him. He controlled his body, his sword cleaved the air with extraordinary precision.


    The spears almost grazed his leather armor, the swords almost cut him here and there. But it was only almost. Nothing could touch him, he was like an eel dancing in the small area he could move.


    On the contrary, his blade never failed him. Each time the tip touched somebody, it only did so with an extreme delicacy.


    On the side, the little Elena was watching this spectacular fight. There was still no trace of emotion on her face, and no one could imagine what she was thinking about.. For not even a second, a faint glint shone in her eyes.

 Chapter 96 - Under Attack

    The moon hid that night, and only the stars were lighting a bit the darkness surrounding the countless tents spreading around the stone city.


    Some fires had been lit here and there, while some members of the clans took the guards. They weren''t in the wilderness anymore, so the risk of being attacked by the beast was almost nonexistent. However, they were now in the middle of countless other clans, and that could be many times more dangerous than the desert.


    The crackling fires were making the shadows dance while the guards were all sitting in the middle of their clans. It would be an easy feat for anyone to pass through without any noise, bypassing every clan while no one could see them.


    But no one cared. Their only job was to defend their own clan, and even if they heard the clashes of a fight somewhere, no one was foolish enough to run in the direction. Some clans were killed, others survived. That was the Barren Lands. It was the land of the strong.


    Hundreds of people were currently sneaking their way toward their target. They all were coming from different directions, as more than a dozen clans were under this operation. Thus, small teams of around ten to twenty armed people rushed toward the same direction, without anyone seeing them.


    In no time, they reached the camp they aimed for. There were three people near the fire in the center, supposed to guard the clan. Almost two to three hundred nomads lurked in the outskirts of this camp, ready to launch an assault at the same time.


    Almost everyone was armed with a spear, while only a few unsheathed their sword. Those were undoubtedly warriors, as an iron weapon was more than rare on the Barren Lands. Then, all together, they moved like specters. Before the three men talking under the fire of the camp could understand what was happening, it only took a few seconds for them to be killed.


    These kinds of attacks toward a clan during the gathering weren''t something that could be qualified to be rare. All they needed was to be quick, to kill everyone the most rapidly, and to take out everything they could before the great clan knew what was happening.


    No clan around here would come to help the Blackwolf clan. However, only a few warriors from one of the great clans was enough to destroy them all. Because of this reason, the risks were pretty low if they could be fast enough.


    Rohan was sleeping inside his tents, under the brown fur enveloping him. Even though the other members of the clan knew that he was a wizard, and thus had no need to hide his forearm, he still slept with his tunic. He didn''t want any outsider to understand how powerful he truly was.


    Abruptly, his eyes open in the dark. His heart palpitated as he wondered what had woken him up. His instincts were telling him that something was wrong, but he couldn''t understand what made him feel uneasy.


    He concentrated and listened to catch something. He couldn''t hear anything, and he thought it was probably nothing. The moment he was closing his eyes to sleep, they suddenly widened as he stood up. He could sense it.


    He couldn''t see anything, nor hear any noise. But he had another sense that was screaming at him about the impending danger, a sense that no rank 5 Beginner Warriors should have.


    Although the fifth meridian gave them a certain perception of the mana surrounding them constantly, it was far from being enough to know if someone was a warrior or not. Only if there was a large consumption of mana or an anomaly could one sense it.


    That was for this reason that the captain of the guard back in Blanche had sensed the mana combustion that Rohan had used. But otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to know the rank of any warriors.


    But Rohan wasn''t like them. His perception of the mana was far above anyone. And at this moment, he felt the mana moving outside the tent. This could only mean one thing, and that was that warriors were currently walking inside their camp.


    He indeed had the habit to forget about the people he met, like their name or even their face, but he would never forget how many warriors there were in the Blackwolf clan. And the ten warriors he could feel, as well as a rank 4 Beginner Warrior, was enough to tell him what was happening.


    An attack! The time wasn''t to put on his armor. He quickly grabbed his sword and rushed outside the room to appear in the middle of the tent. He could hear the snoring of Barulf behind the curtain, while Elena and Kilem were also sleeping in their place. That would be the worst way to wake them up in the middle of the night, but Rohan didn''t hesitate. He used all the strength he could mutter and yelled in the middle of the night.


    "Wake up! We are under attack!" His voice burst in the middle of the night. The air around his mouth vibrated under this might, but Rohan didn''t pay it any attention. He darted out of the tent, ready to fight any foolish people that dare to sneak into their camp.


    The clan quickly woke up under the voice of the warrior and shouts echoed all around as everyone took out their weapons. The men and the woman left the warmth of the furs with red eyes and rushed outside their tents.


    What welcomed them was hundreds of armed fighters who couldn''t care less about being sneaky anymore. Fights broke out immediately and instantly, the members of the different clans felt that something was wrong.


    A man charged with a powerful roar and threw himself in the melee, not caring about his life anymore. A woman in another place wielded her weapons like a demoness and made the blood spill around her.


    An elder thrust his poorly made weapon again and again as if his old age was only a facade.


    Mad! They were all mad!


    Rohan rushed toward the ones he identified as warriors. He saw Barulf behind him run toward an enemy with his powerful physic, before sending the man flying away. Kilem, as a warrior, didn''t have any difficulties fighting.


    They all had lost their families a few days ago. They were all powerless under the attacks of those terrifying beasts. Even the warriors had felt the death approaching dangerously, as they could only see their family being killed.


    Some of them had lost their wife, some others their husband. Some parents had lost their children, while some children had lost their parents. The sadness inside their heart was not easy to understand, and no one could be sure of how much rage was inside their heart.


    And now, while some of them still find it difficult to sleep at night, as the blood of their clan''s members would appear in their dreams, those people dared to attack them. Almost all of the Blackwolf clan snapped as they saw the blood a new time. Now wasn''t the time to be powerless. Now it wasn''t a fight against powerful beasts they couldn''t fight against.


    Now was the time to fight against those bastards attacking them.. Now was the time to kill them all and vent the hatred inside their hearts.

 Chapter 97 - Killing Everyone

    Rohan charged toward a man a little distance away. His sword flashed around him as he kept running, never slowing down. Screams and yells followed every one of his movements, as well as the blood flying in the air.


    The normal fighters had no chance to put any resistance against this warrior who was far stronger than them. His constitution was almost six to seven times stronger than them, and the speed of his blow made them all despair.


    The sharpness of his blade, as well as his strength powering it, cut through the leather clothes, the flesh, and the bones. Behind him, the arms of the fighters flew in the air one after another, and before long, Rohan reached the first warrior.


    He was only a rank 1 Beginner Warrior, like almost all the ones participating here. He couldn''t put up an appropriate fight, and even his Strengthened Blow made his spear hit nothing but the wind. Rohan only needed to dodge normally at his level. Not a skill was used in the process.


    Like all his other victims, the warrior soon saw both his arms split away from his body, before they fell back on the ground. He watched stupidly as his elbows which were holding nothing as the blood dropped on the floor.


    Rohan didn''t even glance at this man before he switched his target and charged toward the next warrior. A painful scream echoed behind him, but he didn''t care.


    Screams and shouts kept echoing all around in an insufferable cacophony. All the clans around this battlefield were waking up, and it wasn''t difficult to understand what was happening. It took only a short time for the Bluekraken clan to know what was happening. Since the clans were under the protection of the four great clans, they quickly sent an Intermediate Warrior.


    Every member of the Blackwolf clan was now fitting to their names. They pounced against the enemies like bloodthirsty wolves as they wielded their spears with an extreme might. They didn''t care about their injuries and overlooked all pain they could feel as if there was nothing but the enemy in front of them.


    The group made of the dozen clans that had thought the operation to be an easy mission were now beginning to feel afraid of this clan, as it was full of crazy people.


    Daina charged like a beast toward a man. She had been useless against a dracass, but not here. She tightened her grip over her weapon. She was one of the best fighters of the clan. It was just a pity for her as she couldn''t become a warrior no matter how many times she had tried.


    The tip of the spear split the air at an incredible speed and sank inside the throat of the man in front of her. She was using the momentum with perfection, allowing the whole spear to pass through the man. She let go of her weapon, passed by the dead man and grab her spear again. With a powerful kick on the back of the enemy, she fully took out her weapon while the dead body crashed against the ground.


    She continued her massacre, followed by her brother. He wasn''t as strong as his sister. He had become a warrior a few years ago, but because of an instance, he had been forced to crippled himself. He was weak. his body was weak. The pain inside, coming from the mana core shattering itself, was sometimes excruciating. But he didn''t care.


    Darias constantly yelled under the night as he gave all courage to the wolves with red eyes that were his fellow members. The blood was bathing his body as he looked like a demon. He didn''t care about the enemies, no one cared about them. They dared to attack them, so they will kill them all and bathed under their blood.


    Rohan clashed his sword against the warriors. The power of the blow made the man step back while his face instantly fell. He knew he wasn''t a match at all. Before he could think of anything else. His right arm was completely cut off from his body.


    The rank 4 Beginner Warrior was watching with a mouth open. He couldn''t believe what was currently happening. This clan wasn''t weak at all. Sparks flew around him and burned his skin as he parried a blow from the supposed crippled warrior in front of him.


    Garrold wielded his sword like a mad man as he slashed, thrust, stabbed, chopped. He continued faster and faster, putting immense pressure on his opponent. He was using his left arm, and he was far less good. He knew he couldn''t kill the man in front of him, thus, he could only stall for time.


    His opponent suddenly leaped back to catch some space, but Garrols wouldn''t let him take the initiative. One mistake and he would be dead. He instantly used Charge and stick to the warrior, not letting him do as he wanted.


    The warrior was starting to be pissed off by this old man. This one wasn''t trying to kill him or anything, he was simply trying to keep him here with all his strength. He gritted his teeth. His role was to kill this old man from the beginning anyway. If he couldn''t escape, then he would at least kill this man.


    He used Charge and stomped the ground with his leg. He blurred under the flame of the fire camp and appeared on the left of Garrold. He immediately followed with a Strengthened Blow. His sword cleaved toward the old man. This one could only squint his eyes. What a perfect move.


    They both knew how less proficient he was with his left arm, and this warrior instantly decided to attack him on his left at lightning speed. If he had his right arm, he could defend himself without any problem, but now, he couldn''t do anything.


    Garrold attempted to parry the blow with his sword, but under the powerful strength of the skill, he knew that the little strength he could put inside his sword would make his wrist snap under the force, and possibly even his whole arm.


    But before the two blades met each other, an unknown sword appeared from nowhere. The blow of the rank 4 Beginner Warrior hit this iron sword, but it was as if he had struck a mountain. The sword stopping his sword didn''t move at all while the rebound of the blow made the warrior take a step back.


    He carefully looked at the newcomer, and his face fell instantly. That fast?


    "Hmph." The newcomer snorted, and abruptly, he disappeared from his position.


    Rohan, who was coming this way as he had felt the mana of the rank 4 Beginner Warrior, stopped on his track. He had asked himself at some point if he was strong enough against an Intermediate Warrior. His eyes widened as this scene in front of him answered his question.


    The rank 6 Intermediate Warrior reappeared next to the other warrior, with his sword pointing to the ground. A drop of blood fell against a rock. A weak white light faded away from his weapon. It was so weak that probably no one but Rohan had seen it, even under this night.


    The rank 4 Beginner Warrior collapsed on the ground. His head lingered a bit in the air before following suit. But it wasn''t what made Rohan shudder.. It was the sword of the warrior that clanged against the ground, with two metallic noises: the blade had been split into two halves.

 Chapter 98 - Waiting For The Gathering

    The battle quickly came to an end after the appearance of the Intermediate Warrior. Surprisingly, almost all members of the clan, except for the children, were injured, but only a couple of them had found death here.


    This result made the warrior from the great clan reevaluate this clan. Even so, from his point of view, if he hadn''t appeared at this time, the old rank 4 Beginner Warrior would be dead, and against a powerful warrior, the whole clan could probably have been exterminated.


    It only took a small investigation to know who was under this attack, and all the clans responsible would be judged by the great clans. But the result was useless for the Blackwolf clan, and from there, it didn''t concern them anymore.


    If Darias could, he would rush against the Greensnake clan by himself to kill them all, but he knew that he couldn''t do such a thing. He solemnly thanked the warrior for his help, as it was the only thing he could do. He knew that what would decide the great clans would be harsh, as it had always been the case.


    There was also a great chance for the dozen clans that had participated in this operation to be simply exterminated, but he couldn''t be sure about it. In any case, he didn''t have any say in the decision, so it was useless to think about it.


    The rest of the night was a long one. Rohan was sitting near the fire as he looked at the members of the clans exhausted. Some of them had died, but compared with the attack from the dracasses, the result was incredible.


    The young warrior couldn''t help but think that those members of the Blackwolf clan were indeed fitting to their name. He had never seen people fight like this. Then again, he hadn''t seen a lot of people fight.


    He had seen the blood flowing down. Since this day he had been forced to flee, he felt that his luck had taken a sharp turn.


    From a child of a nobleman living in peace, to a warrior constantly fighting wherever he was going. Maybe his luck was truly this bad. Or maybe his luck was normal, and such a life was a common one for the people that were not from the nobility class. He had no way to know, but from what he could see, he would choose the second choice.


    This world. It simply seemed to be a harsh place to live.


    After this night, the place was cleaned up and the dead bodies had been sent away. The Blackwolf clan never heard again of the dozen clans that had launched a joint attack against them. However, the news of the clan defending itself until the arrival of the warrior from the great clan spread life a wildfire. All the clans, from the external, internal, or central ring knew about them.


    Those who had thought about attacking once they would leave the gathering were now taking a step back. The others, who watched the show with interest, praised this clan for fighting this well.


    But even after this news, no one cared about this clan. Even if the members knew how to fight and were extremely good, the gathering was only a duel against two fighters. Since it wasn''t a secret that the old Garrold was now crippled, no one put this clan in their eyes anymore.


    A rank 4 Beginner Warrior, even crippled, was still a great powerhouse, but there were still two other clans from the external ring with such a warrior. It was then obvious that they would lose their place in the top three.


    The next few days resembled each other. During this time, waiting for the gathering to truly begin, Rohan was still training.


    Since everyone already knew he was a rank 5 Beginner warrior, he had taken back his session of meditation openly. He had now even decided to accelerate the process and used the mana cores of the dracasses he had taken away.


    From the fifteen he had recuperated, he had given five of them to the other clan members and kept ten for himself. Among those, one had more mana than the others. It was the one coming from the leader.


    After a session of mediation, Rohan would instantly take one of those cores to extract the mana inside. It wasn''t a difficult process, as all he had to do was put the core on the opening of one of his meridians, and it would immediately flow inside those before entering his mana core.


    Then, he would make another session. One mana core was enough to replenish one time completely his mana, while the second would only regenerate half of it. This way, Rohan would use two mana cores for three days, thus increasing his sessions until he could do three per day. Once in the morning, and two at night.


    With these three sessions a day where Rohan increased the opening of his first meridian in the goal to create a vortex, he concluded that he would need probably more than five months before he would become a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior. The problem was that he didn''t have enough mana cores for such consumption, and with only two sessions a day, it would take him ten months to reach the next rank.


    Such a speed let him sigh, but he could only patiently continue. If other warriors could hear his thought, they would probably want to murder him in a second. Rohan would be 17 years old in a few weeks, and he would become a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior before he hit 18. Such a speed would leave everyone baffled.


    Even in the empires of the north, where the mana was more abundant, and where geniuses who could open several meridians in a single day with resources could be found, they would take some time before reaching the intermediate ranks.


    For Rohan to be sure to reach it before he was 18 years old, he was a genius among the geniuses, even from the most powerful empire standards.


    Along with his session of mediation, he also continued the drawing of his rune to rank up his wizard rank. He also had three sessions each day with the proportion of regeneration from his mana stone being higher than the mana core. With his current speed, it will only take him a couple of months to finish it and to become a rank 2 Beginner Wizard.


    His learning of the rune was smooth enough to follow the speed at which he was drawing the strokes, and since the three sessions a day didn''t need any exterior means, he was sure to rank up in a few months.


    The problem he had however was about the spells. He only had one currently, and it was the wind blade. While it was useful, it would slowly become irrelevant for him as a rank 6 Intermediate was able to use a mana blade.


    He would then need at some point to learn other useful spells, but he didn''t have the slightest idea of where to find them.. In any case, it wouldn''t be in the Barren Lands that he would find anything.

 Chapter 99 - The Gathering

    From what Rohan could see, there were more than five thousand fighters for each clan. Such a number was at the same time incredible and low. Even if only two hundred people were composing each clan, then it meant that there were at least a million members around Rohan.


    But since a lot of those clans were living inside the internal ring, and almost all of them had more than a thousand members, plus the members of the four great clans, the true number of spectators was simply terrifying.


    But even so, the Barren Lands were taking a large chunk of the continent, and the fact that there were so few clans in this large area was speaking to itself. In the future, there would probably be no one living inside the Barren Lands.


    The ranking for the gathering was a simple system, the fighters will be chosen randomly, and a duel opposing two of them will take place. The loser did not fight anymore, and the winner continued for the next fight against another winner.


    There were two rankings, and the first one was the general one. It was also the ranking that decided which quantity of magical water the clan had the possibility to take with them.


    Of course, with so many people, there wouldn''t be a single fight at a time. A large area had been made for this gathering at the foot of the mountain a bit away from the city. The millions of people couldn''t all see what was happening but it wasn''t a matter for the great clans.


    There were four stone arenas, each under the leadership of one of the great clans. Then in each of those areas, there would be 25 fights happening at the same time. Everything was permitted, but killing was forbidden.


    Even if all fights were within ten minutes, which was considerable, the first batch of duels wouldn''t take all the morning. But even so, the gathering would take a few days at least.


    As Rohan was standing among all the participants, he also understood a couple of things. The first one was that among those five thousand and more fighters, less than three hundred were warriors, and not even thirty were stronger than a rank 1 Beginner Warrior.


    His original assumption that the proportion of warriors in the Barren Lands was higher than his homeland that had benefited from the strange red cristal for many years had clearly crumbled.


    If he was taking the time to count them all, Rohan even believed that there were not even five hundred warriors among the several millions of nomads living on the Barren Lands.


    The second point he understood while looking at every fighter here, was that he couldn''t be first. It was simply impossible, as he already had seen the might of such a warrior. Among all the warriors Rohan could identify, this one shone the most. The amount of mana inside his body was far more than those of the other Beginner Warrior.


    This man was a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior. Rohan could maybe win if he used his spell as the opponent wouldn''t protect himself from that. Plus, as the only intermediate warrior out there, he was probably highly of himself and would think like fighting a group of insects.


    Taking those possibilities, Rohan felt he had a good chance to win against this man. But the question now was to know if he wanted to do so.


    There wasn''t any chance in the Barren Lands to learn any spell. Even simply becoming a wizard was impossible. Rohan already guessed that once he would show off his strength of a rank 5 Beginner Warrior even though no one had ever seen him, it would make the great clans suspicious about him.


    There was simply no chance for a warrior to become a rank 5 Beginner Warrior without him appearing the last years at any time. Or at least, it was hard to believe. Thus, it was normal for them to question if he was really from the Barren Lands. But if he ever showed off his wizard power, this suspicion would then transform itself on certitude.


    The gathering was for the clans of the Barren Lands, and the outsiders had no right to participate. He could only resign himself from becoming the first one. He would have to find a way to enter the center of this mountain either way and being the first one to enter might only help a bit.


    While Rohan was thinking to himself what he should do, the leader of the Bluekraken clan was talking in front of all members surrounding the third arena. That would be where Rohan would fight the first duels, but he didn''t care about what he was talking about. It was just a boring speech that all nobles were able to make as well.


    The men and women in power were almost all the same, and the place, even if it was the poorest of the world, did not change the thirst of power they could feel, as well as the pride they wanted to show.


    Before long, the first fighters were called. It was completely random, and the start was a bit boring for Rohan.


    Some duels only lasted for a few exchanges, while others were taking three to four full minutes. They were the best fighters from their clan, and although a large part of them were simple humans, they were still experts among them. And a fight between experts only took a few hits for the winner to be decided.


    The fights quickly preceded each other, and soon, Rohan heard his name being called. It was the time for the Blackwolf clan to shine.


    He walked toward the arena, and stood in the middle of the stone platform, waiting for his opponent. This one took some time to arrive, and Rohan felt as if this man was shaking from fear.


    Was he that scary?


    The other fighter stood in front of Rohan and waited for the signal to be launched. Before the duel could begin, the man asked a question, stunning Rohan.


    "A¡­are you a warrior? Since you are from the Blackwolf clan, I believe so, right?" It was now obvious that this man didn''t want to fight against a warrior.


    He was the strongest of his small clan. Although killing was forbidden, there were still accidents, and if he had his arm cut off at the end, it was only his fault for being weak. But if he ever became a cripple, his clan risked sinking.


    ''That might be even more boring actually.''


    "Yes, I''m a warrior." Rohan sighed as he answered. He didn''t even unsheathe his weapon, as he knew where this was going.


    After all, the 25 duels finally stopped and the other fighters took place in the large arena, the signal was launched: the duels started.


    Like Rohan had guessed, the man quickly yelled that he was giving up and left the arena as fast as he could as if he was scared for his life. Were all warriors terrifying for this man to run away that fast?


    Rohan was thus easily decided as one of the winners of the first batch and got down from the stone platform under the thundering voices of the few members of the Blackwolf clan watching him. In contrast with those people overjoyed, Rohan was feeling disappointed.


    Maybe he should fight with all his might against the Intermediate Warrior at the end, otherwise, it would be really boring.

 Chapter 100 - Just A Punch

    It had only taken a couple of hours for the winners of the first batch to be decided. Now, there were only half of the original participants ready to continue. There wasn''t any long pause, and the second batch of duels rapidly took place.


    It was as if the great clans were trying to get rid of this nonsense the fastest possible. During those fights, Rohan was pretty much bored as he looked at the people fighting. It wasn''t only him that the normal fighters were evading, as almost every time someone was finding himself in front of a warrior, he would simply give up before any combat.


    They were forced to come and stand in the arena before giving up, otherwise, they would not even dare to come near the warriors. It was even more so when it was a normal man that was sent again the only Intermediate Warrior. His legs were shaking so hard that Rohan was ready to help him to walk toward the platform.


    Soon, it was the turn for Rohan to fight again. He walked leisurely toward the arena, and as he saw his opponent, he felt lucky. It was only a rank 1 Beginner Warrior, but he should at least not give up, right?


    Rohan stood at the edge of the arena, waiting for everyone to get ready. His face was calm as always, contrasting with the warrior in front of him. This man was currently with a big smile on his face as if he had already won.


    Before the fight could begin, the previous thought Rohan had become true.


    "For the Blackwolf clan to send a random warrior! The old Garrold must be dying of shame right now, hahaha! Don''t expect me to go easy on you, boy!"


    Rohan felt his eyebrow twitch. So this man was just stupid, alright. He simply looked at this man with an expression of ridicule he couldn''t refrain from appearing on his face. Sensing this look, the man became infuriated instantly.


    It should be known that Rohan had used this gaze countless times when he was looking at those pitiful and disgusting children of a nobleman. All his contempt and disgust were fully shown, and along with his calm face without any other emotions, it created an unbearable feeling from the man being looked down this way.


    The advisor shouted the start of the duels. Instantly, twenty-five fights burst at the same time, but most spectators watched Rohan against his opponent. It was the first duel since the start opposing two warriors, and everyone was curious about this unknown man fighting for the Blackwolf clan.


    Rohan didn''t even unsheathe his sword as the man approached with all this speed. Since this man had declared he would fight with everything he had, then Rohan would do the same.


    However, he would do so without using his sword. He didn''t want to cripple this warrior simply for a few words.


    In only a few seconds, the man was already in front of Rohan with a big smile. He didn''t care about the young boy that was too scared to draw his sword, he slashed with all his might from the right to the left.


    If he could, he would even use his skill. But since the other fights would follow, that wouldn''t be enough for him to recover, and he would need it against a stronger foe. Unfortunately, even if had used a Strengthened blow, that wouldn''t have helped him to win anything.


    Rohan simply advanced one step and extended his left hand toward the blade in coming. Without any difficulties whatsoever, he caught with his empty hands the wrist of the man, sharply stopping the sword from moving.


    Everyone watching this fight with anticipation had their iris shrunken itself under this incredible move. Before anyone could react, Rohan followed with a punch.


    It was a simple punch, with no techniques. It was simply a barbarian way to use his strength, but the effect was evident from everyone. He didn''t even hit properly, nor did he take any momentum.


    His fist blurred under the extreme speed and crashed against the chest of this man. All smiles had left him already, and the blow he received was the worst one he had ever felt. At the exact moment his fist touched the man, Rohan let go of his wrist, allowing the warrior to fly away before he landed violently, out of the ring.


    The man couldn''t even stand up. He had felt as if a karag had charged and collided against him, and then nothing else. He was simply lying on the ground, unconscious.


    Rohan walked away, as the crowd burst into an uproar. All the warriors were now looking at him with different eyes. This man was young for them, extremely so. But he was also strong, and potentially stronger than them all.


    Rohan probably should have concealed his strength to surprise them, but apart from the Intermediate Warrior, the other ones were only a small nuisance for him. He wasn''t looking down on them, it was simply the reality.


    The duels continued one after another, and soon, the end of the second batch quickly came. In the third arena, there were now a bit more than three hundred fighters, and it was the same in the other ones.


    Only a quarter of those fighters were warriors, and the Intermediate Warrior was the stronger one in this third arena. Rohan was only waiting for his name to be called.


    If he wasn''t lucky at all, he could find himself against this warrior at any moment, and he preferred for this situation to not come at this moment. After all, he still didn''t know if he should fight with all this strength or only used his warrior strength.


    For the third time, Rohan''s name was called to represent the Blackwolf clan. These, watching him from the side, immediately cheered on them. Among them, Elena was watching with her big eyes. She wanted to be as strong as this mighty warrior, but she didn''t know how to do so.


    She could only watch him, as she was sure he would trample on everyone. Such strength was what she wanted. If she had it, no, if she was even stronger than that, the dracasses wouldn''t have been able to kill her family.


    This time, Rohan wasn''t as lucky as the previous time, and he found himself against an ordinary man. Without suspense, this one gave up the instant the duels had begun.


    For this batch, a few warriors met each other, offering a show a bit more interesting in the eyes of the young warrior, but even so, since most of them were using their swords and not their spears, Rohan didn''t have anything to learn from them.


    It was the start of the afternoon when the fourth batch was called to participate. This time, there were only 174 fighters, with a bit less than half of them being warriors.


    The duels were now lasting shorter than before, as a duel between warriors wasn''t as clean as when ordinary people fought each other. The power of their blow fractured the bones and made the blood spill, as some of them were forced to use their skill in an ultimate desire to win.


    Then, Rohan''s name once again had been called.

 Chapter 101 - Crippled Like Promised

    After Rohan had been called, the name of his opponent followed. His eyes widened when he heard the clan of the man. He hadn''t seen him fight in the previous duels, as no one was foolish enough to fight against him.


    He didn''t remember his name though, but he had no problem at all with the name of his clan, as he was also in the top three strongest clans of the external clan. It was the clan chief of the Whitetiger clan, a rank 4 Beginner Warrior.


    A smile bloomed on the face of the young warrior. It reminded him of the little oath he had made after the meeting with this man in the street. He was going to cripled him.


    Rohan didn''t know what exactly had occurred for Deidros to be forced to use mana combustion and ruin his path. But this man was responsible, that was enough for Rohan.


    The two men stared at each other. A joyful smile for one, and a nasty one for the other.


    "I thought you were just a normal damn boy, but you''re quite powerful for a little boy." He emphasized the boy part as if it was the evilest insult he could employ. "You should be what, a rank 3 Beginner Warrior? Maybe even like me and a rank 4 Beginner Warrior, eh? That is truly impressive, I can''t deny that. Unfortunately, you''re far too young if you believe you''re my opponent. You don''t know how the world works, boy!"


    Rohan tilted his head to the side.


    "I don''t know how the world works?" He asked this question to himself, as only a soft mutter left his mouth. A fierce glint appeared for not even a second in his eyes and disappeared as if it was an illusion.


    For the first time since he had been on the stage, Rohan unsheathed his sword. The cold iron on his hand hummed, ready for the blood to flow on it.


    He was only a boy, it was undeniable. But he had seen much more than a lot of people out there. It was a displaced pride. It wasn''t worth anything, and he could even trample it as much as he could care about any so-called pride. But still, only he knew what life he had to go through.


    The shout of the advisor filled the ears of the two warriors. The spectators were watching them with their eyes open. They wanted to see everything.


    Rohan bolted through the air with incredible speed. He wouldn''t belittle the warrior in front of him even if he was weaker. Simple use of the skill Overload sufficed to itself to destroy this rank 4 Beginner Warrior, but Rohan decided to not use any skills.


    His blade split the air at a mighty speed. The instant the blade of the clan chief connected with this sword, the mocking smile abruptly let place as a stunned expression. The explosive power hiding behind the blade of the young boy sent the man several steps back.


    Silence fell as the countless inhabitants of the Barren Lands stood there with a blank expression. This simple exchange was enough to declare to everyone who was the winner between the two of you.


    Even the leader of the Bluekraken clan was shocked by the result. This warrior was so young, but he already reached the end of the Beginners rank. Such talent was unheard of.


    Rohan ran again toward the other warrior. He didn''t let him catch up his breath as the sword cleaved and cut through the air before hitting with an incredible might the enemy''s sword.


    "Good, I thought you were just a coward who would have given up after seeing my strength. At least I have a bit more respect for you." Rohan shouted in between two clashes.


    He wasn''t thinking at all about what he said, but it prevented the clan chief from giving up from now on. His position as a leader of one of the most powerful clans became no more than a shackle forcing him to fight until the end. If he gave up now, his pride would crumble, and he couldn''t accept this.


    If Rohan stood in his shoes, he would throw his weapon away from the instant he knew he couldn''t win, a useless pride making him fight to death should be crunched from the start.


    The swords they held in their hands were far apart from each other. The quality wasn''t obvious at first, but it only took some more sparks flying here and there for the keen warriors in the crowd observing this fight.


    Dents already began to appear on the sword held by the rank 4 Beginner Warrior. His face was now totally ashen as he tried everything he could to defend himself. He didn''t have any other choice anymore.


    This young warrior was a monster, a bona fide rank 5 Beginner Warrior. If he decided to use his skill Overload, he was simply dead. Tarag considered all the ways he had, and only two solutions came to him. Either going all out or giving up right now.


    His sword was already suffering from the blows, but it was far from being the worst. The crowd watching the fight only saw one sword crashing continuously on the other one, slowly destroying it bit by bit.


    But for the warrior, he didn''t care about his sword that much, but his arms were already shaking. Sweat was flowing down from all over his body, and numbness made it hard to grip the handle of his sword. The strength of this boy was far from being normal. He swore to himself that a rank 5 Beginner Warrior shouldn''t be this powerful.


    He breathed in. It was time to put everything on the line. The choices were lacking.


    Under a powerful stomp on the stage, Tarag used Charge. He needed to be fast, faster than he had ever been. leaving behind him a faint trace of footprint, he dodged Rohan''s sword and arrived on his back by the left. He gritted his teeth. It was everything or nothing!


    He used a second time Charge. This time, he used to jump in the air. His legs, filled with terrifying power, made him soar in the air like an immortal. He swooped down against the back of the young warrior. Reaching him, he used Strengthened Blow. But not only once. He wielded his sword with both hands, and send all the mana resting on his mana core toward his left arm.


    His sword, with the supreme speed and power given by two Strengthened Blows, cleaved toward the head of the young warrior.


    Time seemed to flow down. Under his eyes, the boy, still showing his back, made a simple stepside.


    It was a basic step. There was nothing incredible in this movement that everyone had already done countless times since eons ago. But the warrior couldn''t believe his eyes. It was as if the world itself was accompanying this simple move, giving an unordinary meaning to this ordinary move.


    Rohan turned on himself and glanced at the warrior still in the air with his icy eyes. He was falling against him, his sword already useless as it missed him. He raised his arm and stabbed his sword at the warrior.


    He wasn''t putting in any strength, it was simply the gravity playing its role, making the tip of the sword pierce through the body of the warrior.. It just so happens that the sword also pierced the mana core of the chief of the Whitetiger clan.

 Chapter 102 - Easy Victories

    Silence prevailed in the crowd. The other fighters on the side stopped by themselves. Everyone starred with different emotions engraved on their faces. Among those expressions, one predominated the most people, warriors and ordinary nomads alike: fear.


    The last exchange between those two warriors stupefied all the onlookers. Tarag and his perfect slash with all its might simply tore open their views. How many among the rank 4 Beginner Warriors would have survived such a blow?


    Even Garrold muttered to himself that if he was the target of this attack, he would be split in two before he could even react. They both had the same level before he lost his arm, but he felt that even with one, he wouldn''t be able to defend.


    But what destroyed all common sense, was the move this young warrior had shown them all. It was a single step as if he had eyes on his back. Along with his face devoid of any reactions, they all supposed that this young man was controlling the fight since the first clash of their swords.


    For every single person there, this Rohan perfectly calculated all his moves before taking any action. And his last stab scared all warriors to the core.


    It was a vicious hit, one that was supposed to be done at the worst enemy. In a single gesture, so smooth that the spectators could believe Tarag and Rohan had repeated this fight before, the tip of the blade had entered the taboo area.


    They all saw what had occurred. They all knew it was Tarag who had dropped against the sword. It could naturally be depicted as a lack of luck from the warrior falling on the raised sword. But no one was foolish enough to believe a single second that it was an accident.


    After the sword pierced through the mana core of Tarag, Rohan lowered his sword with a perfect amount of strength, accompanying the body landing on the ground, thus preventing his sword from killing this man.


    With a clean flash of his sword, he then retrieved his sword and sheathed it in a single and same gesture. Rohan didn''t wait there, and since he won this fight, he went down to the stone arena.


    His expression was the same all along. It was as if he couldn''t hear the screams of the previously rank 4 Beginner Warrior, as he convulsed where he lied. Every muscle of his body spasmed under the terrible pain he felt.


    His mana. The one that should belong to no one but him. The one that should be resting on his mana core. It was now rushing inside his whole body. The pain was excruciating and made him scream again and again.


    He had already used four skills in a row, thus actively saving his life, as only a small bit of mana was still inside the mana core the moment the sword had completely shattered it. In a single movement, Rohan had completely destroyed what was making this man a warrior.


    If it was only a hole, the warrior simply would have to will his mana to consolidate it. His mana core would maybe be fragile because of this, but at least it would have been still there. Now, because of the action from Rohan, he was as good as an ordinary nomad like everyone else.


    He had fallen from his pedestal in a single duel, and this made all the spectators shudder under the sight of this powerful man, leader of the Whitetiger clan screaming and crying.


    Not a sound could be heard in the whole arena, and only the burst of voices from the three other stages filled the area. Then, breaking this strange atmosphere, a group of people among the nomads yelled with all their might.


    Darias rubbed his eyes. He felt that he was in a dream. He wanted so much to charge and spit on this bastard. To trample him and poke his eyes while he suffered all he could endure. He could only restrain himself.


    Besides his father, Deidros watched with complicated emotions. A smirk finally appeared, as his frail hand clenched in a fist. Rohan could indeed show his wicked side sometimes. It was apparent that the warrior had performed such an action because of him, and Deidros thanked him from the bottom of his heart.


    Even Daina had a big smile on her face. It was because of this jerk her brother was now forced to live with a broken mana core. At least now, he would understand the pain that such a core could provide.


    She didn''t know that Rohan had been harsher than she thought. He didn''t simply break the mana core, he completely shattered it. The meridians were even crumbling one after another without a core sustaining them. The pain Tarag currently undergoes exceeded all pain Deidros could have felt, even when he moved his little mana.


    Deidros felt a weight fading away. His eyes fell on this young warrior, met only a few months ago.


    He was standing there, watching as the other fights had taken back their course. His expression was still the same as always. He always had a calm expression, but it was still strangely easy to guess his thoughts.


    He still didn''t know what he searched for coming all the way here. He didn''t believe it was only to sightsee or watch the mountain or whatever this young man had declared back then, but he didn''t care.


    After the chilly fight against those two warriors, the duels finished one after another, and after some time, it was time for another batch. This one, Rohan was also against a warrior, but this one made the same choice as everyone else and gave up just after the fight began.


    This time, since there was an impaired number of fighters, one of them was easily accepted by luck as he didn''t have an opponent. Such a case occasionally happened, and no one really cared. Because of this luck, he would maybe have more magical water for his clan than the other, but it was simply luck, and no one could do anything in front of this.


    Plus, no one was foolish enough to attract the anger of the great clan by spitting on their way to handle the ranking.


    The duels continued one after another, and with fewer participants each time, it became faster and faster. The sun was still high in the sky when the fight in the third arena had ended. There were eleven fighters allowed to continue, and among them was Rohan. He was lucky enough to not meet the Intermediate Warrior.


    But either way, Rohan decided he will only fight this warrior a bit before giving up. He had already attracted too much attention, it wouldn''t be a good idea to showcase his wizard spell.


    Among those eleven participants, only Rohan and a rank 2 Beginner Warrior were representing a clan of the external ring, all the others were from the internal one. Apart from the stronger warrior, there was only one rank 5 Beginner Warrior other than Rohan. It was an old man. Extremely old.


    Along with this arena, the three others had also finished their battle, and it was time to rank the stronger warriors of the whole Barren Lands.

 Chapter 103 - An Intermediate Warrior

    His sword was pointing to the floor as Rohan stared in dread at his opponent. He was in the middle of the arena as all the clans of the Barren Lands were watching with apprehension and interest.


    The first duel of the fifty or so winners from the four arenas was him against this man standing there. The pressure he emitted forced Rohan to gulp down.


    The advisor shouted, it was the start of the duel.


    Rohan breathed out and rushed forward. The man waited for the young warrior to approach him. He unsheathed his sword, making all the spectators exclaim among themselves.


    Rohan''s sword flashed at lighting speed. It was easily parried away. He felt as if he had hit a wall, an indestructible one. The sword his opponent wielded wasn''t as good as him, but Rohan could feel it, the thin mana enveloping his sword.


    It wasn''t the weapon of his enemy that risked being cracked, but his own. His expression hardened.


    His heart exploded inside his chest. Blood rushed over his body, heating his muscles. He thrust while spinning his blade, mixing the techniques of sword and spear he had learned. He slashed to the left, rushed to the right, and cleaved down with his sword.


    He pushed the techniques he had trained for years at their limit. Sparks flew around him as he continued to dance like a wild beast around this man.


    The spectators were simply looking without any noise, far too concentrated on this fight. All the chiefs of the great clans looked at each other before staring back at this young man attacking again and again, without ever slowing down.


    Rohan felt the frustration swelled. He had been stupid. This man was simply playing with him. Even if he were to launch a wind blade in the middle of the fight, he knew well enough that the Intermediate Warrior wouldn''t care at all.


    Since the start of his assault, the young warrior had turned around this middle-aged man. His black hair, tied by the purple ribbon, flew around him under the high speed he constantly moved. He hit all around, tried to take by surprise this man, but nothing. The man had stood there since the beginning. He had never stepped back.


    Rohan didn''t cease to move for even a second, he couldn''t permit himself to. He wanted to go faster, fiercer, to attack at a lightning speed. His mind was fully against his opponent. He forgot about everything else. His body and his sword fusion, accompanied by the mana surrounding it.


    If Horim was here, he would instantly recognize the craziness that was happening, as he already had seen his disciple of him make such an incredible movement.


    But the only onlookers were up to Intermediate Warriors. All they could see was that the swordsmanship of this young man blew their mind with such intricate gestures, they couldn''t feel the mana sticking to Rohan, attracted by his body as if was a long-lost friend.


    But Rohan didn''t care about all that. He wasn''t paying attention to his mana. He wasn''t even planning on using any skills. All he wanted was to make this man in front of him take a step back, it was his only goal. He couldn''t believe the difference between a rank 5 Beginner Warrior and a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior was this huge.


    It was the difference between a river and the sea, and Rohan only felt minuscule in front of this man. He was simply moving his sword here and there, chasing away the little fly he was. Rohan could even guess that this man was feeling bored.


    He used everything. All his might, all his strength, all his speed. Rohan was too engrossed in his goal and missed the brows of the intermediate warrior rising up.


    Ha wasn''t bored, not at all. It was even the contrary. Rohan felt the intermediate warrior, the strongest warrior outside of the central ring, could easily deflect every single move, but the truth wasn''t that simple.


    Rohan''s father was an intermediate Warrior, and this was many years ago. But even then, Rohan had never seen his strength. The only point he was sure of before leaving for war, was that an Intermediate Warrior was fast enough to run as fast as a horse without any skills.


    Even as a rank 5, Rohan was far from being able to do so. Becoming a Beginner Warrior wasn''t considered to be difficult, and only reaching the rank higher was worthy of respect for the countries in the north. It was because a Beginner Warrior wasn''t that strong, to begin with. He was stronger than an ordinary man, his physique more developed than any other mana user, but it was only that, just slightly better.


    Compared to a Beginner Wizard, a Beginner Warrior was simply too weak! Once he opened his fifth meridian, it was indeed better, but the consumption of mana was too high to make it a sharp weapon.


    It was only when the warrior reached the Intermediate ranks that he understood the meaning of being a warrior. The amount of mana wasn''t that impressive. The skills a warrior could use were simply too costly in a prolonged battle.


    But his physique was simply godly.


    As Rohan was inside his own world, fighting like a beast against an INtermediate Warrior that was forced to pay attention to every move for fear of being too slow, the man decided it was time to stop here. This young warrior was definitely good.


    The air hissed as the sword forged by Horim split everything before reaching the warrior. The man''s weapon appeared from seemingly nowhere and a terrible blow shook the arm wielding the sword.


    Rohan felt his muscles giving upon him. Each time he struck with all his might, he met nothing else but the sword reinforced by the mana. The shock was numbing his whole being, and he felt he couldn''t keep up like this. He needed to find a solution.


    The rebond sent his sword away, but Rohan used this momentum to prepare his next blow. But before he could hit anything, his heart tighten. the impassible warrior in front of him finally decided to move.


    Chills ran down his spine as he felt doom approaching at high speed. The sword of the enemy was already on him before he could do anything. He couldn''t believe it. There was no mana being used, it wasn''t even a skill!


    He saw the blade dangerously approaching. Without a choice, Rohan used Charge and leaped back to nearly evade the blow. A thin bloody line appeared on his cheek. A slight hesitation would be his death! Before he could even catch up his breath, the Intermediate Warrior took a step forward.


    The acceleration of his blow was simply godly, and Rohan couldn''t do anything to suppress it. It was now too late to give up, as the blade would be on him in less than a second. He couldn''t evade the blow, nor could he block it.


    Then he decided to go all out. The time slowed down as he saw everything. He followed with a Charge forward, to be even more close to this warrior. He chained with a Strengthened Blow.


    He couldn''t do anything else, but it was at this moment, that under the world slowed down by the skill Overload, Rohan saw the man smile. A happy smile.


    Then, nothing.. Nothing but darkness.

 Chapter 104 - Discussions At Night

    Rohan opened his eyes. Once again, he had the same dream. He felt that each time he would be knocked off, he would have to make the same damn dream. Maybe the red threads transforming in a cocoon were there to remind him how weak he truly was?


    "At least, you''re waking up!" The powerful voice filled the mind of the young warrior. There was only one person with such a voice out there.


    "Barulf¡­" Rohan straightened his back with difficulties before he asked the question he had on his mind. "What exactly happened, did this guy knock me out?"


    "Yes!" The big man simply answered with an overjoyed expression. Was it that satisfying to see him being crushed in front of millions of people? Rohan suddenly felt like punching him.


    "This fight was simply incredible! Most of the time, Farkan does not fight against his opponent, or at least not this way! It has been several years now that I haven''t seen him having such a fight, it was spectacular!"


    "What do you mean he doesn''t fight this way? Do you mean he doesn''t take pleasure in bullying his opponent each time he is fighting, and he only does so with me? Do I have something on my face that made him feel like it?" Rohan felt the world was an unfair one sometimes. he had been crushed, purely. There was only one rank difference between them, but this rank was as far as the earth and the sky.


    He couldn''t even understand how it was possible to be this strong as a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior. He would become one in only ten months or, and reaching such power in only so few months made him feel the apprehension.


    From what Barulf explained to him, This Farkan, the leader of the strongest clan living in the internal ring never used his sword to fight. Firstly because almost no one wanted to find themselves against him, and secondly because those who dared to do so didn''t make him feel interested.


    But it was actually easy to understand. How many years had he participated at those gatherings, and how many rank 5 Beginner Warriors there were? Those who dared to fight him were the same ones fighting him each year he couldn''t care less about them. The sight of fresh meat made him feel like playing a bit. That should be the reason.


    Rohan decided to stand up and walked out of the tent after talking a bit with Barulf. It was already night, and the stars were shining far away in the sky. There were no clouds that night, showing off this greater world.


    The members of the Blackwolf clan walked around the encampment, with some meat on skewers. They were surely making a feast. The instant they saw Rohan, they headed toward him and struck up a discussion.


    A few minutes later, Rohan walked toward the fire and sat down next to Deidros.


    He was looking at the sky like always. Since the time Rohan had followed this clan, it wasn''t hard to understand these people anymore, and Deidros was the one dreaming about a better future the most. All he wanted to do was to leave this desert, to leave those Barren Lands.


    He was born here, he had walked here, but that didn''t mean he wanted to die here. There was nothing on these lands, nothing but death. He could only dream for now, but one day maybe, his clan would be able to live on the other side.


    "Thank you Rohan, for Tarag." His eyes were still glued on the sky, but he didn''t miss the opportunity to thank his friend.


    "No problem, I didn''t like him," Rohan answered simply as he saw the other members of the clan nodding their heads to him. He simply smiled back.


    Since the attack from those dracasses, he had felt like being a part of their clan. He was sure that he could even decide to live with them from now on, and they would be happy to welcome them.


    The prospect was indeed interesting for Rohan. But he couldn''t do so. He had too many things to do, and he would have to go back at some point.


    "By the way, Rohan, you are ranked fifty. Congratulations, your strength should be higher than that, but luck wasn''t on your side."


    ''Luck was never on my side.'' Rohan thought. Before he could answer anything, Deidros continued.


    "The magical water will be given tomorrow. the top fifty will climb up the mountain to reach the source, it is a great honor!" He turned his face toward the young warrior. A bitter smile appeared on his face.


    It was so easy to read the face of this young man, that he was even comical. He could feel it, as well as everyone from the clan. No one was stupid. This warrior wasn''t simply there to watch how beautiful the mountain was.


    The voice of a woman deadly appeared on the side. "Whatever you will do in there, do not be rash with our mountain. Otherwise, I will chase you and stab you with my spear, damn warrior from the other side."


    Daina simply strolled toward her tent, without caring any more about this warrior. For a curious reason, they all had the strange sensation that this night was the last one they would see Rohan. This one could only smile as he watched this woman walk away. If she was born in the north if she had been a warrior, how strong would she be?


    Deidros stood up as well. "The feast had already begun without you as no one was sure if you would wake up, I''ll bring you back some meat."


    "Sure, thanks." Rohan couldn''t but sigh. It was so easy to bond with strangers, that he felt his resolve weaken for a short time. He couldn''t do so. Whatever will happen tomorrow would be the end of their relationship, as he would probably become the enemy of the Barren Lands.


    While he was thinking about the potential events of tomorrow, a little girl sat next to him. It was Elena, with her blonde hair flowing to the side. She still had an apathetic face, but her eyes were bright as she stared at Rohan.


    "Warrior Rohan, " Her voice was soft and clear, but also a bit raspy as she hadn''t talked in a while. "I want to become strong as you."


    Rohan stared blankly at this little girl. It was simply a declaration made by a child, with her clear childish voice, and her petite face watching at him. But those eyes weren''t the ones a child was supposed to be. He saw someone else in these eyes for a second, someone he knew well.


    It wasn''t the simple gibberish of a child randomly talking. It was like an oath she made to him, as well as herself. He couldn''t refuse her. He didn''t have the right to that.


    A lightning bolt suddenly crashed in his mind. His master Horim had said to him that he was able to manipulate the mana that wasn''t him. From his experience, he thought that this was indeed the case.


    Then if it was true, couldn''t he help someone to transform into a warrior?

 Chapter 105 - A Member Of The Blackwolf Clan

    Rohan looked deeply at the little girl staring back at him. He felt that it was far too dangerous to try anything like this. He didn''t even know how to use the mana that was around him.


    He remembered the feeling he had in the fight against the Intermediate Warrior. He wasn''t stupid, he knew that he couldn''t be that good, and he understood that the mana strengthened him. He would have to look at the Essence Stone to be sure, but he believed his status had once again exploded a bit.


    He didn''t feel any differences with his strength, but he still felt the need to be verified.


    He came back to Elena and her need to become powerful. There weren''t a lot of things he could do, and he could only think about something he had on him. Or at least, on his mind.


    He decided to teach her how to become a beginner warrior. He knew this clan had his own method to becoming one, a mainstream one that virtually all clans in the Barren Lands knew about. But his method was probably a better one, and it greatly help the warrior to open their first meridian.


    Plus, as he also had the method to create the vortexes, he taught everything he knew. He had read those books so much time that he knew full well what was inside and had no difficulty describing everything to Elena.


    Elena listened carefully while nodding her head from time to time. If anyone appeared at this time, they would probably collapse on the floor. One had learned by heart all there was in two books and expected a little girl to be able to learn like that, while this little girl really seemed to understand everything.


    But neither of the two people felt something amiss, and Rohan kept explaining everything he knew to Elena. She was only 9 years old, so she was still too young to try to become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior. Thus, what she needed to do for the next few years was to strengthen her body before she tried to create a mana core. That way, the pain would be lessened, and the chance of success would increase as well.


    As Deidros was coming back with Barulf and Kilem with him, they stood to the side as they saw the warrior and little girl exchanging about how to create a meridian. Elena wasn''t simply listening carefully now, she was also asking questions about what she didn''t understand.


    The three men asked themselves when children were smarter than them. In the end, they didn''t bother those strange people as they talked to each other and simply sat down to listen to it.


    The night slowly passed as all the clans of the Barren Lands were doing their own feast. The countless small feasts become one giant feast, and like every year at the same period, all differences were put aside, all strength was put aside. There were only the Barren Lands, and the clans living inside.


    After talking with the different members of the clan, Rohan finally went to sleep. His heart couldn''t help but violently thump inside his chest. The next day would finally be the day he would enter the mountain.


    He still didn''t know what to do after that, or what would be his action. Maybe he will find nothing in the end, and all of that would be for naught. but even so, that wasn''t a problem. Those three months, were quite great.


    Rohan closed his eyes, sinking into a deep sleep.


    The next instant he opened his eyes, it was already the morning. He felt sluggish like never before and even felt like resting there, at least this day. The mountain was still there, after all, it would not go away. Maybe he should postpone this operation for next year?


    Rohan smacked his cheeks with his hands and he stood up. Now wasn''t the time to play around. Today was the day when he could truly be killed at any time. He couldn''t do any faux pas, otherwise, the Intermediate Warrior would kill him before he could even fall on his knees to apologize.


    He quickly got up and put on his armor with dexterity. It was only now that he remembered about his potions. What should he do?


    Rohan always wore a leather bag with the most important item in his possession inside. But he also had a larger bag with all his potions and other miscellaneous objects. The problem was that he couldn''t really put it on his back, since he was simply supposed to go to the mountain, take the water, and go back afterward.


    If he left this tent with this large bag filled with all his affairs, it would be easy to guess that he just wanted to flee after climbing up the mountain. The situation was becoming complicated in a sense he hadn''t expected it.


    He didn''t have a choice. He decided to leave this bag there, for the Blackwolf clan. His life was more important than some random items. And Who knows, he might be able to get them back at some point. If the clan didn''t want him dead for having entered a forbidden area of their sacred mountain of course.


    Rohan thus left the place he had used to sleep for the past few days. He stood in the center of this high tent. No one was there, probably all already outside, occupying themselves. The departure for the Kolmos mountain was approaching, and Rohan exited this place with his heart weighing inside his being.


    The sun burned his eyes as he lifted the entrance. It took a few seconds before he got used to the light, and before he could advance another step, he froze where he was.


    In front of him were almost two hundred people standing there, watching him. This sight almost scared him to death before he finally realized they were all members of the Blackwolf clan.


    Darias walked toward Rohan with a solemn face. It was the rare expression he had when he was truly acting as the clan chief. Before Rohan asked anything, the rank 3 Beginner Warrior, leader of one of the most powerful clans in the external ring, deeply bowed in front of the young warrior.


    "Thank you for your help during this travel, warrior Rohan."


    ""Thank you, Warrior Rohan."" The whole clan bowed their heads without any shame. This warrior had saved their life. Although it was technically because of his presence that the dracasses or the dozen of clans had attacked during the night, they still bowed for this young man.


    They would remember him, even if they needed to take their own road. It was probably the last time they saw each other. Everyone knew it, it wasn''t something that could be hidden easily.


    "Thank you, Blackwolf clan, I will forever remember every one of you." Rohan bowed his head as well.


    Before he straightened his back, Darias declared with a powerful voice. "Rohan. From today onward, and despite whatever you will do today, you are now a member of the Blackwolf clan. Thus, I am now your clan chief. Of course, you can''t refuse it."


    Rohan couldn''t even lift his head. He felt his tears gathering in his eyes, ready to burst at any moment. He could only accept.


    From this day onward, he would be a member of the Blackwolf clan.

 Chapter 106 - Climbing Up The Mountain

    Rohan felt the sun passing through the clouds and hitting his back as he climbed up the slight slope. He easily stepped on the stones one after another, while the crackings of the rock hitting each other under his feet filled the area.


    Around him were also fifty nomads, each figure from the strongest clans of the Barren Lands. They all represented the most powerful warriors of the south of the large continent, and with their mighty constitution, no one had any difficulties climbing up this mountain.


    Leading them, an old man with white hair and long thin white beard leisurely walked with his hands behind his back. He was the only member of the great clans accompanying them. It wasn''t confidence toward the fellow clans of the Barren Lands, but confidence in his power.


    Even if the fifty warriors, with Farkan the rank 6 Intermediate Warrior among them, were to fight all together against him, they would be destroyed. And in only a few seconds. Rohan lingered his gaze a bit on this old man as they walked toward the peak of the mountain.


    He was a rank 10 Intermediate Warrior, only a rank away from the Advanced ranks. Could it be that there weren''t any Advance Warriors in the Barren Land finally? Or was it that this warrior didn''t have to move for a band of weak warriors? Rohan didn''t know.


    In this group, he could easily tell he was the third strongest warrior, far away from the two Intermediate Warriors, but also far stronger from the other rank 5 Beginner Warriors. This situation helped to calm his heart, as he felt that it would be easier once they would reach the underground source of this magical water.


    Before leaving the stone city to the source, the old warrior had explained what would happen from there. Those explanations were directed to Rohan, as he reckoned that all the other warriors should probably be used to it. There weren''t enough warriors in the Barren Lands for the ranking to change incredibly every year.


    They would pass the day in the mountain. Even with their strength and their bodies far more enduring than any ordinary people, it would still take time to reach the source, which was in the middle between the base and the peak of the mountain, where snow began to fall from time to time.


    It was already one hour since the group had started to climb up in silence. The area filled with trees was now far behind, and only rock and moss prevailed there. Some lonely high trees were fighting against the environment, but there was nothing more than mossy rocks on this slope.


    Each step forward made his heartbeat pound harder in his chest. Rohan was dangerously reaching the area he had aimed for after three months, and he didn''t even know what to do. All he knew was that the source of the water was inside the mountain, where the snow had formed an underground lake.


    Horim had explained to him that the powerhouses of the different races and empires had all tried to enter the core of the mountain, only to decree the only way to enter was by using the mana flowing around.


    Since everyone could enter this underground lake, Rohan didn''t know if it appeared to be the way to enter the core, or if it was in another place. If it was the latter, then Rohan didn''t know how to go.


    It was his only chance to climb up the mountain since the four great clans had forbidden anyone to walk on the sacred Kolmos mountain. They all kept the four corners of the mountain. The risk was too high if he wanted to sneak in any other day, and this made this day his only chance to reach his goal.


    There was too much unknown, and each step forward made his stress climb up along with his body.


    Soon, the majestic sight of the snowy part of the mountain stood before Rohan. The temperature was far colder than at the foot of the mountain, but he didn''t care at all. If he was alone, he would probably have rushed toward the snow, but he felt it would be better to not appear like a bumpkin right away.


    A few more steps later, the crushing sound of the compact snow echoed under the feet of the group of warriors. Apart from the two stronger of them, the other warriors were only in the Beginner Ranks, and the cold started to attack them. It was even colder than the night in the middle of a desert.


    Some trees covered with snow grew up here and there, different from the ones below. Those were in a cone shape, with leaves as thin as needles. It was the first time Rohan saw this kind of flora, as there weren''t any trees like this in his homeland.


    Before long, under the lead from the old man with simple leather clothes as if he couldn''t feel the cold at all, the large group finally reached their destination.


    Against the wall of the mountain, not even halfway from the top, a huge and dark opening dug a corridor towards the center of the mountain. Without any words, the old man entered, followed suit by the warriors.


    No one was talking, as they were now penetrating the sacred mountain. Rohan felt he was walking with fanatics ready to sacrifice themselves to the mountain if they were asked to.


    Before entering the cave, Rohan had the sudden urge to look behind him.


    The world stretched below him, toward the infinity of the horizon. The clouds seemed to be closer than the land, and Rohan felt as if he was able to watch the whole Barren Lands from there.


    Below him was a large part filled with snow, and further away were the rocks mixed with moss everywhere. Nothing was stopping his sight, as he took conscience of how small he was compared to this mountain overlooking the whole world.


    Far in the distance, he could see the large desert surrounding the mountain. It was small because of the distance, but also grandiose.


    He couldn''t see the stone city from where he was, as the uneven slopes of the mountain hid it.


    What view he would get if he ever reached the peak? The idea appeared in his mind in a second and didn''t want to leave anymore. But the time wasn''t to play around.


    He decisively turned his body and headed toward the icy cave. The entrance was large enough to let several people pass together and twice as high as himself. Some stalactites made of ices threatened to fall at any time, and the instant Rohan put his foot out of the snow to pose itself on the rock, the cold made him breathless.


    "Fuck."


    His voice echoed against the walls surrounding him as his body shook under this cold. Even taking a step forward was harder than he ever thought. He was a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, with a constitution far above any normal human. But he couldn''t resist the cold eating his body.


    His toes and fingers screamed their pain as Rohan put all his strength into his legs. If he wasn''t even able to fight the cold when the other warriors were able to do it, how could he expect to fight a Supreme Warrior?

 Chapter 107 - The Magical Water

    Rohan felt the cold numbing his limbs as he walked a step after another under the darkness of the cave. There was only a faint blue light, seemingly and strangely coming from the ice hovering on the ceiling. He thought he was walking slower than a snail, but he still managed to catch up with the group of warriors.


    Among them, the weaker ones were rank 2 Beginner Warriors. Just looking at them, struggling and shaking, was enough to prove how tough it was to pass this cavern.


    If an ordinary person was in this place, Rohan was certain he would only be able to crouch down and wait for death to come. Even the Intermediate Warriors were shaking under this terrible cold.


    Although this cold could be normal, Rohan was sure it came from the lake which should be filled with this magical water. The reason for that was that he could feel the waves of mana around him fused with the cold.


    Mana was everywhere, in all the places of the world, even if the quantity greatly varied from place to place. Rohan had only visited so many places, and it was only the south part of this continent. But it was the first time he sensed the ambient mana flying around. It could only mean that the quantity or quality was far above everywhere else.


    But since it was the Barren Lands, it didn''t make sense either way. As Rohan felt the coldness spreading on his body, the group bore the suffering and continued forward.


    The steps echoed on the long corridor as the only light came from the strange blue hue. It was weak, extremely so, but it was better than nothing. Since no one had tried to use a torch, Rohan believed that the coldness was too high for any flame to appear. The young warrior frowned as it was strange. Maybe they were simply all so fanatics that they didn''t want to light a fire there?


    The answer suddenly appeared on his mind as Rohan kept pondering about this cold. It wasn''t that the quality or quantity of mana was far above anywhere, it was simply that the mana inside this cave had merged with an element. It was the same feeling he had when he sensed his own spell: the mana corrupted with element!


    A normal flame would have no way to subsist here surrounded by cold mana extinguishing it in a second. It also explained how this cold was potent enough to make a group of warriors move like a bunch of grandpas. Furthermore, the light should probably be the secondary effect coming from the ice tainted by the mana.


    The group continued without talking a word. They walked enduring the cold as if it was a test before reaching the lake. The corridor was long and headed toward the center of the mountain. Sometimes it turned on the right, sometimes on the left. It went up for a couple of meters, then it went down.


    The path constantly snaked in the center of the Kolmos mountain, losing Rohan. After a few minutes of walking, the warriors finally reached the area they wanted to see.


    Before Rohan, the tight path enlarged significantly. The walls were pushed on the side while the ceiling went up several meters. The faint blue hue lightened the whole area and the clear water standing still in the center of this large cave.


    Huge and long stalactites hung from the ceiling, aiming at the transparent lake with their sharp tips. The lake itself was a distance away from the group, but just looking at this water made Rohan shake even more.


    His eyes didn''t linger and he only glanced at the lake before looking around. He was quickly disappointed. The area was closed, and only the lake was in this large room in the center of the mountain. The only path permitting them to come was obviously the one he had taken, and no other opening was seen on the smooth stone surrounding the lake.


    The warrior that had led them here faced them and whispered gently. It was as if he was currently in one of those churches from the homeland of Horim.


    "Took out the recipient we have given to you, you have the right to fill it with the water. Be quick! We leave in a few minutes."


    Rohan took out the small jar he had been given. It was a small pottery that could be found anywhere, it was far from being as incredible as the vials the wizards used to store the potions.


    Rohan reached the lake in no time. The water was extremely clear, and even with this terrifying cold, there wasn''t any ice on it. The ceiling was perfectly reflected, and the bottom could be easily seen.


    He looked deeply at this water. He could feel the concentration of the mana being somewhat higher on the water than the air, but the quantity of mana that could enter his jar was less, far less than the mana from a weak mana potion. Compared to the mana cores from the dracasses he had on him, this water was simply useless.


    Rohan sighed, letting a white fog leave his mouth. There was no passage inside the lake either. He could only take out the water and get out of there. He would have to think about what to do.


    He bent on the shore, and like all other warriors, he carefully put the jar inside the water. There was a small handle, permitting his gloved fingers to not touch the water. He was far from bored enough to put his hand inside this liquid ice.


    As he put the recipient near the shore to take the water, his eyes widened. He nearly shouted out loud as countless questions popped into his mind in a second. His recipient was now full, but Rohan didn''t care anymore about it.


    Just there, below his feet. Not even a meter from the surface, there was an opening on the wall. It was dark, and this corridor full of freezing water was large enough to permit Rohan to pass through it.


    He couldn''t believe it. Was it the passage to reach the core of the mountain, or was it a random dead end? How could he know about that? He certainly couldn''t ask those mad lads that were piously taking the water as if it was the blood of a god.


    Rohan didn''t know what to do anymore. He was sure the instant he would plunge the warriors would charge after him. Or maybe the cold of the water will stop them. After all, there was a big chance to die inside this damn water.


    But he didn''t have a solution. He couldn''t leave their company in the middle of the descent. The rank 6 Intermediate Warrior was enough to catch him up in a second, less the old man from the great clan.


    Coming back alone was also almost impossible, as all the practicable paths were heavily kept from intruders. He was almost sure to be found out if he tried to search a way to climb up with how much those clans treated this mountain.


    That much could be easily guessed, as there was this magical water in the middle, and although it was cold, it was easy to have access to it. Thus, the four great clans must keep the surroundings of the mountain under tight control, and Rohan really didn''t want to try them.


    His eyes were glued on this clear water. His fingers were still holding the small jar, a few centimeters away from the water. He was wearing leather gloves, but he could feel the cold from there. He gulped down.


    Should he jump?

 Chapter 108 - Foolish Decision

    "It''s time, let''s go. You are lucky enough to have this sacred water, don''t forget to bow your head to the sacred Kolmos mountain."


    The voice of the old man woke Rohan from his daze. His face reflected on the surface of the lake as he looked deep inside. The risks were far too great, he couldn''t simply plunge like that without caring about anything.


    He stood up and bowed his head toward the water like all the warriors around him. The sole idea to bend his body in front of the water was quite ridiculous, but he didn''t mind it. If it could make him evade any suspicion, he would even kowtow without hesitation.


    One by one, the warriors put away the magical water they carried in their bags before decisively leaving. After a few seconds, Rohan was the only one looking at the water, with the old man waiting for everyone to return outside.


    The young warrior turned around with a heavy expression. It was simply foolish. His life could be wasted away, he could die if he chose this way. He took a step forward, toward the only way out with a calm expression, the same as always.


    It was without a doubt the worst choice he could ever make. It was maybe only a small opening inside this lake with a dead-end not even a few meters away.


    He took a second step.


    Plus it was now far too late. He could have played along earlier and accidentally fallen in the water so the suspicion would take some time to appear in the warriors.


    A third step toward the exit.


    And what more, there was now the old man waiting for him to leave this underground lake. If he ever decided to plunge now, he would die even if it was indeed the path. There was no way out if Rohan decided to take the risk.


    A fourth step.


    This risk was too much. Nothing was telling him it was here. No proof, no mark, nothing. Just a random opening inside the still lake inside this large cave.


    Then why? Why did taking a step made his heart stir that much? Why did his instinct scream to not leave?


    His hands were shaking, his legs were shaking, his whole body was shaking. But it wasn''t from the cold.


    He took another step forward. The fifth one.


    He tightened his fists. His calm expression became even calmer, more ethereal as if he was becoming an immortal.


    The sixth step, never came.


    Rohan turned around and stomped the ground violently. His leg filled with his mana crushed the stone floor. He had never been this fast, squeezing all the strength he had for this sole movement.


    He left an afterimage behind him as well a footprint. Pebbles flew around while the rank 10 Intermediate Warrior widened his eyes from the surprise. Before he could react in any way, the young man had already reached the shore of this freezing water.


    He gnashed his teeth and tightened every muscle of his body. There was no hesitation. The instant he came closer from the water, he plunged inside like an arrow sinking toward the abyss.


    Rohan didn''t know how the old man was reacting, but he didn''t wait to discover it. The cold water cut his breath the instant his body touched the water. He felt his body transforming itself into an ice block.


    All gestures were taking ages as his mind was shutting down from the terrible cold. He couldn''t even open his eyes as he feared the extreme cold would make him blind. But he didn''t need to, he already knew where the entrance was, and the moment his hands, as agile and sensitive as a piece of wood, touched the bottom of the lake, he propelled himself with Strengthened Blow.


    The mana eased the effect from the cold, but Rohan didn''t dare to send it inside his fifth meridian. If he used the skill Overload, his senses would be further enhanced, and he would probably want to die already.


    Inside this cold darkness, Rohan felt his body passing through the small entrance. It was big enough to let him swim inside without any difficulties. He used all his strength, currently disappearing because of the cold as he rushed faster and faster.


    He didn''t know if the warrior would follow after him or if he only thought he would die anyway, but Rohan didn''t want to take any risk. He just swam and swam, fervently praying for this damn lake and mountain to let him leave after this stupid choice.


    His hands pushed on the smooth walls making up the artery. His only goal was to move forward the fastest possible, and his legs and arms fully grasped each second to push his body forward.


    The more Rohan advanced blindly seconds after seconds, the more he felt he shouldn''t have plunged. There was no dead end, but there was also no other opening. The water slowly paralyzed him while the air in his lungs was used rapidly. The more he moved, the more his body consumed, and the faster Rohan approached the drowning.


    He had no choice anymore. Maybe he would be beheaded the moment he would surge from the lake, but he could only permit himself to continue for a few seconds before turning back.


    The moment this thought entered his mind, his right failed to touch anything above his head. Hope exploded in his heart as he groped in the dark to feel a tunnel going up. He quickly entered it, kicked the floor, and surged toward the potential freedom. All he wanted right now was to leave this water, but he knew that the cold would still be there anyway.


    He rushed up, and with an explosion of water, his head finally exited the clear but icy water. He immediately sucked all the air he could, filling his lungs with the bitten icy air of the area.


    He dived toward the shore a couple of meters away without caring about anything else, he only wanted to leave this place. The cold was killing him, and he didn''t know if the old rank 10 Intermediate Warrior had decided to follow him or not. Seeing how much the nomads of the Barren Lands venerated this mountain, that wouldn''t be incredible.


    He got out from this second lake and found himself shaking against the moist and icy floor. The same blue hue was around, lighting up this area, which was almost the same as the other one.


    At first, he thought that all this suffering was for naught as he couldn''t see anything, but he was overjoyed when he saw another tunnel, hiding by the shadows and the faint lights.


    Without wasting more time, he stood up and rushed at his maximum speed toward this passway. He wasn''t feeling some parts of his body anymore, and the water dripped down against the flood as he was running.


    Even in this situation, while his life was closer to the end than ever before it had been, a painful thought entered his mind.


    All the affairs he had in his leather bag should be pretty much wasted now.

 Chapter 109 - A Strange Dome

    Rohan darted forward with all the speed he could muster. The more he advanced, the more he cursed on his head as this journey was the worst.


    First a desert with atrocious heat making his body crumble. Then a terrible attack from a pack of magical beasts, where the only reason was still alive was because the dozen of beasts were too engrossed in their killing.


    And finally, this damn place with the cold slowly murdering him while an extremely powerful warrior, strong enough to blow his head with a pinch, was probably chasing after him.


    All of that for a legend told by his master who knew nothing about the Barren Lands that could simply be the stories of degenerate hunched old men trying to be mysterious.


    Rohan felt that he should have never actually come here. Why did he even accept?


    The tunnel he was running through twisted in all directions. He was currently somewhere in the center of this colossal mountain, but he had no idea to know where exactly. Not that it would help him to know anyways. There was no end, and that made his heart leap harder at each step he made.


    Suddenly he heard a noise coming from far behind him. His expression fell as his calm face cracked. The warrior had followed him!


    He couldn''t care anymore. Every second won was a second to live. He took out two mana cores from his soaked bag and held one in each of his hands, where the openings of his first and second meridians were attached.


    He sucked the mana inside these cores to make him and rapidly used Charge. A small explosion echoed in the tunnel as Rohan propelled forward. The instant his left foot touched the ground, he followed with another Charge. His consumption was almost fully compensated by the two mana cores, and the explosions of the ground being indented kept sounding one after another.


    He left afterimages after afterimage. He dashed forward with all the strength and energy he had and willed his mana to launch Charge after Charge. He knew that the repetitive skills used might injure him, or even damaged his meridians, but he didn''t have the choice anymore.


    The path was now going up without sign of any secret or any place that needed to use the mana to enter. All there was the thin fragment of ice hovering everywhere, the faint blue light, and the smooth stone surrounding the tunnel.


    Rohan followed the road to the right, then to the left. It was still going up, but Rohan had the nagging feeling that he was simply turning around like a fool. Rohan felt despair for the second time in his life. He was running for nothing, waiting for the warrior to catch him.


    The only difference between the Supreme Warrior plunging the battlefield into a world of fire, and the Intermediate Warrior chasing after him to cut his body in several pieces, was that it was purely because of Rohan if he was in the current situation. If he had chosen to ignore this damn tunnel in the lake, he wouldn''t be there.


    Rohan didn''t know how many Charges he had made his body bore since the start. All he knew was that the two mana cores were now almost empty, and there was nothing in front of him but the blue tunnel.


    His speed sent him darting through the tunnel, and suddenly, the ground disappeared. An indescribable fear crushed his guts as Rohan couldn''t control his body anymore. His iris shrunk while his eyes expanded.


    Terror spread all over his body. He had never seen something like this. A huge and spacious cave had appeared after the tunnel, which was in the middle of a stone wall.


    The ceiling was too high to be seen, and the floor was far below. His powerful body could survive this fall, but Rohan didn''t even think about this. The flow of mana in this place was something he had never seen.


    In the middle of the cave, a large bloody dome was standing there, taking a large chunk of the place, with a diameter of at least a hundred meters.


    This dome was made of red threads emanating a shocking amount of mana, vibrating the air as it circulated the large area it was protecting.


    Having surged at his speed, Rohan was unable to control his body anymore. He fell against this strange phenomenon made of red strands of mana flying at high speed.


    His instinct screamed to make everything he was able to not touch this strange energy, but he was already in the air. He was rapidly approaching this red dome and in the split second he had, he threw a wind blade. He hoped nothing more but to create a passage for his body to go through.


    But it was useless. The moment the wind blade touched the strands of mana, it failed to cut through. Not only did it fail, but Rohan saw that in fact, the spell had simply vanished after the contact, sucked by this strange mana.


    He couldn''t dodge this thing, he couldn''t create a hole in it. Without any hope, his body connected with the threads made of mana.


    Pain. A violent cry left his throat. The strands of red mana flying at high speed lacerated his body in a gruesome manner. His armor was useless as it was cut into shreds falling apart. Blood flew everywhere as thin bloody lines appeared one after another on the body of the young warrior, easily bypassing his body of a rank 5 Beginner Warrior. His body luckily rebounded against this solid barrier with the shock, before he crashed on the ground five meters away.


    Countless cuts covered his body as blood flowed out, painting the ground of his red liquid. His face, his limbs, his body, all his front was simply a terrible mess of blood. None of the cuts were serious enough to threaten his life, but Rohan failed to stand up.


    He had felt as if his whole body was torn apart, the pain destroying his nerves. He couldn''t move anymore. He laid there, his limbs pointing in a random direction while his blood still flowed out from his body.


    His leather armor reinforced with metal was now completely tattered all over his body and the floor. Without it, he might have been dead the instant he touched this thing.


    Fighting against the excruciating pain he was feeling, Rohan straightened up his body, tearing on the countless wounds. A groan passed through his gnashed teeth.


    He took out wet clothes from his bag on his back, as well as a dagger. He couldn''t lie there without doing anything, otherwise, he might die if he didn''t move.


    He cut it in several pieces before he tried to stop the bleeding with the long pieces coming from a tunic.


    The moment he put the cold makeshift bandages against his wounds, Rohan nearly shouted out loud against this grievance.


    It wasn''t the first time he had been injured, but it was the first time to this extent. He felt his whole body aching from the terrible pain. The crude cuts tearing apart his flesh felt like countless insects were eating him at the same time.


    He could only persevere as he stopped the bleeding from the most important injuries. He had never done such a thing, and he only wet clothes filled with icy water to use. He had resisted until now, but his shouts and curses soon filled the place as Rohan vented all he could.


    The red dome was overlooking him while the strands of blood-colored mana circulated.. It was beautiful, but deadly so.

 Chapter 110 - Mana

    Rohan looked at the dome spinning in the middle of the cave. His injuries were all superficial, and with the bandages all over his body, there was only a small amount of blood dripping out.


    The instant he had seen these red threads, Rohan had immediately understood what it was. There were exactly the same strands he had seen in his dreams, and the red was exactly the same as the red dots that he had seen appeared a few times.


    This place should be the core of the mountain. Earlier, when he had thrown a wind spell, the mana had mysteriously vanished, without an ounce of a remnant. It had simply disappeared after it touched those threads.


    It was only a weak spell, as well as the only one he had. He couldn''t be sure, but he believed that all the spells, no matter how powerful, would meet the same destiny. If that was indeed the case, then that meant no one could advance through this barrier.


    Even though the dome gave the impression to be made of countless threads circulating infinitely, he had felt the sturdiness of it. It was like a stone wall, without any solution to pass through.


    The injuries were not that impressive, and his leather armor wasn''t impressive at all. It shouldn''t be able to save him to that extent if this dome could kill him. Thus, he reckoned that he could touch it without so much problem, with at worst more cuts here and there.


    He wanted to try and punch it with skill. If a mage couldn''t go through with a spell, then what about a Supreme Warrior with a godly strength? Obviously, they have already tried if it was indeed the core of the mountain.


    He couldn''t help but groan as he stood up. Although there were no heavy injuries, the pain wasn''t something Rohan appreciated specifically.


    He slowly approached the red dome and was now only a couple of meters away from the threads. They were all circulating in the same direction, and no sound could be heard. Rohan had the impression the air was distorted around the dome, but it was maybe only an impression. If it was really strong enough to shred the air and create a ripple around it, Rohan wouldn''t be alive anymore.


    While Rohan observed this strange phenomenon in front of him, the sound of footsteps echoed from above. The faint noise filled the ears of Rohan like thunder. How could he forget about that? The warrior was here!


    He darted his eyes and looked at his surroundings. Unfortunately, apart from the large dome in the center, there was nothing else. The only passage was the one he had taken, a dozen meters above him. Nothing to hide, nothing to flee.


    Suddenly, sweat broke out from Rohan''s forehead. He threw himself on the ground. As he rolled down to flee away, a sword cleaved down where he was not even a second ago. The air was cut apart, hissing violently under the great pressure.


    The tip of the sword stopped with extreme precision before touching the floor. Rohan stood up as he looked with dread at the newcomer. His long white hair flew around along with his thin beard.


    His eyes were locked against the young warrior, showing the terrible anger flooding the old man.


    "You are you?" His deep voice shook the surroundings. It wasn''t filled with mana like an Advanced Warrior could do, it was simply the strength of his vocal cords and the rage filling his tone. "I do not believe a single second that you are from the Barren Lands, little boy."


    His sword pointed to the ground as he faced Rohan. He wasn''t surprised by the red dome on his right, but that was to be expected. There was simply no way for the great clans keeping the Kolmos mountain for centuries to not know about this place.


    Rohan had no choice anymore, he could only tell this man the truth. As well as a small lie.


    A devious smile appeared on his face. "Indeed I am from the other side. It had taken so much time for someone to figure it out, not even the Blackwolf clan knew about it."


    "You dare to trick a clan from the Barren Lands?! You people deserved to die!" His bellows showed how much he was feeling indignant at this prospect. But before he used his might to crush Rohan, he stopped on his track. He was slightly shocked, as he observed the strange almost invisible blade hovering there.


    It wasn''t a mana blade, as it was too transparent for this blade to be made of pure mana, and he could sense the fluctuation of the mana forming it was somewhat different. His expression changed.


    "You¡­" Rohan''s left hand pointed to the old man, with a nearly meter-long wind blade hovering there. "You are a wizard?"


    Rohan complimented himself as he was right. This blade was nothing, and he knew that it could never reach the old warrior. He would be able to dodge it with ease, but Rohan didn''t want to fight him in any case. He only wanted to slow down the man, and this second was completely enough.


    Then, in less than an hour, Rohan made his second stupid choice. He threw away the wind blade toward the old man, and without waiting for the obvious result, he jumped to his left, where the dome was standing.


    He had dreamed about those red threads, about a red cocoon enveloping him. He had already seen the red dots, and more than once. The chance that Horim was right was extremely high.


    It was made of mana, Rohan was sure of that. But it was also special.


    Mana was everywhere, and warriors, wizards, paladins, and all other mana users needed it to become stronger, and to increase their lifespan. But no one could will the mana and use it freely. They first needed to make it them. For this, every one had his own method.


    For the warriors, it was the meridians, creating an opening to permit the mana to enter and fill their mana core which converted it into their mana.


    For the wizards, it was the different runes that made the mana fuse with a strange power, permitting it to use the power of an element.


    For the paladins, Rohan didn''t know about it, but they also had their method.


    But all the mana users shared the same limitation. The mana entering their body was doing so with the help of ways created by humans. It wasn''t attracted, it was simply passing through an opening when it touched the body of a mana user.


    Thus, to make mana become one''s, the mana user firstly needed to touch it in some way. For example, a warrior needed to brush it with one of the openings of his five meridians. That was the general rule.


    But this dome, made of red threads, was somewhat different. It was only his instinct, but Rohan was sure of it. Otherwise, any mana users would have been able to enter after this many times.


    This red mana, couldn''t be extracted.. No one was able to control this mana.

 Chapter 111 - Is It Death?

    Rohan leaped toward the red threads after launching his spell, but before he reached the dome to try to force his way, he realized he had been slightly wrong. The Intermediate Warrior was even faster than he thought, and for the first time in his life, he saw what was exactly a mana blade, a skill from an Intermediate Warrior.


    The warrior simply cleaved his sword while dodging the wind blade. A white beam curved like a quarter of the moon flew at high speed. Time slowed down. Rohan didn''t even have any more mana to activate Overload, but his senses increased on their own. There was less than a meter from him and the red mana dancing there. But that wasn''t enough.


    The old man had cleaved his sword horizontally with his sword, directing with precision the blade made of pure white mana. This blow was simply perfect. Even if he knew how to enter this dome, and that wasn''t the case, Rohan would be hit by the skill. If he didn''t move, then he would be hit as well, and if he tried to dodge to the other side, the warrior already moving rapidly under the slowed world would catch up to him in a breath of time.


    The world furtherly slowed down. Death was near. Rohan felt a grey veil encompassing the whole area. Rohan felt his whole body heating up as he tensed up under the certain death approaching.


    A maniac smile appeared on his face. At least he would try everything before dying.


    His mana boiled inside his brain and surged toward his arm. He continued forward, while he materialized immediately three wind blades.


    The spells from a wizard cost far less than the skills of a warrior. Furthermore, the wind spells were known for their low cost, not that Rohan knew about it. With his capacity of 10 points of mana inside his mana stone, he had the ability to launch five times a wind spell as it cost 2 points of mana.


    He used everything he had and while the three wind blades tore through the air to meet the mana blade, Rohan crossed the short distance remaining. He didn''t look anymore at any result. He had nothing on him anymore. His mana stone was now empty, and his mana core as well from the numerous times he had used Charge to come here earlier.


    He gritted his teeth. On his right, the blades meet each other in a loud crash. Rohan wasn''t watching, but the old man couldn''t believe it.


    Apart from the possibility that this young man was playing with his life, he was sure that the boy was only a rank 1 Beginner Wizard. But the might of his spell was far more powerful than that. It was almost of the level coming from a rank 3 or 4 Beginner Wizard!


    A stalemate appeared when the different kinds of mana met each other before the three wind spells broke apart from the power coming from the mana blade. It wasn''t even for a second, but Rohan had already reached the dome, and without wasting time, he put his two palms fiercely on it.


    The Intermediate Warrior, seeing this, asked himself if this young boy was tired of living. Touching this dome with his body was already self-torture, but with the openings of the meridians? Even a Supreme Warrior wouldn''t dare to do this, less himself!


    The next scene almost made Rohan scream from the top of his lungs, but he couldn''t. It wasn''t because he didn''t want to, but because the pain was so intense his breath was cut off.


    His skin was torn apart while countless small cuts appeared on his palm. But it wasn''t the worst. The mana from the red thread entered through his two meridians, with the first one being slightly larger since Rohan was enlarging it to create a vortex.


    An explosion resounded on his body as something seemed to break. It was the meridians. Red mana flowed in toward the almost empty mana core. Numerous cracks appeared on their way under the might and pressure coming from this strange mana.


    The instant it arrived inside the mana core, the red mana trampled against the white, as if a violent battle broke out between two factions. But one was clearly stronger. The white mana, which could be found everywhere and said to be the purer form of mana a mana user could use, slowly turned red.


    Not even a second had passed since Rohan had put his hand against the dome, and his whole body was shaking under the red mana filling up his mana core. The mana blade, weakened by the three winds blade, struck him on his right.


    The horizontal mana slashed at his waist before disappearing. Blood flowed out immediately as the remnant of his armor flew around. The shock from the blow crashing on his body sent Rohan away.


    His hands were stuck against the red dome. He couldn''t move them. Thus, the shock could only move his body in one direction as Rohan was now spitting blood. He violently collided against the solid wall made of mana. His whole body was instantly cut everywhere, but the difference with the first time he had hit this damn dome, was clear. He couldn''t move away.


    The strands dug his body and clothes as they slashed everywhere. A pool of blood formed at his feet, but Rohan overlooked this pain. It was nothing. Nothing at all compared to the following.


    His head leaned on the dome. Apart from the threads ravaging it, the red mana flowed inside his head, heading straight toward his mana stone.


    The old warrior watched with a solemn expression. It was the first time he actually saw this hell, but he knew what was happening. Since this place had been discovered, no one, no matter their strength, had gone through this barrier. If someone let this strange mana enter his body, even if it was a Supreme mana user, he wouldn''t be able to leave as he would be stuck against it.


    No one could resist this mana, and this was for a peculiar but dreadful reason: even after entering the mana core or mana stone or whatever, the red mana couldn''t be used. No one could control it, as if it was a being that dimmed no one was worthy enough to control it.


    The result of this was that it was impossible to make this mana leave the body in normal ways, as all other forms of mana were destroyed by it. For this young warrior as well as a wizard, a legendary magic warrior, to finish like this, the old man could only sigh out loud.


    But this boy had dared to sneak here, so there was nothing to be sorry about. He wielded his sword and decided to show a bit of mercy. He approached, ready to shorten his torment.


    The young boy couldn''t even scream or shout under such unimaginable pain. His mana stone and mana core should now be on the verge of being shattered, and once such a thing would happen, the red mana would flow everywhere.. Even imagining this pain was torture, and with a last show of clemency, the old man slashed his sword and aimed for the throat of the boy.

 Chapter 112 - Where Am I?

    The mana ravaged his inside. Cracks appeared on his mana core as well as his mana stone, making Rohan feel the most excruciating pain that had never affected him. His nerves were breaking under this experience. He felt his mind shutting down as his vision grew darker and darker.


    He heard a hissing sound slashing the air apart as it headed toward his neck. The noise was coming from far away, as Rohan was only a spectator at this moment. Then suddenly, he lost everything.


    He couldn''t see anymore, nor hear anything. He couldn''t even sense his own body and he felt floating in the infinite darkness.


    "Is this the way I die?" His voice echoed in the dark, seemingly shaking this empty world. Then, his conscience disappeared.


    The old man slashed with his sword at a lightning speed. Even the blade was hard to catch, powered by his strength and in no time, it reached the neck of the young warrior. It passed through as if it was water. The sword stood still, held by the Intermediate Warrior. His eyes were fixed on the young boy as he couldn''t believe his own eyes.


    Something like this should be impossible! He couldn''t utter a single sound. His sword had simply missed the target, even though he had used a speed that should be enough to cut Rohan ten times before he could react in any way.


    But the old man disregarded his sword missing the throat. He froze where he was, looking at the young warrior disappear inside the red strands composing the barrier. Abruptly, the hard wall keeping away all people from the entire world had softened, attracting the young warrior inside.


    It only took a second before his body faded away from his view. The old warrior could only be alarmed. He took a step forward and stabbed with his sword. He didn''t dare touch it with his own body. The tip of his sword clashed against the solid wall and sparks flew around. The red strands of mana grinded the sharp tip.


    The old man frowned as he took back his weapon. Even with his strength, he couldn''t pass through. He couldn''t see what was inside this dome, as no one else could. The diameter of this dome was more than a hundred meters, and the height was the same. There could be anything, and from the proportion of mana one felt only on this dome, it was obvious whatever was protected by it was simply incredible.


    And now, this young Rohan from the other side had successfully entered. What did that mean? The old man didn''t know. Seeing that not even a ripple appeared and that everything had come back in order, he decided to leave.


    He had the great clans to inform, as something bad could happen at any moment. Since this man had tricked everyone, the Blackwolf clan should be innocent. Apart from a few questions he wanted to ask, the old man reckoned it was useless to reproach them about anything.


    He stomped the ground, leaped in the air, and disappeared in the tunnel a dozen of meters above the ground.


    Rohan opened his eyes. Through a blurry vision, all Rohan could see was the floor he was lying on. Soil, leaves, twigs. The wind brushed his hair and made him shudder from the soft cold, far more bearable than the mountain.


    He straighten up as if he was an old grandpa, and sat up there. What was he doing here?


    Suddenly the memories flowed back into his mind. The tunnel in the cold lake, the large cave, the huge red dome spinning there, the Intermediate Warrior, the red mana destroying his being.


    Panic overflowed as he rapidly checked his body. His clothes were all torn away, with only his back full as it didn''t touch the dome. His sword was still there, although with some scratches on the scabbard while his bag wasn''t damaged at all. But most importantly, he had no injury.


    Rohan switched his concentration and carefully sensed his mana. His expression changed instantly. The cracks had all disappeared as if it was only a dream, but the proof that it wasn''t one was here as well: the mana feeling up his mana core and mana stone wasn''t white. It was bloody red.


    Instead of the calm mana that should hover quietly, the red one crackled and bounced around, as if it was made of red lightning. Soon, Rohan relaxed from the fright it had given him. He didn''t feel any pain from the red mana anymore. On the contrary, he was now able to control it and move it inside his meridians as he wanted.


    Since everything seemed to be fine in his body, Rohan decided to concentrate back on his surroundings. A headache appeared. What the hell happened exactly?


    Around him, a forest spread toward the horizon in all directions. The trees, larger than him, grew up towards the sky. The light from the sun had some difficulties passing through the canopy, but it was enough to lighten the area.


    Rohan didn''t know where he was, but he had the nagging thought that he wasn''t in the Barren Lands anymore.


    "One moment, I am tortured inside a cold mountain. In the next one, I appear in the middle of a forest. What the hell should I do now?" Rohan was now completely lost. He had indeed become a Wizard some times ago, but he was far from being able to learn a teleportation spell.


    Still, it was somewhat safe here, so it was good. At least the Intermediate Warrior didn''t kill him, and he was relieved from this horrible pain. Just thinking about his body stuck against the red dome made Rohan shudder in fear.


    He quickly took out the only clothes resting on his bag as he wanted to put them, but as his finger touched the inside of his bag, his expression changed. He had forgotten that everything was soaked in cold water.


    He carefully observed around him, and seeing that there was no movement, he put all his belongings against the ground.


    The few potions were all intact. It was only the weak mana potions as well as the one supposed to be a stronger rank. All the other ones were inside his other bag back at the Blackwolf clan.


    The dried meat he always put in this bag for emergencies was now soaked and probably useless. The gourd of water was still closed. A small pan that he decided to put inside a long time ago was still there.


    The Essence Stone didn''t have any cracks or anything. The four books describing the way to become a wizard and a spell were strangely fine as the water didn''t destroy the pages.


    It was a good discovery, but not a shocking one. If the wizards were ready to use magic matter and created vials to store the weaker potions, it made sense if they wanted to protect a bit their most important knowledge.


    His warriors'' emblem was still there with a 3 on it. A random useless crest, two daggers he had forged himself, and finally some copper, iron, and gold coins.


    Along with the clothes that needed to be dried. Rohan thought back to the day he had fled the battlefield and had lived for a short time in a forest, walking toward a random direction.


    *Sigh*


    "At least I am prepared this time." His eyes lingered on what he possessed.. "A bit."

 Chapter 113 - Running Away

    Rohan walked inside the forest. Since he didn''t know where he was and where to go, he simply took a direction. This forest was far more lively than all the other ones he had seen to this day, which were only two. Countless animal cries came from all around, slightly creeping out Rohan.


    Since he had started to walk, he had felt that something wasn''t quite right about this place, but he could pinpoint this sensation. Luckily, he had learned a bit from the Blackwolf clan about the movement inside a forest and scared to attract anything, Rohan fully used it.


    He stepped carefully on the ground as he slowly advanced, muffling the noise he made in this forest.


    After a few hours of walking, Rohan suddenly froze. There, in front of him, an animal stared at him in between a few trees.


    A brown fur covering his whole body. Standing on his two legs with two long arms touching the ground. It was the first time Rohan saw a monkey. He had already read about them and saw a drawing, so he was sure this animal should be one.


    Rohan stepped back and put his hand on the handle of his sword. Although it was without a doubt a monkey, the way it was looking at him with red eyes was quite threatening. The young warrior squinted his eyes. Should he hunt it to have some meat?


    Before he came up with an answer, the monkey screamed and rushed toward the human. His steps crushed twigs, leaves, and roots while his body brushed the branches on his way. Rohan was alarmed by the speed of this animal, and he unsheathed his weapon before waiting in a battle stance.


    The monkey pounced at him with a shrill and waved his hand to attack. This seemingly harmless blow suddenly became deadly when terrifying-looking claws grew in less than a second from his nail. Rohan used his sword to defend against this attack with a frown.


    A loud clang resonated after the claws and sword connected. Rohan tightened his handle. He used his strength to slide his sword against the long pointed nails, and arrived at the side of the beast with great footwork combining his speed and control over his body. His sword flashed.


    As Rohan thought, the beast nimbly dodged the attack along with a loud scream and leaped forward a new time. His sword easily parried and deflected the attacks from the beast and counterattacked every time with a quick response. But the beast was extremely nimble, it dodged and contorted its body. Rohan couldn''t touch this beast at all!


    He didn''t dare to use his mana to launch a skill or a spell. Firstly he didn''t know if it was the only beast in this area and his stock of weak mana potions was far from being incredible. Secondly, his mana was now the crackling red one, and Rohan didn''t want to activate a skill or spell with it. Maybe it will destroy his limb the instant he tried it, and he didn''t want to play with his life.


    For a short time, a stalemate appeared as Rohan and the monkey danced together surrounded by trees in the middle of an unknown forest. The frustration grew inside his body as he couldn''t touch at all this damn magical beast, but this one was also becoming more restless during this fight.


    Obviously, this beast was a magical one, and one stronger than a dracass. His long nails remained without any scratches even though they had clashed against his sword countless times, and despite his speed and swordsmanship, this monkey was still evading everything.


    The clashes continued for a short time. Abruptly, Rohan kicked. But this kick wasn''t aiming for the monkey, but the ground. The beast, only paying attention to any attacks, didn''t expect the soil and leaves to be violently thrown at him. It had reacted to the kick, but seeing it wouldn''t touch his body, it had decided to ignore it to concentrate on the sword.


    This mistake gave him no time to dodge and the dirt meet in his face, blinding him for a second. Using this opportunity, Rohan charged forward and stabbed with his sword. The fur and skin of the beast weren''t exceptional, and the sharp tip easily pierced through the heart of the beast, killing it on the spot.


    Rohan loudly sighed as he looked at the dead body. Now he was sure that he wasn''t in the Barren Lands anymore. Apart from the dracasses, there weren''t any other magical beasts, and Rohan didn''t believe a single second that the clans wouldn''t know about their existence if he was there.


    He didn''t waste more time, and taking out a dagger from his bag, he first removed the heart. After proficiently cutting it apart, he found himself with a red crystal in his hand. He looked at this stone strangely as it was quite different from the other mana cores he had found on the dracasses. He thought that he had already seen something like that someday, but he didn''t remember where.


    He put it away and began to cut the meat of this beast, but before he could even start the operation, he heard a violet shrill coming from a near distance. Rohan carefully looked around him as he stood up while drawing back his sword.


    A twig broke at his left. Footsteps approached from his right. Screams appeared in front of him. Rohan''s face became ugly as he slowly stepped back with his sword in front of him.


    The whole forest became even noisier as countless screams and shrills were coming from the three directions. The forest was opening the path to numerous beasts charging over there, and without the need to see them, Rohan knew he was in a really bad situation.


    Facing probably several tens of creatures wanting to avenge their comrades, Rohan, the powerful rank 5 Beginner Warrior as well as mighty rank 1 Beginner Wizard, chose the most courageous decision he could in the instant.


    "Fuck."


    he turned around, and without waiting for anything, he fled with the highest speed he could muster. He didn''t care anymore about being the least noisy possible or anything.


    Using his powerful body with extreme efficiency, Rohan charged through the bushes and lush, destroying branches and weak plants on his path.


    After a few seconds of running away at full speed, the screams of the beast intensified with a palpable rage and indignation. They should have encountered the dead body of their companion.


    Sweat broke out from Rohan''s back as he heard the countless beast rushing in his direction while screaming as if he had killed some of their members. Which was the case, but still.


    Sadly, Rohan didn''t know anymore where he was as he simply ran in a random direction. From the monkey he had killed, he had clearly seen how fast and nimble they were. Rohan didn''t have any confidence in his speed, and instead of running in a straight line, he abruptly decided to run toward the left.


    Maybe that way the monkeys would continue forward. Or at least it was his goal. Unfortunately, he heard the screams on his back nearing him not even a minute later.


    He resisted the urge to shout out loud from frustration and darted forward, inside this unknown forest.

 Chapter 114 - Fearsome Wind Blade

    Rohan ran through the forest as he jumped over the large roots and broke the branches on his way. The screams and shrills coming from behind came closer and closer, and now Rohan could even hear the rushed footsteps of those monkeys.


    Even when running at his maximum speed, he couldn''t lose those beasts. What baffled Rohan was that they were faster than him, he couldn''t continue this way. His endurance was far higher than an ordinary man''s, but that didn''t mean he wouldn''t be exhausted at some point.


    If those monkeys were tenacious enough to not let him flee away, then he would have to fight in any case. Rohan''s eyes became colder. Since he must fight, then he would fight with his full energy.


    Following this thought, Rohan leaped to his left and rushed for a short distance. After a few seconds, he once again charged to his left. He wasn''t mad enough to charge in the center of the unknown number of monkeys. He decided to attack the flank.


    He lowered his body and paid attention to where he was putting his feet. Like a ghost, he headed straight to the left side of the monkeys, dodging all the bushes and branches, making the least noises he could.


    Soon, he came into contact with the first monkeys. By luck, Rohan had perfectly evaded encirclement, and the monkeys were all stretching on his left. Unfortunately, even while he charged toward the monkey at the extreme side of the group of beasts, he was shocked beyond words.


    The forest was incredibly luxuriant, and it was hard to see more than a few meters away. Even so, the monkeys appearing in his view were almost ten, and he could hear more of them going toward him.


    The moment the eyes of the beasts met the ones of Rohan, they screamed violently, answered by countless ones coming from the left. Then, without waiting, they threw themselves with rage and bloodlust filling their red eyes.


    Rohan couldn''t help but shudder at this sight. Maybe he should have kept running to hope for a way out. He unsheathed his blade with a clear hum. There were already ten of them, and he reckoned that more of them were currently coming this way. He didn''t have the choice anymore.


    Before the beasts came closer, Rohan lifted his left arm. He prepared for any pain to appear and decided to use the strange red mana. It crackled under his control inside the mana stone, like lightning licking the stone from the interior.


    It was strange, but Rohan didn''t feel any discomfort as he willed the red mana to enter the rune on his arm. Even though it still crackled, he had no difficulties moving it the way he wanted, and in less than a second, the rune shone a red light under his sleeve.


    The mana used inside the rune fused with the wind to condense a blade hovering in front of Rohan. It was a transparent blade, made of almost invisible wind. But Rohan immediately saw the differences.


    The wind blade appeared to be larger and longer than a normal wind blade, but the most troubling fact was that it seemed to be unstable as the mana crepitated. Instead of the sharp and smooth wind blade, it was a fearsome and rough blade. If someone kept observing it, he would even be able to see a faint red aura on it, blinding in the transparent form.


    The monkeys weren''t idle during this second, and with their rage exploding in screams, they were already in front of Rohan. The young wizard threw the wind blade and prepared to strike with his sword. But before the blade could cleave down, it stopped in midair.


    Rohan watched dumbfoundedly at the might of his spell. The crackling wind blade split the first monkey into two halves before this one could even realize anything. But that wasn''t shocking, as the defense of those beasts wasn''t high, and this one was too close to dodge the blade.


    What made Rohan''s jaw fall on the soil was the following. Since Rohan had appeared on the flank, the monkeys charging toward him were almost all in line. After the wind blade split the first one, it continued its way without being weakened. Its speed was the same as it cut through the air and landed against the second body.


    The monkey watched with horror as his own body wasn''t offering any protection. It was simply cleaved apart, allowing the spell to continue its way. All the monkeys weren''t in a perfect line, but it didn''t impede the spell from chopping off their arms, cutting through their waist, and making them bleed a torrent of red liquid.


    With a single spell, three of the monkeys were dead while five of them were heavily injured. Such a result was sufficient to make Rohan''s blood boil inside his body.


    He thought that he would have to flee against so many powerful magical beasts. His mana wasn''t infinite after all. But now that he saw the tree behind the monkeys with a large cut on it and the branches on the ground along with the dead bodies and limbs in the blood, Rohan tightened his blade and charged against the injured monkeys. Finally, he might have a way to kill them all.


    He slashed his weapon against the slow monkey in front of him. This one yelled as he dodged the first blow and was tempted to attack with his long nail, but Rohan was faster. He cleaved his sharp sword to the right, and before the monkey could react, the sharp edges had already reached his body.


    The sword cut the skin and flesh while the strength behind this blow destroyed the ribs. With horrible pain, the monkey lost his life. Rohan didn''t stop there. He removed his weapon with a quick and spun it around, just in time to meet the nails of a second monkey. This one was lucky enough to not be injured by his spell, but Rohan didn''t want to occupy himself with this one.


    He had learned from the fight with the first monkey. A fight with one of them head-on would take too much time, and as he was beginning to discern the other monkeys coming his way, he didn''t want to be locked there.


    He could only throw five spells after all, and he wanted to use them perfectly to kill the most monkeys possible.


    He constantly retreated while defending against the monkeys. At the first opportunities showing here and there, Rohan killed the injured monkeys that were losing too much blood, decreasing their speed.


    After only a few seconds, more monkeys had appeared in front of him. His heartbeat became louder and louder like a drum on his chest. Although he thought his plan was perfect, he was shocked at how many magical beasts were after him.


    His expression turned solemn. He didn''t know where he was, but for so many beasts to show at the same time, obviously coming from a large herd, this forest should be far from being a simple wooden area near his homeland.


    Rohan passed a few seconds to lure the monkeys where he wanted them to go, and once he thought he was perfect, he activated another wind blade.

 Chapter 115 - A Giant Monkey

    Rohan slashed his sword at the monkey in front of him. This one, with an arm missing and a large cut on its body, was unable to dodge the blow. Blood spurted in the forest, and another body fell on the ground.


    Countless monkeys were now dead at his feet, and Rohan looked with dread at the seemingly infinite number of beasts coming his way. The situation was far from being as simple as a few monkeys chasing him for the murder of one of them.


    They kept coming one after another from the same direction, and there was now a large pack in front of him. He was starting to feel exhausted. He dodged to the right and deflected another blow on the left. He stepped back carefully, minding every gesture he made while he tried to evade every single nail from those mad monkeys.


    But they were far too numerous, he couldn''t eternally evade them. He saw one of them attacking his flank. He leaped on the side and used the sword to parry the sharp nails. With a loud crash, Rohan stumbled on the side as another one of these magical beasts slashed in front of him.


    Without more solution, he dropped to the ground and rolled away pathetically. The nails only grazed his back as another cut added itself to his body, tinting his clothes with a red line.


    The tunic he was wearing was only a basic one since he had lost his armor. With nothing more than a piece of fabric to defend his body, the nails easily injured Rohan.


    Since the start of this exhausting battle, Rohan had received more blows than he had expected. But his mind was as calm as ever. The situation was dire, he knew it, but he forced himself to keep a steady mind in the middle of this tough fight.


    He slashed here and there with his blade, without targeting the vital area of any beast. He had his own goal, and that wasn''t to kill them one by one, as he would die from exhaustion before he could kill them all. He pushed his swordsmanship and footwork to the maximum of his capacities, slowly luring the monkeys as if he was playing with them.


    Now! Rohan suddenly jumped back and immediately followed by activating a wind blade. With the amount of time he had unleashed this spell, he was becoming more and more proficient with it. Although he was becoming familiar with the rune, it was a tough prospect to decrease the time he needed for activating his spell.


    That was because the control Rohan had over his mana was already excellent since the start, and wasn''t expecting to be seen at all in a Beginner wizard. Normally, a rank 1 Beginner Wizard that had learned a spell needed a lot of training before he could raise his proficiency enough to launch a spell in a fight.


    Otherwise, he would have to take several seconds, or maybe a whole minute to make his mana snake correctly on the rune to activate it. Such a speed made a spell useless in a fight.


    But Rohan wasn''t like any normal rank 1 Beginner Wizard. Even back when he had become a warrior, he only needed a short time before he was able to use a skill. He was already able to throw the spell in less than a second, and that was excellent. Because of his own talent, it was complicated to further improve.


    The rough wind blade summoned by Rohan the third time flew in a straight line, splitting everything there was on its path. Rohan had taken long minutes to gather the monkeys the way he wanted, harvesting several injuries at the same time. But the results made Rohan overjoyed.


    Blood flew all around as the terrible sound of flesh being cleanly cut apart as well as the horrible screams of pain of the monkeys filled the area. Following this bloodbath, Rohan charged forward with his sword ready to strike.


    His sword flashed at an incredible speed as he killed the injured monkeys. He had cut through so many bones and flesh that Rohan saw his blade becoming less sharp the more it pierced and slashed. It was his only weapon. He knew that if he lost it now, he would be doomed. But he could only continue to kill them all.


    After the slaughter of those monkeys, he saw another wave stomping with even more rage on the dead bodies. Rohan was alarmed and puzzled as he wielded his sword. He only had killed a monkey, was it necessary to throw away their lives just to avenge one of them?


    But this time, the monkeys acted differently, making Rohan feel uneasy. They roared and screamed at him. Some even threw some twigs against him while spitting saliva everywhere because of their rage. But none of them charged to attack their archenemy.


    A second ago they were ready to submerge the young man without caring about their lives, but now they decided to keep a distance between them and Rohan. He couldn''t understand, but he prepared himself for the worst.


    A terrible roar shook the forest. Rohan widened his eyes as he slowly increased the distance with the monkeys. Chills ran down his back as he tightened his grip over his blade. troubles were incoming.


    This roar sounded exactly like those beasts in front of him, but the voice and might were far above. Without a doubt, it was the leader of this pack of monkeys. Or more exactly the leader of this herd, as the number kept increasing, making Rohan''s heart go crazy inside his chest.


    The beast looking frighteningly at him all shut their mouths at the same time. Then, as if the dozens of beasts had their minds connected, they all made a path at the same time.


    Because of the numerous trees filled with blood in front of him, Rohan only heard the loud footsteps of the beast approaching. The forest creaked under its weight, and soon, a giant monkey appeared behind the countless monkeys.


    Those magical monkeys were smaller than Rohan, but they still reached his chest without difficulties. However, this one was different. Rohan was forced to lift his chin as the giant monkey was at least three meters tall.


    His fur was the same brown as the other monkeys that looked like children near this giant, but terrible scars were on its chest. It was the marks of five claws diagonally stretching from its left shoulder to its right hip. Any powerful beast that had inflicted such wounds could only be incredible.


    The great monkey stood in front of Rohan with its red eyes staring at him. There was mad anger in them, but there was also a cruel intelligence. Rohan felt that his luck had turned sour.


    Rohan prepared mentally for this tough fight, and suddenly, the big monkey roared to the sky and rushed on his four toward Rohan.


    His speed was far above any other monkeys, but at least those weren''t moving. Maybe they wanted to let their leader duel him.


    But just as this thought entered his mind, as the giant monkey waved with his terrible nails as long as short swords to attack Rohan, all the other monkeys charged behind their leade

 Chapter 116 - Fighting The Herd

    Rohan used his sword to parry the attack of the giant monkey. The powerful claws swept the air before connecting with his weapon with a violent crash. The force of this monkey was several times higher than those smaller ones, and far above his own.


    Without the capacity to protect against it, his body was sent flying a few meters away. Inside this luxuriant forest, Rohan collided with a large tree on his way. He felt his body breaking from the choc. But the time wasn''t to think about his injuries.


    He straightened his body and waved his sword, just in time to defend against one of the monkeys slashing his long nails. He couldn''t even protect his body for a few seconds before the leader of this herd appeared with an extreme speed.


    Under the assault of this powerful beast and the countless other ones, Rohan could only defend himself. He didn''t even have the time to launch a spell, and without more solutions, he decided to use a skill.


    He didn''t want to use it earlier. The difference with the mana stone was that the mana of a warrior would spread inside his limb after he used a skill. Since Rohan''s mana was now the strange unstable bloody red one, Rohan wasn''t confident to use it. But the situation was a dire one.


    He waved his sword here and there, trying to defend against the powerful monkey. Each of his blows made his arm shaken, and small notches appeared one after another on the blade. But the beast was too fast, and with the other monkeys restraining his movement, it was almost impossible to evade.


    He deflected one of his attacks, and instantly, Rohan activated Strengthened Blow to counterattack.


    The red mana rushed toward the first meridian and filled it almost instantly. With an explosive strength, the mana crepitated as it spread on his right arm. Contrary to what Rohan was expecting, there was no pain at all. However, the strength inside his arm reached an unimaginable stage.


    His blade cleaved apart the air with terrible hissing. Rohan himself had difficulties seeing his own sword slashing toward the throat of the giant monkey, much less the other monkeys. But Rohan couldn''t believe his eyes.


    Even with such a speed, the giant monkey nimbly evaded the weapon, with only a few strands of fur being cut. But its move wasn''t finished there, and just after evading this mighty sword, it leaned on the side and posed its left hand on the side. Then it carried on and in this strange position, it gave a powerful kick forward.


    Rohan didn''t have the time to defend or dodge. The kick was made flawlessly with an unbelievable speed for such a giant monkey, but this one was far more dexterous than what Rohan had first thought.


    The foot crashed on his body, and with a grunt leaving his mouth, he was sent flying like an arrow before crashing against a tree. He couldn''t help but spit some blood under the power of this blow. The pain was intense as Rohan stood up again with his sword.


    The infinite number of monkeys wouldn''t give him time to rest, and they instantly rushed again. He couldn''t play around and Rohan decided to throw two wind blades. He didn''t aim for the large one coming his way but for the smaller ones swarming toward his position.


    He sent them both horizontally one next to the other to swipe them all. Following the spells, Rohan decisively took out a potion from his bag and gulped it immediately. During this small window he had created for him, the monkeys were mowed by the sharp spells. Nails, fur, or bones, nothing could stop those wind blades to cut them all in half.


    Even a tree was destroyed as wood fragments flew all around. It leaned on the side and collided with another tree before it fell violently against the ground. The numerous monkeys all over the area tried to evade this large tree but a chunk of them couldn''t file in time. They were smashed by it.


    A remnant of a blade even reached the giant monkey, but this one didn''t even try to dodge it. Its nails as long as daggers swept the air before meeting the spell. The wind blades were solid blades made of wind, and encountering the claws slashing it, the spell that had already passed through numerous bodies broke apart and dissipated in the air.


    From where Rohan was, he could see two small notches on the nails of this giant monkey. It was nothing, but at least it meant it wasn''t indestructible.


    The might of his two spells was simply breathtaking. Almost thirty monkeys had been touched by them, and apart from the lucky ones on the sides, all the others were now on the ground cleaved apart. The green forest was now painted with a disgusting red while guts lay all around.


    The horrible metallic smell was all over the place, and along with the bloodthirsty eyes of the monkeys, Rohan thought he was in hell.


    The rest of the herd screamed as they charged against Rohan, standing alone with his raised weapon. They threw away their lives. They only wanted to cut this human into thin pieces. Rohan wasn''t foolish enough to believe he could flee, and with a solemn expression, he waited for the swarm to reach him again.


    The giant monkey rushed as well, and with its incredible speed, it arrived first in front of Rohan. He didn''t believe that normal magical beasts would disregard their lives at this point. Thus, the only plan of Rohan was to kill this leader. It was the only thing he could do at this point, but this beast was the most fearsome opponent Rohan had ever fought.


    Its strength was far above him. Its speed and dexterity weren''t something expected in a beast of this size, and its reflexes were simply godly. Rohan concentrated. He put away the pain he was feeling.


    There was only him, the giant monkeys, and the smaller one. There was no blood anymore, no smell, no pain. His environment wasn''t the green lively forest anymore, it was only obstacles to be used to survive.


    He slashed to his left and ducked a violent attack of the giant monkey. He leaped back and turned around a tree to defend himself from a few attacks. The monkeys had difficulties following his dance, but the giant one followed suit, making Rohan sweat like never before.


    Rohan''s eyes were not the same anymore. There was only his survival in play, and he would do everything to keep it. He parried another attack and flicked his wrist to send away the most force.


    ''Now I''ll make you suffer!'' A cold glint appeared in his eyes as he saw the perfect opening. He used Charge and with an explosive speed, Rohan appeared on the right of the beast. Along with the trees and leaves all around, as well as the arm of the beast sent away by his flick to the side, the giant monkey couldn''t react in time.


    Rohan continued with a Strengthened Blow and chopped toward the tall beast. This one, with an extreme reflex, turned its body and met the sword with its left claws. But Rohan was expecting it. With a cold smile, he lifted his left arm and threw the last wind spell he could throw thanks to the potion he had drunk earlier.


    The wind blade had only a short distance to cross. The monkey couldn''t defend in time. The blade tore his flesh and cut through the bone. The beast howled in terror and pain as its left arm, still locked by Rohan''s sword, split from its body before falling on the ground.


    The fight had only begun.

 Chapter 117 - A Terrible Beast

    The giant monkey screamed as its arm lay on the ground. Rohan didn''t waste this opportunity and charged again. He activated Overload, giving him the ability to easily dodge all the monkeys throwing their bodies on him to defend their leader.


    The red mana filled his mind as Rohan''s eyes were reflecting a bit of red light. The slowing effect it had around him was the same as before, but the minute details he observed were more precise than what the skill gave him before with the normal white mana.


    Rohan still didn''t know what this strange mana was, nor if it was a bad omen if he kept using it, but the power it gave him was far above his previous capacity.


    He stepped to the left to let an arm miss him. He slightly moved his head to let the teeth almost graze his cheek. Inside this world, only he could see, Rohan carefully shifted his body and placed it perfectly while the giant monkey was feeling rage and pain. Its eyes landed on the human moving at high speed in his direction.


    Arriving in front of the beast staring at him with red eyes full of rage, Rohan perfectly sized the initiative. His mana exploded once again inside his arm as he slashed with his sword. The monkey tried to defend itself with its claws, but under the control of Rohan, his sword delicately passed through the defense.


    The monkey only saw the blurred sword missing his defense and dangerously approached his body. With an extreme reflex, it leaned back its body to dodge the blow, but he was too slow.


    The tip of the sword easily entered its body, and with a large gesture to the left, its flesh was cut apart as blood dripped on its fur.


    Feeling once again the pain coming from this target, the beast roared while all the other monkeys became even madder. The cut was far from being deadly, and under the assault of the monkeys, Rohan had no choice but to defend.


    Suddenly, a terrible roar shook the forest. The fight stopped instantly. The fearsome monkeys, ready to throw away their lives without difficulties, abruptly stopped in their tracks. Even the giant monkey didn''t dare to scream about its wounds.


    All the magical beasts looked with dread behind Rohan. This one felt his expression fall. In the eyes of those monkeys, there was a fear that made the young warrior gulp down.


    It wasn''t just the monkeys in front of him, it was the whole forest that became silent. The beast that had just screamed wasn''t a weak one.


    It was at this moment that the herd of monkeys retreaded with great speed. The giant monkey didn''t even glance at Rohan even though he had badly injured it, and the powerful magical beast flew away without wasting any seconds.


    Rohan didn''t know what to do. The roar obviously echoed from behind him, but he couldn''t move forward in the same direction as the beasts wanting him dead.


    But before he could make any choice, his instinct screamed inside his head. His body plopped on the ground as an unimaginable fear appeared in his heart. The forest cracked and the earth trembled under the might of the footsteps of the beast.


    The terrible crash of footsteps came from far away, but Rohan could easily sense the Aura coming from a mighty being. He couldn''t even see what it was, but the sensation he felt was even worse than the day he had looked the Supreme Warrior in the eyes.


    Rohan''s body lay there, without any possibility of being moved. His muscles refused to move at all while he could only play the dead. What was this damn forest? What was this terrifying existence? Rohan didn''t know, and he wasn''t sure if he wanted to have an answer.


    The footsteps shaking the whole world kept getting closer and closer, forcing Rohan to pray for any hope of surviving. He couldn''t move, he couldn''t flee. He waited there, for this existence which had an Aura so powerful it could paralyze him from such a distance to move on rapidly.


    Each time the forest shook, it was doing it so much harder. From the frequency of the pace as well as the power between each footstep, Rohan concluded that whatever being it was, it was so colossal that he would probably not be enough to serve as a dessert. At least, it left some chance for it to not be interested in his small body.


    The creature kept approaching, but soon, Rohan felt that hope wasn''t completely lost. The footsteps were getting closer, but it was doing so while slightly deviating to his left. If luck was by his side, and Rohan wasn''t sure about this, then the beast would ultimately pass to the side while never seeing the young warrior lying in such an inconspicuous place.


    But a thought made Rohan want to cry out loud. The place he was currently lying on was full of blood and dead bodies as he had killed countless monkeys. If the beast was attracted by the smell of blood, he would simply die.


    The minutes passed, crushing Rohan with intense stress. But this time, Rohan was lucky.


    The violent footsteps crashing on the ground were now obviously deviating, and the beast passed Rohan on his left. It wasn''t far from Rohan, but he wasn''t able to see anything as his view was obstructed by the luxuriant forest. He felt overjoyed.


    Unfortunately, this joyful feeling didn''t last long. He wasn''t in this forest for more than a few hours, and he had already met so many magical beasts, as well as a powerful one that could treat Rohan as an insect.


    As this unknown beast started to move away from Rohan, he decided to stand up. He breathed out, and reinforcing his resolve, he decided to use the short time he had while the monkeys were away. It was unknown if they would chase after him after the passage of this monster, but Rohan couldn''t let go of such an opportunity.


    He took out one of the daggers in his bag, and while the forest was still shaking from time to time, Rohan became once again a scavenger.


    There were countless bodies in front of him, and all of them were actually magical beasts. They all had a mana core in their heart, and Rohan rushed to take them all.


    He didn''t waste any time and went from one body to another. He efficiently cut open the heart and took a red cristal before putting it inside his bag. Soon, the unique crystal became ten, and the ten crystals became tens and tens of them. Rohan wasn''t really paying attention as he only thought about killing them and surviving, but the number of bodies wasn''t that far from being a hundred.


    He used all his strength to push away a fallen tree, only to see several tens of bodies. Rohan happily took out their crystals, and once he believed there was no other cristal in the area, he quickly fled away.


    His direction was the place from where the colossal beast was coming. He didn''t want to encounter this beast, and he thought that there should be no other beast around its path.. Inside this strange forest filled to the brink of monsters, Rohan felt it was the best solution he currently had.

 Chapter 118 - Perfect To Become Stronger

    Rohan ran inside the forest at high speed. He nimbly evaded the branches and obstacles along the way, sharpening his footwork inside this horrifying forest.


    After a short time of running away from the slaughtered monkeys Rohan was responsible for, he finally stopped and stood there, watching with a stunned expression in front of him. He expected nothing less, but seeing it with his own two eyes was a hard blow.


    A large footprint had destroyed the trees, creating a small clearing where the sun, previously filtered by the treetops, was now shining with a bright light. The size of this footprint was five meters wide with five claws engraved on the ground.


    The beast was definitely colossal, and Rohan certainly didn''t want to encounter it. The trees were high as they pointed to the sky, with some of them might be ten or fifteen meters. For them to be flattened on the ground as vulgar twigs, Rohan really didn''t want to imagine what monster it was.


    The most shocking part was that there was still a lingering aura on the footprints. Rohan''s heart palpitated as he felt the mighty power on it. But it was perfect. Without hesitation, he continued forward, distancing himself from this godly beast and the monkeys.


    The other prints were the same: extremely dominating. Because of this, Rohan didn''t hear any noises in this part of the forest. No beast dared to approach with this aura inscribed on the ground, granting an almost tranquil trip for the young man rushing forward.


    He didn''t know where he was going, so he simply chose the most protected road. Maybe at the end, there was a nest with tens of such godly beasts, but at least Rohan knew this way was safe compared to anywhere else in this damn forest.


    The night was starting to fall. Rohan didn''t have the guts to lit a fire in this place, and sleeping on the ground was far from being the best idea. He decided it was time to stop for the day, and climbed a tree after having chosen the correct one.


    Having the time to catch his breath, Rohan finally looked inside his mana core and mana stone. He was indeed right. After he had drunk a potion during the fight, he had used a wind blade.


    This one, instead of being powered by the white normal mana that was inside the potion, was the strange and powerful red one that had appeared. Now that he had a clear view inside his mana stone, he saw that there wasn''t a trace of white mana. It was all red as if there had never been anything else.


    He concentrated. His mana hadn''t fully recovered from the fight, and the ambient mana was still regenerating his mana pools. The mana, white and pure, was attracted as it entered his mind to head inside his mana stone. Until then, there was no problem.


    But the instant the mana entered the stone, the situation made Rohan frown. The white and red couldn''t coexist, and the instant the two factions touch each other, the white mana was immediately transformed into the red. Even if Rohan tried to separate the two different mana, he couldn''t do so until the end of his life without moving.


    Rohan looked around him. He carefully observed every tree he could see, and as he couldn''t hear anything nor see any beast, he decided to try something. He closed his eyes, he sighed as he relaxed his mind.


    He willed the red mana and moved it around. It was still crackling, even under his control. Even after long minutes passed to familiarize himself with it, Rohan had difficulties restraining and creating a perfectly smooth thread.


    But Rohan wasn''t someone who would give up at the first obstacle. He put his mind and all his thoughts toward this delicate operation, and after a long time sitting on the top of a tree with his eyes closed, Rohan finally smiled.


    The red mana that was inside his mana stone was now transformed into a thin thread hovering there under his control. He didn''t waste any more time and controlled it toward the walls of the stone, where the drawing of a white rune was stretching with complicated strokes.


    He didn''t know if it would work, but Rohan wanted to try it. It was a foolish idea, but Rohan decided to move the thin thread he had created and draw once again the rune. He didn''t continue where he had stopped some time ago, but he drew the first stroke, above the first one.


    The instant the red mana was engraved against the stone, the first stroke transformed from the previous white to the now bloody red. The whole stone shook as Rohan had a strange feeling. The instant he stopped his drawing, he realized he had already used up all his mana.


    An extreme feeling of pleasure filled his mind as he saw his mind strengthening. It was the first time Rohan had felt such a sensation. But after a few minutes, the pleasure dispersed and only an empty feeling remained.


    Suddenly, a strange idea struck Rohan as he opened his eyes.


    "Could it be?" His soft murmur broke the silence of the night, but he couldn''t care less. This idea was just ridiculous. How could it be possible?


    Excitement filled his heart as he opened his bag. He took out the Essence Stone, and immediately activated it. But his expectations were crushed the instant his eyes fell on the data.


    Race: human


    Age: 17 years old


    Constitution: 7.02


    Mana: 35.20 / 64.54


    Spirit: 11


    Rohan had thought that this impression he had felt was because his spirit was growing, but this idea quickly crumbled before his eyes. He dejectedly put away the stone as he thought that he didn''t even have the freedom to dream.


    He should be the stronger rank 5 Beginner Warrior of the south of the continent at least. Maybe some monsters of the north coming from powerful families with better talent or resources could reach the same constitution, but such physical strength while being a rank 5 Beginner Warrior should be rare.


    There would be an explosion once he would reach the Intermediate rank, but it would still take a long time before Rohan could reach it.


    Since he had already attempted to increase his wizard''s rank, Rohan decided to do the same with the warrior''s one and closed his eyes once again. This time, he focused on the construction of the vortex. His expression changed immediately.


    There wasn''t an obvious change when he decided to draw the first stroke of the rune on his mana stone. There was indeed a strange emotion that had appeared, but other than that, there really was nothing else.


    However, the change here was simply breathtaking for the mana inside his meridian.


    The destructive side of the red mana and the corrosive power was far more obvious than before. As Rohan made the mana spin inside his meridian, this one broadened much more easily than the previous sessions of meditation he had taken.


    He didn''t know if there was a hidden danger in having this strange mana, but at least for now, it was perfect to become stronger.


    A big smile appeared on his face as he took out a mana core from a beast to replenish his mana.

 Chapter 119 - How To Light A Spark?

    Rohan opened his eyes as the sun was waking up. He hadn''t slept at all, but it wouldn''t do much to a warrior to not sleep a full night. He lowered his eyes and looked at the mana cores on his hands.


    This forest, home of mad monkeys which had almost killed him, of a colossal beast suspected to be as strong as a Supreme Warrior from its Aura, and situated in an unknown and unauspicious region.


    It was enough to make Rohan want to flee for his life as fast as possible. But this small crystal on his hand, as big as a walnut, made Rohan feel an urge to chase after the monkeys to kill them all.


    He previously had thought he had already encountered those kinds of cores, but he couldn''t remember it. With the assault of the monkeys, he didn''t have the time to put much thought into it back then, but now it was obvious. Although it was smaller, much smaller, the cores he had taken from the monkeys reminded him of the red crystal back when he had become a warrior.


    Compared with the mana cores coming from the dracasses, those were filled with much more mana. It even baffled Rohan as the monkeys didn''t seem to be this strong. For them to have such a quantity of mana, the only explanation was because of this place.


    Even on the Barren Lands, known to be devoid of mana, the dracasses had a mana core containing a bit more mana than what possessed Rohan. In this strange forest, the density of this intangible energy should be higher, but Rohan wasn''t sure if he was feeling it.


    He put back the cores inside his bag, and with a jump, he landed on the ground. Just like that, Rohan started his second day inside this forest filled with danger.


    He continued in the same direction, following the traces left on the soil. However the remnant of energy had disappeared during the night, and this path wasn''t a deterrent anymore. The birds flew around without caring about anything, masters of the sky as they mocked this human on land.


    The forest was once again lively, and a few hours after Rohan had started to travel, he discerned a trace on the soil, in between some green plants and dried leaves. He approached the area and crouched down.


    With the help of his finger, he drew the contour. An animal. He looked behind him and focused on the ground. Indeed, there were other marks here and there. Rohan smiled wryly. He was still far from being experienced, he was just lucky his eyes had looked in this direction.


    It was the second day inside this forest, and the lack of resources would develop into a nasty issue. He couldn''t recognize the beast with only the trace it had left behind it, but Rohan was almost certain it should be alone, as well as being small.


    He took out a dagger from his bag and tracked down this animal, praying for it to not be a dangerous foe. Apart from the food, his body would also require water. Although he had a resilient body that could survive without many resources, it was only for a short time, and there was also an inconvenience.


    His body would indeed take some time before it withered totally, but it meant at the same time that he would need more food and water to replenish all his strength. Furthermore, that was without taking into account the wounds he had on his body.


    Without any armor to protect a minimum of his body, the monkeys had successfully injured him a few times. It didn''t impede his movement for now, but a water source was what he wanted to find to clean his body. He only had so much water inside his gourd, and he wouldn''t dare to throw it away like that.


    Rohan carefully advanced with his body lowered, hiding on the green foliage. By luck, he was facing the wind, and he wouldn''t have to think about contouring the whole area. Suddenly, weak rustles made the leaves move.


    He tightened his dagger, ready to aim for the animal. Only a few meters in front of him, the movement became turbulent and soon, a small animal left his hiding place.


    Rohan was momentarily stunned as he watched the small animal jump around. His dagger was frozen on his hand, aiming for his future mean. A smile bloomed on his face. He allowed the small animal, covered with white fur to hop for a few seconds. Then, with terrifying precision, he threw his weapon.


    There was no need to use any skill, as his strength sent the blade blurred in the air. The cute animal hadn''t seen anything strange, and it would never understand what happened. The tip of the dagger easily penetrated its skull, killing the rabbit on the spot.


    Rohan truly wasn''t expecting such a normal animal to appear here. The appearance of the powerful beast shaking the world and silencing the forest must have biased his assumptions on this place. This was proof there weren''t only magical beasts waiting to drink his blood and cut him into pieces in this place!


    Rohan shook his head and walked toward his target. It was quite sad to kill an animal this cute, but Rohan couldn''t care less at this point. His survival had priority over everything else, and with so much blood he had on his hands from the monkeys, one more beast wouldn''t add a lot anyway.


    He immediately removed the skin and meat of the rabbit. He only had spent three months with the Blackwolf clan, but what he had learned was extremely useful here. Who would have thought he would have once again to survive in a forest by himself. Rohan let a soft sigh leave his mouth.


    He cleaned his hand with a few leaves and covered the meat with some large ones. he had already removed the blood, but now there was another problem. He needed to light a fire to eat it.


    He gazed for a short time at the spot where the rune of the spell wind blade was. Couldn''t this wizard at least let behind him a fire spell? How was he supposed to cook his meat now?


    Lighting a fire was something extremely basic that virtually everyone learned when they were a child. It was such an obvious skill to have that no one would even believe that someone didn''t know how to do it.


    Unfortunately, Rohan had lived the majority of his life inside a mansion with a couple of servants helping with the daily chores. The only fire he knew to light was the one inside the forge, but at least he only had to use different kinds of tools back then.


    But here, in the middle of a forest? Where would he find a silex, a furnace, or a bellows? Even the members of the Blackwolf clan hadn''t thought about teaching Rohan how to make a fire. How could they even think that this warrior was unable to make one?


    With more options, he could only try. He decided to make a fire here and took some random twigs.. Focusing more than ever before, Rohan went all out to try to light a small spark.

 Chapter 120 - A Strange Deer

    Rohan felt like crying. A small fire crackle as he was sitting beside it. He didn''t know anymore how much time he had taken to light this damn fire, but he felt like he had accomplished the goal of his life.


    He took out the meat of the rabbit and pierced it with his dagger, before holding it near the heat. The meat was slowly cooking, spreading to the surrounding an intoxicating smell. Rohan didn''t know if some beasts would be attracted because of that, but he couldn''t think of any solution to hide it.


    Thus, he decided to cook all the meat he had for it to be rationed for the next few days. The next meal would be quite frugal, but he didn''t really have a choice.


    He had discovered some fruits on his way, but he had no idea if it was edible. None of the plants he could find here was described inside the botanic book he had read and learned during the previous months. This felt like he was in another world, but it could simply be that Rohan was extremely far away from the Barren Lands and the south part of the continent.


    Maybe he was near the north. In any case, for Rohan to be in this forest even though he was inside a mountain before losing consciousness, the only explanation he could find was teleportation. Or the Intermediate Warrior had carried his unconscious body until he found this forest, but it was a bit unlikely.


    This time, Rohan was lucky as no beast pounced on him. The meat was rapidly cooked, and Rohan enveloped a large part with large leaves before putting it inside his bag. It would be cold later, but it should be edible.


    He stood up and quickly went out with a piece of meat in his hand. The lingering smell would still attract something in the end, and Rohan didn''t want to be here at this moment. Running through the forest while eating the rabbit meat, he took back the path toward the large footprints.


    It had completely lost its power and the beasts were now completely unfazed with it, but Rohan didn''t care. Although it wouldn''t protect him from encountering any dangerous beasts like the monkeys, it was at least an obvious path.


    Without it and with the sun struggling to show itself because of the trees, Rohan didn''t know if he could continue to walk in a straight line without losing himself at some point.


    The next few days were virtually all the same, albeit Rohan had encountered strange creatures along the way. He had even seen a deer, or at least it was what he had believed to be the moment he had tracked it.


    He had followed it for a few hundred meters before suddenly, the beast had turned around and looked deep inside his eyes. The first thing he had seen was the third eye on its forefront and a terrible headache. The instant after he looked back at the beast, it had already disappeared without noise.


    He couldn''t be sure, but Rohan had run away at high speed at this time. Such a strange magical beast that could move without noise or leaving any traces inside this forest even though he was tracking it was quite scary.


    Rohan had also hunted another rabbit, making up for the lack of food, but unfortunately, he couldn''t find a water source. He could only walk forward, hoping to hear or see a river. There was still some water inside his gourd, but he knew that he couldn''t continue this way.


    Each night, he was only sleeping a few hours, while all the others were used to increase his power. Along with the mana cores filled with mana, as well as his red mana, the creation of the vortex was so smooth that Rohan believed he could finish it in less than a month. Sadly, his number of cores wouldn''t be sufficient for a month.


    He would have no choice but to hunt some magical beasts if he wanted more of those cores. Even if the crystal cores were exclusively found inside the monkeys, even a normal core would help him to increase his rank, so any magical beast would do.


    Rohan was thinking about the past few days and his future plans as sweat flowed on his front. He was currently lying against the soil with plants hiding his body. He didn''t dare to move a single muscle, as he looked at the strange beast moving there. Indeed, it was this deer with three eyes.


    Was this beast following him or was he lucky enough to meet it a second time? He didn''t know, and the numerous actions he could choose to do appeared on his mind one after another.


    He could try to hunt it, stay here until it decided to get out or flee with high speed. He slowly moved his hand, centimeter after centimeters, lowering it toward his bag. The leaves around him rustled slightly, forcing Rohan to stop. He observed deeply the beast that was munching on some herbs. It shouldn''t have discovered him. Or at least he believed so.


    Rohan put his hand inside his bag without any noise, and as slowly as ever, he took out one of his two daggers. His sword wasn''t useful to hunt, and just unsheathing it would compromise his position anyway. The blade of the dagger was only a bit longer than his hand, and against a magical beast, it would hardly tickle it if he didn''t aim for the brain.


    The worst was that with the way he was currently lying against the ground with all kinds of plants surrounding him, as well as a few dried leaves inside his noise each time he was breathing, he couldn''t throw his weapon at all. His next movement should then be extremely perfect.


    The deer lowered its head to sniff at the ground to eat the best grass. Its eyes were fixed on the floor, and taking this chance, Rohan stood up with lightning speed. The instant he got up, the deer also looked at the warrior. There was no fear in its eyes. It was as if it was waiting for this and its third eye shone as it stared straight at Rohan. Not good.


    His mind exploded with excruciating pain as if a loud bell reverberated from the inside of his head. Even though he felt dizzy, Rohan didn''t stop his movement. He controlled his mana inside his right arm and threw the dagger with a Strengthened Blow. The projectile pierced through all foliage and flew toward the beast.


    But this one was nowhere to be seen. In the slight second when Rohan had been distracted by the terrible pain, the beast had simply disappeared in the air.


    With a loud shoc, the blade he had thrown was deeply sunken inside a tree. The force of the blow was intense as even the handle sunk inside the tree, deforming the iron.


    Rohan quickly rushed forward and looked at his surroundings. Like the previous time, there was no trace of the beast being there at all.. The grass it was eating was indeed there with a few teeth marks on some of them, but there was no trace of footprints. What was this beast?

 Chapter 121 - An Empty Village

    After encountering the strange deer two times, Rohan didn''t see it again. He still didn''t know what was this beast that could disappear like that. This forest was indeed full of all sorts of creatures.


    Rohan continued his way inside this forest, trying to find a way out. He ran through the bushes and the trees, but the region seemed to be endless. With the speed he could muster, and since it is already the fifth day he was in this place, he had already crossed hundreds and hundreds of kilometers.


    The flora was still the same all this time, but it suddenly changed on the sixth day.


    After jumping off a tree as every morning, Rohan took back the road, rushing in a direction to find an exit. His gourd had been empty since the day before already. If he couldn''t find some water that day, then Rohan would have to track a beast and follow it until it moved somewhere to drink.


    With this thought in mind, Rohan abruptly stopped to move. He still went after the footprints of the colossal beast, but as they were quite far away from one from another, there were patches of dense forest in between.


    The problem was after exiting one of those areas, Rohan expected to appear once again in front of a small clearing with the soil and trees destroyed. Unfortunately, what he saw standing in front of him was totally different from his expectations.


    He quickly retreated behind a tree and observed carefully to see if there was any movement. There, in front of him, the clearing wasn''t the small five meters of diameter footprint with five claws engraved on the soil. It was several hundred meters large.


    There wasn''t any tree, only green grass, and a high palisade surrounding what seemed to be a whole village. A village inside this terrible forest, as well as in between two footprints left behind by a colossal beast that still made Rohan shudder even though he hadn''t seen it. The young man couldn''t believe his own eyes.


    He waited as he looked at those palisades. Those were slightly taller than him and made of wood, with strange patterns drawn all over the infrastructure. The rooftops of some buildings could be seen beyond, proving the existence of inhabitants in this place. But after numerous minutes of watching over the village, Rohan didn''t hear nor see anything.


    The palisade was only ten meters away from him. If there were people inside this village, Rohan would have already heard them. He frowned. ''Could they be all dead already?''


    He took a branch on the ground and threw it over the wooden barrier with such a thought. It fell against a house, but there was nos response or anything. This village was empty.


    Rohan left his hiding place and turned around the palisade. Since there was no one inside, Rohan decided to enter via the entrance. While searching it, he continued to throw twigs, branches, and stones inside the area protected by the walls to be sure there was no one.


    The entrance was a large double door closed embedded in the palisade. Since there was no noise from the beginning, Rohan hesitated for a few seconds before going forward. He pushed the large wooden doors, but they didn''t move, not even a centimeter.


    His muscles swelled up as he used all the strength he had. The doors shook as dust flew around. A curse left Rohan''s mouth as he pushed again. Then, with a loud scraping against the floor, the two doors were pushed open. After the initial blockage, the doors opened easily without any issue.


    What welcomed Rohan was an empty village, with a few wooden houses standing here and there. It was small, barely enough for a few hundred people, but there was no one here.


    What was strange was even though there was no one present, nature didn''t take back its right. The grass was cut clean while some trees bore delicious-looking fruits. The exterior of the houses was all clean, and no plants were clinging to them.


    Rohan looked behind him, at the dense forest fighting the sunlight to keep their word in the dark. The clearing was cleanly delimited as if the forest didn''t dare to approach the walls of this soulless village. It was strange, but everything in this damn forest was strange, so Rohan walked forward and prepared himself for any problem.


    Apart from the few wooden houses and some trees, there was nothing else. The whole village encompassed an area with a diameter of five hundred meters, and at the center of the village, there was a larger building.


    This building was a two-story house and was longer than the other houses. It should be the main building, where the most important people lived. Unfortunately, nobody could enjoy the profit and power of living there.


    Rohan''s eyes only glanced a bit at this building, before staring straight at another area. A hopeful smile stretched on his face. Along with this main building, there were also a few other houses forming a square, surrounding the stone item in the center. In the middle of the whole village, there was a well.


    Rohan quickly moved toward this well and prayed for it to not be dried. Fortunately, the well was in a good state, and there was a full rope on the side with a wooden bucket tied to its extremity. Whoever had lived there one day, it shouldn''t be long ago.


    After verifying the other extremity of the rope attached and being sure it wouldn''t snap because of any deterioration, Rohan threw the bucket inside the long and narrow pit going straight to the center of the earth. Not even thirty seconds later, the splash of the wooden bucket hitting a large quantity of water echoed from the well.


    Rohan easily pulled the rope and with a relieved expression, he took out his gourd to fill it again with water. At least this place gave him water.


    Since he had nothing else to do and no other appointment, Rohan undressed eagerly and decided to clean himself with the water. There were some wounds on him and even if he had a powerful body, it was known by everyone that someone could die because of an untreated injury.


    After he was done, he simply wore back his clothes and strolled around. The tension he had in the forest surrounded by trees blocking his view at all times had already given way to curiosity, and Rohan visited every house of the village, hoping to find anything. Searching for a map was of course nothing more than a pipe dream, but there should be items that could help him.


    He began by the nearest houses. The houses were narrow and there weren''t a lot of items. Some wooden furniture, plates and other dishes, and a few clothes. The last ones were quite a good discovery, as Rohan only had the same clothes on him since he had appeared there.


    He had prepared a lot of them before entering the Barren Lands, but he had used them foolishly to stop the bleeding done by the strange red dome in the center of the Kolmos mountain. If he had known he would appear later here with all his injuries healed, he wouldn''t have destroyed them for no reason.


    After he was done with those houses, Rohan turned his face toward the larger building.. If anything could be useful, the chance to encounter something there was the highest.

 Chapter 122 - Pressure

    Rohan approached the main building. There was only one door, and it was far from the big mansions Rohan had seen here and there. It wasn''t big, but for someone to build it inside this forest, as well as this whole village, they were either crazy or as lost as Rohan.


    The door wasn''t locked, and in fact, along with the other doors he had seen on the other houses he had visited, there wasn''t anything to lock the doors. The wooden door squeaked as the sun once again entered the house. Rohan advanced his foot and walked inside.


    He passed through the doorstep and his right foot landed on the floor. The instant his foot touched the wooden flooring, his expression fell. An unbearable power crushed on his shoulder. His body crashed down, and his chest encountered the ground while his head violently collided with it.


    Rohan groaned as he tried to get up but he felt as if a herd of karags had suddenly jumped on his back to sleep. He couldn''t stand up. His bones creaked under the mighty pressure.


    "Shitty luck." Rohan cursed through his teeth as he put all the strength he had to push him out of the floor, but even trying to move his head away from it required more energy than he had believed.


    His body slowly rose. Forcing his body to get up and making his hands leave contact with the floor was terribly difficult, but Rohan wouldn''t give up there. Soon, his appearance was the same as an old grandpa with a hunched back, and without trying to turn around, he slowly retreated one step after another.


    As he had simply walked forward without waiting for a magnet to make him crash on the ground, he hadn''t taken any precaution to enter. Because of the momentum, all his body was inside the house. Rohan used every muscle and pushed in the same direction.


    Bit by bit, his feet found themselves out of the doorstep, and the moment they touched the grass exterior at the house, Rohan sensed the pressure lifting immediately.


    Under extreme effort and pathetic movement to move back, Rohan had finally gotten himself out of the house after long and terrifying seconds. He stood on his shaking legs as sweat had drenched his body from all over.


    He panted as he stared with shock at this wooden house. The entrance plunged into the dark was in full sight. It was nothing else but the lambda hall that could be found in any house out there, with wooden furniture and nothing else. What was this place? Rohan felt his mind crack. He should be the most unlucky warrior on the continent at this point.


    He stepped back and turned around to leave this damn village. Who knows, there might be a ghost that night or some monsters that would pounce on him at any moment. He decisively headed for the entrance of the village, but the more he advanced, the more he was slowing down.


    This house made him scared for his life. But there should be an item or something that made this pressure exercise its might. He stopped. Since he had been traveling around, fleeing for his life after the war, he had encountered another part of himself.


    Maybe he had read too many stories.


    He turned around once again and headed to the large house. He put down his bag on the ground and took out a pebble. For a second time, he stood in front of the house. His expression was solemn, but there was also a strange glint inside his eyes.


    He crouched down, and after widening his eyes to not miss everything, he passed his hand through the doorstep. His right hand holding the small stone hovered there, without any pressure. He lowered his body until his belly touched the ground, and he carefully posed his hand on the wooden floor.


    The moment his fingers touched, a mighty pressure appeared from nowhere and fell down on his hand. Rohan gritted his teeth and pushed with all his strength to lift his hand, but even his force of a rank 5 Beginner Warrior was far from being enough. His hand left the floor and stood there, shaking under Rohan''s control.


    His eyes began even more serious. He used Strengthened Blow. Mana flowed inside his arm as a terrifying force shook his limb. However, even with a strength that was enough to lift the whole building, the pressure was still there, only a bit more bearable for the young warrior.


    The skill ended as the mana and strength faded away. This pressure acted again on the powerless limb and attracted it toward the floor, and even with his strength, it didn''t remove at all the power acting there. The pressure was still too much for his body, and this no matter how much strength he used. Rohan frowned. He allowed the intangible power to make his hand crushed down, and while getting it back, he left the small stone there.


    After the hand was out of the house, the pressure naturally vanished. Rohan took out his dagger, and without touching the floor, he tried to bring back the stone with the blade.


    A light ting echoed as the iron connected to the stone, which was easily moving. Rohan had no difficulty bringing back the pebble. The pressure only acted on his body once it touched the floor. Even when the tip of the sword touched it, there was no problem, so why was there pressure when it was his shoes that entered in contact with the floor earlier?


    Many questions entered Rohan''s mind as he tried to understand the situation. Finally, he couldn''t restrain his curiosity. Whatever item there was in this house that necessitated such pressure would be far from being normal.


    And apart from this pressure, there didn''t seem to be anything else. At least, no person or beast had suddenly attacked him out of the blue, so it was a good sign.


    Rohan took out his sword, posed it on the side, and only kept the light clothes on him. His plan was ridiculous, but luckily he was alone in this godforsaken place. Thus, no one would be able to see how pathetic he would be.


    And even if people saw him, if he discovered a magical item or something like that, he wouldn''t care about it. Only the shameless could have richness.


    After Rohan passed five minutes to try cheering and giving himself good reasons to continue, he stood up from the ground. He took a deep breath, and after sharpening his mind, he advanced forward.


    Rohan was waiting for it, but the moment the pressure descended against his poor mortal body, his head nearly smashed the floor. All his body became immediately stiff as if he was back inside the freezing lake. But for the sake of discovery, Rohan bore the strength.


    He crawled forward, and fully entered the house. As he had first seen, the hall was nothing more than normal, and Rohan quickly crawled toward the backdoor. He was paying attention to the power restraining his body each time he was advancing.


    Rohan was reckless enough to enter, but not foolish at the point of discarding his life. If he felt the pressure increase at any point, he would go back immediately.


    That way, a young man searched the place, with his body resembling the one of an extremely old man moving a step after another one.

 Chapter 123 - Luckier Day After Day

    After a long time passed on the first floor, Rohan couldn''t find anything. There were only three rooms, and it was simply the interior that was expected to be discovered inside a house. The only point Rohan had paid attention to was that the dishes weren''t more intricate than the one inside the other houses.


    The people living there didn''t have a strong difference of ranks. Or maybe they didn''t care about such trivial things in this forest full of dangerous beasts, but Rohan was persuaded of the contrary. Even in a danger, a person with more power would want to show it off in one manner or another.


    Rohan chased his thoughts as he lifted his chin under the great pressure. There was a small staircase going up. Whatever was responsible for this pressure should be up there.


    The instant he put his foot on the first stair, Rohan felt the pressure increase by a small chunk. His hunched back bent under the power as he groaned under the cracking of his bones. He unconsciously stepped back. Now, instead of feeling like fifty karags were stomping on him, he felt they were only forty-five.


    Rohan looked gravely at those stairs. If the pressure was increasing, it might reach such a level that Rohan wouldn''t be able to move. He put his foot on the first stair once again. The pressure was bearable, and as he tightened his muscles, he walked on the second stair.


    What he was waiting for didn''t come. The pressure wasn''t increasing, or if it was, it was too minute for Rohan to feel. He was so overjoyed at the prospect to continue that he almost relaxed too much and met the stairs with his face.


    He went upstairs at a snail''s pace, fighting against the pressure. Even though this pressure was targeting the physique, it was the mind that was wavering. Walking under such an intense force crushing someone would grow his frustration, and over time this someone could also become mad.


    But Rohan was only there for a few minutes anyway, so it wouldn''t be enough to break his mind. Once he reached the floor, the pressure increased one more time. Veins protruded all over his body as Rohan fought against the desire to sit down for a short time. His muscles screamed of aches while his sweat stuck to his body.


    His pace was firm as he chose one door among the three ones. He opened the middle one without much hesitation and entered this room. The view made Rohan curse out loud as he wasn''t expecting to really find something this magical.


    The room was empty, with only a small orb floating in the center and spinning on itself. There wasn''t any opening other than the entrance, and the dim light gave the stone spinning an eerie atmosphere. Rohan struggled to reach it but the pressure was the same all along. Soon, his body was already near this gray orb with runes drawn on it.


    The young warrior stretched his fingers toward the item. He hesitated for a short time. This thing could be dangerous, and touching might be a bad idea. But curiosity was stronger. The people living here would never put this item there without more protection if it could kill him. On this baseless assumption, Rohan grabbed the orb.


    It was cold, with a texture of stone. Nothing changed the moment it landed on his hand, and he easily could take it away. He wielded near his face to take a look. Although it resembled an orb stone with a random drawing inscribed on it, Rohna felt a strange power emanate from it.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t understand what this orb was for, and even as he took a step back with it on his hand, the pressure didn''t have any alteration. From the look of it, it didn''t seem to be the source of this pressure.


    While bearing this power crashing against his body, Rohan quickly searched through the two other rooms, only to find a bedroom and what seemed to be a storeroom. Although he was trying to be quick, he would still be losing against a crippled old man in a race.


    In the end, because of too much time under this pressure, Rohan decided to put away the search of the storeroom to later. He left the house and felt like he was in shambles. Every muscle of his body was in pain while his legs were shaking as he moved away.


    Nothing happened after the orb found itself outside. Since he couldn''t understand what this item was, Rohan put it away.


    The night was only a couple of hours later, and after a frugal meal composed of rabbit meat, he went to one of the numerous houses.


    A joyful smile bloomed on his face. He was even glad for this village to have crossed his road today. For the first time in more than three months, Rohan would finally have the privilege to sleep into a comfortable bed.


    He couldn''t help but think that it was a pity since the bed inside the large house should definitely be of better quality. Unfortunately, he didn''t want to suffer an early death by asphyxia because of a strange pressure coming from a random wooden house.


    After a perfect night of sleep along with relaxed meditations, another day welcomed Rohan on these lands. Since there was some water there, Rohan thought he could try to make another gourd with the skin from the rabbits he had hunted.


    But since he knew that he would struggle to make one and that would take quite a time, he first took the initiative to hunt to have a stock of food. The beasts didn''t seem to come here, it was thus the perfect place to dry the meat as well.


    With those thoughts in mind, Rohan left the village and sank in the deepness of the forest. Now that he attempted to orient himself so he didn''t lose the village, Rohan advanced cautiously.


    The day was a good one, and he didn''t even have to wait more than a few hours to kill the first rabbit.


    Rohan was strolling around, visiting the surroundings of the village, when suddenly a continuous noise appeared on his right. Intrigued by the sound, Rohan lowered his body and sneaked toward it.


    After a few seconds, a strange expression fell on his face. He could have sworn this buzzing song was the same that was done by wasps, but this one was far louder and coming from a few meters away. He gulped down as he thought about something terrifying. If such a thing was near the village, then death would be the end of his path.


    The sound filled his ears as he carefully shifted a branch blocking his view. After a light crack and rustle, a catastrophic sight welcomed him. The buzz entered his head and shook his mind as if it was thunder.


    There, hovering with sporadic movement and wings blurring under extreme speed, a giant wasp was fully shown. It had a slender and long body, with black and yellow mixing together to form a terrible magical beast. Its long legs made Rohan shudder as a visceral need to flee attacked his whole being.


    He wasn''t scared of insects, nor was the sole giant insect in front of him extremely dangerous alone. But that was because it wasn''t alone. There was no way for it to be a lone wasp.


    And that was what made Rohan scared for his life. The herd of monkeys had already threatened his life, and he knew that without the appearance of the mighty beast scaring them off, he would probably be dead right now.


    Then what about potentially several hundreds or maybe thousands of magical beasts able to fly at high speed?


    Before Rohan could take the decision to flee, he saw the wasp flying in his direction.


    His face became ashen.

 Chapter 124 - Not Alone Anymore

    Rohan fought against the wasp. The way this giant insect flew around made every one of his hits miss the target. He had already thrown a wind blade earlier, but it was so easily dodged that Rohan couldn''t believe his eyes.


    His sword finally struck the body of the insect, but only a small cut appeared. It failed to pierce the carapace. Rohan quickly stepped aside to evade the sting piercing the air. Some drop of green liquid fell from the tip of the ground. Immediately, the soil began to be slightly dug with a hissing sound.


    This sight made Rohan shudder. The insect was too fast to be hit and its carapace protected it like an armor made with iron. Its attacks would destroy his body if he was touched just one time. Rohan changed his target.


    He dodge and struck, waiting for the perfect opportunity. This one came a few seconds later. The wasp flew toward Rohan with terrifying speed and stabbed with his sting. Rohan was prepared. He easily let the hit miss him with a step on the side, and immediately after, his blade cleaved toward the insect.


    But this time, his sword did not aim for the body, but the wings. The wasp was slightly too slow this time and one of its wings was cut apart from its body.


    With the speed greatly impeded, the wasp finally was pierced by Rohan''s sword. It struggled for a long time, forcing Rohan to remove his blade and use Strengthened Blow to cut off the head. An insect struggling to survive while it had a poisonous attack made Rohan too scared for his life.


    The legs of the insect kept twitching for a small time and Rohan waited patiently. Once it stopped, Rohan dissected the wasp. The stench made Rohan frown, but he quickly removed the magical core. For a wasp to be this big, there was no question it was a magical beast.


    What was more, it was also in the form of a crystal, like the monkeys''. Maybe all the beasts of this region had such crystals? If it was the case, this was definitely the best place to increase his power.


    He looked around, and as he didn''t see any other wasp, Rohan went back toward the village. Occasionally he would stop to listen to the forest. Fortunately, he didn''t hear any other buzzing sound. ''Maybe this wasp was too far from its nest?''


    With this thought, Rohan continued toward the village.


    "... strong enough to break the barrier, we must pay attention. Kill at sight."


    ""yes.""


    Rohan abruptly halted and hid his body behind a tree. His eyes widened as he saw three persons entering through the entrance of the village. He couldn''t believe his eyes.


    The clothes they were wearing were strange white and immaculate dresses enveloping their body from top to bottom. A saber was on their hip with a hand on it, ready to draw their weapon at any time.


    Rohan was so shocked as countless questions entered his mind. ''What do they mean breaking the barrier? Is it because of me? wasn''t it an abandoned place?''


    As he was losing sight of the three persons entering the village, Rohan sneaked behind them. He couldn''t feel any flow of mana around them, so he was without a doubt stronger than them. But even so, Rohan wanted to discover what they were searching here, and most importantly, from where they were coming from.


    The three men quickly dispersed in the village, searching through all houses along the way. Their goal was the center and the main building. Rohan lowered his gaze on his bag. Was it because he had taken the strange orb?


    Soon enough, the three men gathered together in front of the large house.


    "What did you find?" One of them, their leader, asked.


    "Someone has obviously appeared at some point, and he has searched through everything. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary I think."


    "Same, whoever this guy is, it was as if he was taking a stroll around here." His eyes posed themselves on the large house. "Maybe it wasn''t his goal in the first place?"


    "Or maybe he is strong enough to not care about any retaliation." The leader shook his head. "After all, he had destroyed the barrier without touching the runes. Pay attention, it might be the end for us."


    Following this statement, the three men drew their swords and entered the building. Rohan was hiding behind one of the houses as he watched them entering the building. Instantly, he saw that the pressure destroying his body didn''t appear at this moment.


    The men entered the building and walked inside as if nothing restrained their movements. Rohan thought for a time. Maybe it was his ticket to get out of there. He quickly got back and speeded up toward one of the houses.


    After entering one, he headed toward the bedroom where the clothes were kept. He took out his sword and his bag, and without hesitation, he put on one of the dresses among them. It was the same immaculate white as what those men were wearing.


    After putting it on, he took his bag and his sword. It was at this moment that he remembered the appearance of those men. They didn''t wear any bags. Was the place they were coming from this near?


    Rohan didn''t believe those men would once again search through the house, so he simply waited there, looking out over a window to observe the main building.


    Soon the three men left the house. Rohan was too far to hear them, but from their actions and expression, they didn''t seem to have found anything. He could probably charge at them, beat them up, and ask some questions about this forest and the place they were coming from, but Rohan decided to wait.


    They came from a place related to this one, and they even felt it when he had removed the strange orb. Those three were maybe weak, but not the ones having their backs.


    It didn''t take long for the men to head for the entrance. Rohan was overjoyed as he restrained his excitement. He would finally be able to leave this hell place. He couldn''t wait anymore, and after the men reached the entrance, Rohan left the house.


    Those three men simply entered here, searched for a bit, and left like that after finding nothing. Rohan couldn''t understand anymore as he sneaked toward the entrance. Was the orb in his possession important or not?


    After reaching the door he had opened a day before, Rohan stretched his head outside to look at the direction the men had taken. Finding their tracks, he followed suit with a light step. Once he caught up with them, he couldn''t believe his eyes.


    They were walking forward, rustling the leaves, cracking the twigs and roots. They didn''t care at all about making any noise. It was as if they were doing it on purpose to mock Rohan who had always traveled with extreme care in this forest.


    Rohan observed those people once again. He couldn''t feel anything.. The mana around them wasn''t attracted to them. But if they aren''t strong, how could they walk inside this forest without caring about the magical beast?

 Chapter 125 - Just A Child Compare To Them

    Rohan frowned at the buzzing sound. The situation wasn''t as smooth as he had expected it to be. Two wasps as fierce-looking as the one he had fought earlier had appeared in front of the three men.


    ''Should I help them?'' If Rohan wanted to find a city or anything, he would have to keep those men alive. They would know he was here, but Rohan could subdue them without problems anyway.


    Before Rohan stepped forward to kill the wasps, the man leading the trio spoke nonchalantly.


    "Graan, kill them." Rohan felt like he must have heard wrongly, but after a few seconds, he felt his own world crumbling as sweat flowed out of his forehead.


    The man named Graan put his hand on his saber before he moved his right foot forward. With his body leaning to the front, he glanced at the wasps rushing at high speed to attack them.


    He disappeared. The moment he appeared again, he was on the other side, behind the wasps. His saber was fully unsheathed, held in his hand, pointed to the ground.


    The two wasps had no chance since the start, they were cleaved apart and the four pieces fell to the ground as pale yellow color blood painted the ground along with a disgusting stench.


    Rohan lowered his body behind a bush and held back his breath. He had observed this man since the leader had asked him to kill them. His eyes were staring at him from the beginning, but he hadn''t seen anything. It was as if he had teleported behind the wasp. There was no strike nor was the sword drawn.


    Or at least, it was what his brain was screaming at him. But the dead bodies of the two wasps were enough proof. The speed of this man was far above anything Rohan had seen.


    The death wasn''t even the same one after he had killed himself the wasp. Those were simply dead, without any time to put on a fight, to evade anything, or to struggle. How was this possible?


    "Seems like there''s some wasp here. Since we have time before going back to report, let''s destroy their nest."


    The words spoken by the man made Rohan nearly break out in tears. If he continued to follow them toward a wasps'' nest, he would die from terrible pain. The strange part was that the man seemed to be happy saying that, as if he was telling the other two they were going on for some fun.


    "Alright," Rohan watched through the bush as one of them closed his eyes for a few seconds. "They are coming from this way, not even a few kilometers away."


    He pointed his finger in a direction, burning Rohan''s mind. How the hell could he know in which direction the nest was? Who were those people?


    The trio moved under the order of their leader, and they headed toward the nest of wasps. Rohan didn''t move. He needed to follow them if he wanted to discover where they were coming from, but he wasn''t sure if he wanted to. The mana around them wasn''t reacting to them, but they were much more powerful than Rohan. They were maybe even stronger than a rank 10 Intermediate Warrior with such a speed.


    Rohan gritted his teeth. He wanted to get out of there. Since it was his only way, he got up and followed after the three men. His body was even more lowered than before, and he put extra carefulness at every move. Rohan certainly didn''t want them to see him.


    As he kept following them, Rohan saw his mind going blank. There was only numbness, and nothing else anymore. The trio encountered more and more wasps, but they easily killed them all.


    Even when it was a large group of dozens of wasps, the one named Graan killed them all with a single movement. Actually, it was even in no movement as Rohan couldn''t see anything. One instant, he was in front of the wasps, the one after he was behind them, with all of them cut in halves falling on the ground.


    The two other men of the group were equally strong. The leader was called Vaal while the third one was called Yuun. Such strength was unheard of. They weren''t warriors, nor paladins, not even wizards. They didn''t seem to be mana users either, and their physics didn''t seem to be incredible.


    After more dead wasps and an hour of traveling, an extremely loud buzzing sound came from the front. Rohan gulped down. It was still hidden behind the dense vegetation, but he was sure there were hundreds of those wasps with this terrifying noise.


    Even one was quite tough to kill for him, if some wasps were going back to their nest from the rear and fell on Rohan, the situation would be catastrophic.


    But even in this situation, Rohan advanced after the trio. He hid behind a large tree surrounded by bushes and watched through the space in between the branches and leaves. What he saw made him sense despair.


    A large sphere was posted on the ground, between three tall trees surrounding it with a triangular formation. The sphere with countless holes on it was simply gigantesque, and Rohan needed to lift his head to look at the top as it was even higher than a house. The terrible buzz came from this place while tens and tens of giant wasps were flying around.


    The three men seemed to be unfazed as they spread around the huge nest. The moment the wasps saw the fresh meat delivering itself for them, they rushed to kill them. A slaughter followed.


    The leader of the trio, Vaal, advanced forward and drew his weapon. It was the first time since he was following them that Rohan saw one of them drawing his saber. The move was simple, but it was also incredibly exquisite. On the side, the two others also unsheathed their blades.


    Once the countless wasps reached them, none of the three saber wielders stepped back, they continued as if they were taking a stroll. Suddenly, their sabers tore the air and slashed those insects. Every heartbeat, Rohan saw a large number of wasps falling on the ground.


    The nest buzzed louder and louder, and countless wasps left their home to attack the intruders. But the number wasn''t helping them in front of such a power. The three men killed them all in a single move.


    It was only at this moment that Rohan realized an important point. The instant he saw this, his eyes nearly fell from their sockets. The bodies were all cleaved apart as they hit the ground, and their blood and body parts flew all around. But no matter how much the area was full of disgusting fluids, the three men wearing a white dress wrapping their bodies weren''t touched a single time by anything.


    In the mind of Rohan, those three men were like immortals cleaning the mortal world of a few insects. The worst thing was that those men weren''t old. They should be in their twenties. All the pride Rohan felt with the ranks he had reached only seventeen years old disappeared like snow under the sun.


    In front of them, he was like a child wielding no power.

 Chapter 126 - Becoming A Stalker

    The nest was cleaved in two parts, and the queen of the wasps, almost twice as big as the others, was dead on the ground. No wasp was strong enough to put up a fight against the three immortal-like men.


    Rohan was numbed as he stared as the region in front of him filled with yellowish blood and body parts. The whiteness of the dresses the men were wearing was as immaculate as ever. Their blades were as clean as before the fight, and their opponents were all dead at their feet.


    It wasn''t hundreds of wasps as Rohan had thought, but several thousand. Now, all their bodies were on the ground, cleanly cut in two halves. The three men weren''t showing any emotions, as if they were doing a daily exercise.


    The leader, Vaal, ordered the two others to leave, and without wasting more time, they left toward the place they were coming from. Rohan''s heart chilled on his chest as he slowly left his hiding spot. Unfortunately, he was forced to advance through this disgusting area if he wanted to follow those men.


    Although the dress wasn''t limiting his movement, he still felt slightly restrained by it. While Rohan was searching for some excuses, his shoes nearly splashed on a pool of yellowed pool. From the start, those men didn''t let any fluids touch their bodies, why did Rohan find out that trying to do so was so difficult?


    All the wooded area was filled with bodies and blood on the ground, with the trees, leaves, and bushes all around filled with fluid dripping on the ground. The small number of places devoid of anything were making it virtually impossible for Rohan to walk through this area without touching anything.


    But Rohan wasn''t really trying to do so. He didn''t want to pass through the area at high speed. Firstly he wanted the trio to move a bit, and secondly, this place was a giant treasure trove!


    Since the men didn''t want any of those, Rohan took once again the mask of a scavenger as he rushed all over the area. He didn''t have the time to gather everything, but he took out the most magical cores he could along his way. Obviously, he wouldn''t forget the one inside the corpse of the wasp queen.


    The core was slightly bigger than the other ones, and the amount of mana inside seemed to be boundless. Rohan was overjoyed as such an encounter gave him an incredible opportunity.


    A few minutes later, he was finally out with the trio tens of meters away. They weren''t moving rapidly, and that made Rohan sigh with relief, as otherwise, he would have lost them already.


    After this terrible slaughter, the group didn''t meet any more beasts along the way. Soon, they stopped for the night and lit a fire on the ground. They also put a tent on the ground, but as Rohan was too far away as he didn''t want to be too near those freaks, he could only frown.


    From where those people were taking out their items? Even the fire seemed to appear suddenly. Every time Rohan tried to light a fire, it took him nearly an hour of an overly frustrating effort.


    The more the young man watched those men, the more his morale plummeted toward the abyss. Was he that weak in everything?


    The trio didn''t even put a guard and simply chose to sleep inside their tents. While the night was slowly flowing, Rohan was sitting on the ground as he meditated along with some magical cores.


    He was still tens of meters away from the men, and although it wouldn''t be incredible with their strength to feel the ripples of mana, Rohan thought it was curious that he wasn''t found in the village.


    If he could sense the mana coming from Beginner Warriors or Intermediate Warriors, it was strange for those terrifying men to not feel his own power. But after all, Rohan hadn''t sensed any mana on their bodies, so they were maybe unable to see it themselves.


    Either way, Rohan didn''t take the risk to climb up a tree, and as he didn''t want to sleep there, he decided to make countless meditations to keep some vigilance around him. His mind was fully focused during meditation, so he couldn''t pay attention to his surroundings. But since he only maintained them for a few minutes, it shouldn''t be a problem.


    Soon, the sun once again announced the start of a new day. Rohan observed as the three men left their tents to eat breakfast. Rohan didn''t know where the water and food were coming from, but the smell made his mouth salivate.


    He took out a piece of cold meat from his bag to eat it. Sadly, he didn''t have the time to smoke and dry some of the meat he had, so he knew that the quantity he had right now was only enough for a day or two. But it should be fine, Rohan believed he would arrive today at the place those freaks were coming from.


    But as the day continued, as the trio kept running in a straight line toward a direction, Rohan felt that something was amiss. He followed behind them, rushing through the dense foliage while trying to minimize the rustling. He thought that they should reach their destination on this day, but contrary to his expectation, the night was falling a second time without any city or anything in sight.


    The three men had appeared the day after he had taken the orb. It was obvious they were searching for it. But now, after more than a day and a half of traveling, they were still inside the forest. Rohan thought that it was because they were going to a place different from the one they were coming from, but the next few days, he felt uneasy.


    Day after day, night after night. Rohan kept following them through the forest, keeping a distance of several tens of meters with them. They had encountered some magical beasts along the way, only to easily dispose of them. The terrifying men didn''t care about the mana cores, and they all fell inside Rohan''s hands at the end.


    At least this trip was a good one.


    Until one day.


    The sun shone in the sky, showing off its might and overlooking the world. The intense light burned Rohan''s eyes, as he felt like crying when he looked at the blue sky.


    He was in the forest, but a few meters away, the countless trees became lesser and shorter, then finally vanished, allowing the sky to be fully seen. Further away, stood a village, or more exactly a small city in the middle of green grassland.


    Surrounding it, a large palisade with strange engraving on it encompassed a huge area. Facing the forest, was an opened double door with a guard standing there. Like the three men that Rohan had followed for several days, he had a white dress wrapping his body, with a saber at the waist. He was a middle-aged man, and the instant he saw the trio coming his way, he warmly welcomed them.


    "Vaal! Finally there, did you find anything?" The three men came his way before the leader answered. Rohan couldn''t see their faces, but they seemed to be happy.


    "Yes, I even discovered the culprit, I believe the elders will be interested."

 Chapter 127 - Are You A Human?

    ''What? What does he mean by finding the culprit, they obviously left after entering the building?'' Rohan felt his face become ashen as an alarm rang in his head.


    The three people talking to the guard slowly turned their faces simultaneously toward Rohan, who was hiding behind a tree.


    Not good! One of them, Graan, suddenly vanished from his position. Rohen quickly stood up to immediately flee but he knew deep down he was far too slow. He jumped to his right and prepared to run away, but before he could even move his muscles, an expressionless face appeared before him.


    "You''re quite foolish to try to sneak on us." A slight smile bloomed on his face as he punched the young man in the liver.


    The speed of this blow was incredible, and the moment Rohan saw the fist, this one was already connected to his belly. A terrible shock spread from the hitten area. His body bent under this mighty blow as he couldn''t help but spit some saliva. He fell to his knees.


    Rohan knew that this man had restrained his own strength. Otherwise, he would be dead by now. Even this punch was so powerful it had let his mind blank for a few seconds. The moment he took back his spirit, he was already standing in front of the guard.


    Graan was holding him by the neck as if he was a weak rabbit, while the two others looked at him with contempt. None of his limbs answered his call as he tried to struggle. He simply hung there, powerless.


    "Is it the culprit? He seems pretty weak, no? Why would the elders be interested in¡­"


    His expression abruptly changed as he looked straight into the eyes of the young man. His kind smile had already left the place at a solemn one, while a strange and fierce glint shone in his sharp eyes.


    "Vaal, bring him to Elder Kuud. Such a thing shouldn''t appear in this place." The middle-aged man stepped aside to let them pass. His voice was deep as he continued to stare at Rohan.


    The one named Vaal said he was going to do so, and along with Rohan holding like some useless bag, the trio headed inside this small city.


    Rohan couldn''t move his paralyzed body, and only his eyes darted around him. This time, he didn''t know if he could survive whatever would happen. But even so, his mind was as clear as ever. He had already tried everything he could do.


    His mana, coming from his mana core or his mana stone, didn''t respond. It refused his order and stayed there without moving. He didn''t know what this Graan had done to seal his power, but he had never heard of any skills permitting someone such a move. A terrifying thought entered his mind, but he quickly discarded it.


    The city wasn''t as small as Rohan firstly thought, and the streets were filled with people with different colors of clothes. They were all wearing the same dress wrapping them, but all the inhabitants seemed to wear a different color.


    The instant the crowd saw the trio holding Rohan, they pushed themselves to the side while bowing their heads. Instead of alarming Rohan, he felt relieved. He had thought that all people in this city were freaks able to teleport around as they wanted, but from the looks of things, only a small amount could do so.


    After all, those who have power would always want to be seen and treated differently than other normal people. Thus, the fact the men and women around the city all bowed their heads to those young people meant their status was far from being common.


    At least, such strong people should only be a small number of people. If Rohan found an improbable way to get out of there, he wouldn''t have to evade every single person. Not that it would change anything as Rohan couldn''t even flee the grasp of the man crushing his neck.


    They continued to walk toward the center of the city with all the people around showing their reverence, and soon, they stopped in front of a large place. A man was guarding the door. He was also wearing a white dress with a saber. The other inhabitants didn''t seem to want to approach this place, and the instant they entered through the door, Rohan felt his heart squeeze, chilled and shattered.


    This open area surrounded by a small wooden wall was filled with white-dressed men and women walking around. In a distance, Rohan could even see some of them standing in formation and slashing with their sabers, going back to their stance, and slashing again. Shouts and yells filled the whole place.


    This place was like a casern training soldier, but instead of the weak soldiers Rohan had the habit to see every day, everyone there was as terrifying as the three walking with him. This place was simply hell. He gave up all ideas to flee.


    After walking further inside the area, the trio appeared in front of a large building. Once they entered it, the countenance of the three men changed as Graan posed Rohan on the floor and stood there respectively.


    "Don''t move and don''t talk. If you do anything, I''ll cut your limbs." His threatening voice filled Rohan''s ears.


    At this moment, an old man with white hair and a white beard entered the room through another door on the side. He looked at the trio, but just as he was going to ask them why they wanted to see him, his eyes fell on Rohan.


    He suddenly appeared in front of Rohan as he had teleported over here. Rohan gulped down as he felt his heart leap inside his chest. It was the first time in his life that he felt so weak, unable to even move a muscle surrounded by so many terrifying individuals.


    While Rohan''s mind spun on itself, the old man asked him a question, shutting down his thoughts.


    "You¡­What are you?" The old man frowned as he glanced at this young man. Before Rohan could answer anything, it was Vaal who spoke.


    While the interested Elder Kuud listened to Vaal, this one told him what had happened a few days ago.


    They had received an alarm telling them that someone had taken away the stone key protecting outpost number 12 inside the forest. After he and the two others had reached the place, they had unexpectedly seen the protection of the wall broken with the doors opened.


    It was at this moment they had sensed this young man in the forest. They also felt he was strange, but since he felt extremely weak, they had decided to watch him for a time.


    Rohan felt like cursing them when he heard them calling him weak, but remembering how they had dispatched of the wasps and their queen, he decided to stay there with his mouth shut.


    The old man listened carefully while his eyes were glued to Rohan with a strange light on them. The instant Vaal finished his story, the elder stroked his beard.


    "Fine." He waved his hand in front of the trio. "I''ll take care of this fellow, you can go back."


    The three men bowed their heads and left the house without more words, but it was obvious they felt disappointed.


    After the men left the house, the old man looked excitedly at Rohan.


    "Tell me, are you a human?"

 Chapter 128 - Uradan

    "Eh?" Rohan blurted at the question of this old man. Was he not looking like a human in his eyes? But before he could think of an answer, the elder took him by the arm and guided him inside the building.


    "Come, come!" He rushed inside a room with Rohan with an overjoyed expression, as if he had discovered an incredible treasure. "I didn''t expect to see one of you here, I don''t even remember that last time it had occurred. And this thing, it''s very crude, but also very interesting!"


    Rohan didn''t know what this old fool was talking about as he was forced to follow him. From the way the three men had acted in front of this old man like puppies, Rohan thought that trying to flee was seeking death.


    Soon, the old man entered a room. It was full of strange utensils, as well as a faint smell of plants floating around. The elder Kuud made Rohan sit down on a chair before he took out a notebook on the side.


    "Such a use of the Breath¡­" He stared at Rohan with shining eyes. "Tell me, how did you learn it? I didn''t know you people had already reached this stage."


    "What are you talking about? The Breath? What is it?" Rohan tilted his head to the side. Sitting in front of a mad man was making him somewhat uncomfortable.


    The old man wrote something on his book before lifting his eye and looking at Rohan with a frown. While Rohan thought he would be dead in the second, he saw a terrifying scene.


    The old man disappeared from where he was before appearing near a shelf on the side. He took out something with lightning speed before teleporting once more to another place and taking once again another object. After several more occurrences, the elder stopped near Rohan with his arm full of different plants.


    He carefully put them on the table in front of him before looking back at Rohan. He wrote something more while mumbling to himself.


    "A compactification of the Breath inside the chest, link with several ways. The one who had created such a thing is a genius, but also completely stupid." He severely watched Rohan before writing once again on his book. "Such a thing is preposterous, daring to steal the Breath for making it own."


    Rohan didn''t know anymore what was happening. One minute earlier he was the culprit for stealing a strange orb, which was still in his damn bag, and the one after he was there sitting in front of this mad old man.


    And what was this Breath thing? From what Rohan could understand, it should be mana. Was this another name in this region?


    The old man kept mumbling to himself while walking around the room. The more Rohan was listening, the more he felt terrified. This Elder Kuud was actually saying that forcefully becoming the owner of a small quantity of mana was against nature.


    Rohan felt a shudder rushing through his whole body. That also explained why he couldn''t sense anything inside this old man or the other ones, even though they had magical capacities. They were directly using the mana around them!


    "What is your name?" The old man suddenly closed his notebook and stared at the young man sitting there. His overjoyed expression had already disappeared.


    "Rohan."


    Elder Kuud looked carefully at this man. His face was calm, even though he knew he could die at any moment. Had he already given up on life? Such a weak-minded person.


    The eyes of the old man scrutinized Rohan from top to bottom as if he could scan his whole body. He could easily see any secret, but there was something he couldn''t understand.


    There was a core inside his chest. The principle behind this one was almost like a beast, and the Breath inside was like the one used by a demon. He was human, there was no doubt about that. This core was also man-made. Then how could the Breath be stocked inside this weak thing?


    It should crumble under such power. He couldn''t think about anything.


    There was also a strange stone inside the brain of this human, with a red rune engraved on it, as well as a white one floating inside. What was this? He had never seen anything like that, but the runes reminded him of something he had seen long ago.


    There was also energy inside the stone. Whoever had successfully made this was without a doubt a genius. He had mixed the Breath with the power of elements and forcefully stored it inside this stone.


    "You have two choices here. The first one is you become a slave and work for me, the second is you die here. What do you choose?" His voice was completely different from earlier. An unbearable aura left his body as he looked down on Rohan sitting in front of him.


    Rohan squinted his eyes. Some people would choose death because they wouldn''t want to live like a slave or anything, but he didn''t think like that. Under the eyes of those men, Rohan couldn''t flee at all. But all he needed was an opportunity. The instant they would turn their faces away, Rohan would run, or if he could, kill.


    "Then I will become a slave."


    Kuud''s eyes widened on their own as he looked at this young man. He was weak, sitting on a chair, and forced to lift his eyes to speak to him. His face was devoid of fear, and the strange calmness he had seen earlier wasn''t proof he had given up on himself.


    The word slave in his mouth didn''t seem to be degrading.


    This man, it was dangerous to keep him alive. But Kuud only smiled after seeing this young man answering in such a way. He turned around and headed toward the table with the different kinds of plants on it.


    "The way you are using the Breath is extremely interesting. It is also really crude, and the power it can give is pitiful at most. The one creating this method should be desperate to do this."


    It was at this moment that Rohan suddenly understood something. It was so obvious, but also impossible. Since the beginning, this old man has been talking about it as if he had never seen it before.


    But becoming a warrior wasn''t a secret, and it was a method known since eons ago. Or at least, it was the case where Rohan was living. His mind spun at this impossible thought. Where was he? He could only voice his question to seek an answer.


    "In which country are we?" His heart crazily jumped on his chest as he waited for the answer.


    The old man glanced at Rohan with a strange smile. It was almost demonic.


    "There is no country in our world, human." Sweat broke out from Rohan''s forehead. "You are far from your land, far from your world actually. Our world is called Uradan. Welcome to you."


    It was only now that Rohan understood the question of the old man earlier. It wasn''t that he was questioning his humanity, but that those people weren''t human in the beginning!

 Chapter 129 - Averlorn

    Rohan looked at the sky as he was sweeping the floor. The yells of the disciples training in the distance echoed in the area, becoming music in his ears. The sun was shining through the clouds while a fresh wind brushed his air.


    Somehow, the situation wasn''t like the one he had expected it to be in the first place.


    It was already a week since he had been captured at the entrance of this city, and also a week since he had become a slave. Or so was the name the Elder Kuud had given to him, but instead of a slave, his job was simply to sweep the floor here and there.


    Since he was there, Rohan had learned quite a quantity of information about this place. The men and women wearing white dresses were the disciples of this sect, called the Sect of Averlorn. This name was simply the name of the forest nearing it. The city around the sect was the place where the families of the disciples were living while they trained their sword arts.


    He had understood that those people couldn''t be called human, but he couldn''t guess for what reason. At least, their appearance was exactly the same as him, and apart from the fact they were monsters with terrifying speed and strength, there weren''t any differences.


    Even if Rohan supposed they could freely use the mana around them, Rohan never had the opportunity to see anything that could prove his assumption.


    So here he was, sweeping the floor on the whole sect days after days. His other mission was simply to stand in front of the Elder Kuud from time to time while he observed him and write something on his notebook, while also drinking some bitter mixture he had made beforehand.


    Rohan didn''t feel anything from those potions, and apart from the disgusting taste, it was like water.


    Curiously, no question had been asked by this old man about his life before coming here. It was as if he didn''t want to know how he had appeared in this place, or where he was coming from. This made Rohan have some problems believing this old man.


    How could he be in another world called Uradan? That didn''t make any sense to him. Maybe he was on another continent, separated by the sea filled with terrible beasts? It was the only assumption he could think of. But the way the other disciples of the sect were treating him made Rohan question himself about this assumption, and the value of his life.


    It was as if he was a dog not even good enough to lick their feet. Because of this, Rohan had the urge to kill some of them as they were truly obnoxious.


    Sadly, even if the worst of them were considered weak as a disciple, Rohan was far too weak. Plus, even if he was stronger, his status as a slave had pretty much been acknowledged by everyone. He didn''t want to try his luck.


    It was already extraordinary that no one was taking the time to monitor him, but even so, Rohan didn''t tempt them. He knew perfectly that the instant he would attempt to flee, his head would be detached from his neck.


    The power of this sect was unimaginable for Rohan. The three who had brought him here were considered quite powerful members, but just above average at most. There were several tens of members as strong as them in this place.


    The Sect of Averlorn was controlled by a man, but all decisions were taken by the Elders, who were considered to be extremely powerful. Elder Kuud was one of them, and his status among them wasn''t low at all. Rohan even had the feeling it was only because of him if he was still alive.


    The weakest of the sect, apart from Rohan who was clearly below everyone, were the recruits.


    Unfortunately, those recruits were all around the same age as Rohan, and it was mostly after them that he was sweeping the floor. Because of this, Rohan ended up encountering them a lot of times. And that was far from being great.


    While Rohan was thinking about the past week, the door of the building behind him opened.


    It was one of the few buildings Rohan didn''t have any right to enter, or at least until he was ordered to sweep the floor inside. From the discussion he had heard here and there, he knew that it was the building the disciples used to become stronger.


    It was also called meditation, and the term being the same used for the warriors and wizards, made him doubt the fact he was in another world.


    A group of dozens of people left the large building, making Rohan want to sigh. Obviously, it was the recruits.


    Rohan closed his mind and concentrated on his action. He couldn''t permit himself to snap and hit one of them, otherwise, his chance to live would be really low.


    Among those people, not all of them were spitting against him. There were three people from whom Rohan had the most contact. One of them was named Grael, a man who hated him for an unknown reason, and who passed his time cursing at Rohan every time he saw him.


    "Ha, human slave, I know you''re as slow as a child, but at least you can clean faster than that! Or are you trying to be a lazy bastard?" A strong voice burst at his side as a small group approached him. Of course, it was this Grael.


    Rohan ignored them and continued to sweep the floor. He couldn''t help but think at what level he had fallen. If his butler Jonas was seeing him right now, he would have a heart attack for sure. Or maybe he would die of laughter.


    "Oi! Look at your master when he''s talking to you, slave!" One of the young men in the group yelled when he saw Rohan overlooking them.


    "Are you trying to say his status is higher than Elder Kuud?" Rohan answered expressionlessly as he gathered the dust at the same place.


    Before anyone from this group could answer, a clear voice appeared on the side, further increasing Rohan''s headache.


    "Grael, get out! Don''t bother this human without any reason!" This voice belonged to a young woman. Her auburn hair was tied back while her hands were on her hip, above her saber.


    Between Grael or this young woman called Flae, Rohan largely preferred to deal with the former. At least he knew this one would waste some saliva before leaving. This woman was making Rohan use far more energy than all the others combined.


    "Flae, " A big smile appeared on Grael''s face, "I''m only educating him so he doesn''t decide to do something stupid. You also have heard like me that all humans are stupid and ignorant, how could we be sure he can do anything?"


    "Rohan doesn''t seem to be stupid though, don''t worry about that."


    The mention of his name made Grael''s smile appear stiff. He glanced at the man sweeping the floor with the same calm expression as if he didn''t care at all.. If his eyes could spit fire, Rohan would have been burnt to death already.

 Chapter 130 - Becoming Stronger To Have A Chance To Flee

    "What is it like in a human world?"


    "I heard they reproduce like rabbits, is that true?"


    "What kind of food do they eat?"


    "Surely you are the weakest among them? How could they survive in the wilderness otherwise?"


    The clear voice of the young woman kept troubling Rohan. Her sparkling eyes showed how much she was curious as she asked countless questions one after another.


    After Grael had stared at Rohan for a few seconds with a clear need to kill, he had decided to vent somewhere else. Of course, it was only because this girl was here. Otherwise, Rohan would probably have been beaten up.


    Since they were recruits, they were still a bit weak, but even as a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, Rohan knew that he was far from reaching their big toes. Maybe as a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior coupled with some spells would give him some chance, but the fight would be complicated in any case.


    Those monsters were far stronger than the humans.


    After this man had left the area, Flae once again decided to ask him a multitude of questions about the humans, like the previous days. She was truly interested in all sorts of questions. This told Rohan a lot of information.


    Firstly, even though he had never heard of the world of Uradan, the inhabitants here had already heard about them. Even if he didn''t believe that it was another world, it was strange nonetheless.


    Secondly, from the questions Flae was asking, and the way she thought all humans are barbarians living in the wilderness with animal skin on them, it was obvious the information they had on humans dated from a long time ago.


    Rohan succinctly answered the question as he finished sweeping the floor. Even though she seemed to be a kind girl, Rohan didn''t forget where he was and what his role was. If he didn''t look like a slave ready to kowtow at any second, it could bring quite a lot of problems.


    After a few more minutes of insufferable questions, the sun started to go down. It was finally the end of the day. After bowing his head to Flae who seemed to be disappointed she couldn''t ask more questions, Rohan left the area.


    Other than his task he had to clean the floor here and there and to present himself each morning in front of Elder Kuud, his days were pretty empty. He didn''t know what was inside this old man''s head, but Rohan was perfectly fine with that.


    He quickly walked in a straight line toward the south of the sect, bypassing a lot of people and buildings along the way. Soon, he arrived in front of a small hut. It was the place that was given to him to sleep.


    He opened the wooden door that was almost broken, and entered this small place. There wasn''t even a bed, and Rohan was forced to sleep on the floor. But he didn''t care.


    For the former son of a count to sleep in such a place, no one would have expected it. At least it was better than sleeping on top of a tree with the fear of any monsters trying their fangs on his body.


    He advanced to the corner of his house and took out his bag. It was full of the cores he had scavenged while following the trio back then. For an unknown reason, the old man had decided to give him access to them.


    It was the only thing there was in his bag, along with a few random coins that no one here had any utility for, and his daggers no one wanted. His Essence Stone, potions, and the gray orb had been taken away. Even his clothes were nowhere to be seen, and only the gray robe he had on him could serve as clothes here.


    Rohan didn''t care though. Even if Elder Kuud knew perfectly what he was doing, he would still do it.


    Since he was there, Rohan constantly thought about how to get out of there, but his powers were truly too weak.


    One night, as he had decided to take a stroll to plan how to flee, he had not even taken three steps before one of the men guarding the place had appeared in front of him, ready to kill him on the spot. Getting out of here was clearly not an easy feat.


    Rohan sat on the ground with two cores in his hands. Immediately, he began to form the vortex. He overlooked all sleepiness and tiredness, and concentrated on his meridian. The red mana was easily spinning on the opening of his first meridian.


    With the actual speed and the number of hours he took to meditate all days, Rohan reckoned that he would finish his vortex in less than ten days. All plans to get out would have to be done before that. The day he would transform into a rank 6 Intermediate, he would get out of this place.


    The chance was really low, but the increase of power he would have might help him. If he waited for more, he knew he would be done.


    Rohan knew that all around this city was green grass spreading toward the horizon. His only goal was the forest. If he could enter the forest, use all the speed he could muster as a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior to get out, he could have a slight chance of success.


    Rohan shook his head and focused once again on his task. For now, it was only a dream without any base, it was useless to think about it.


    The night passed rapidly. His meal was only a tough bit of meat, probably rotten and thrown away as no one wanted to eat it. Other than this delicious meat being able to make Rohan want to throw up with nothing more but the smell, Rohan only rested for a couple of hours.


    As the first sunlight shone in the city, Rohan opened his eyes. It was time to look for the old man. There was not even any place to clean his body, or at least not for the slave he was supposed to be. Rohan could only sigh as he left his hut and headed toward the center of the sect.


    A few minutes later, Rohan stood in front of the elder watching him curiously. Rohan knew he was without any doubt observing the results of his night of meditation, but it wasn''t like he could stop it.


    "Hmm, " Kuud turned around and took out a potion on the side, "drink that and go back to clean the east pavilion for the day."


    Rohan didn''t answer as he drank in one gulp this horrible and bitter thing. He then posed the vial before turning around, heading for the area at the east of the sect.


    Kuud looked at the young man left through the door. Once he was alone, he couldn''t help but whisper to himself.


    "Are all humans unafraid of death these days? He should at least be shaking a bit after coming here, right?"


    As Rohan reached the east pavilion, he could hear some shouts as well as a clash of swords.. He slowly walked forward, only to see two young men fighting each other with training sabers.

 Chapter 131 - Youll Only Suffer A Bit

    The two wooden sabers connected each other for a short time before the two fighters distanced themselves. Once again, they charged without any sound, waving their sabers with a tempest of slashes.


    The blows were so fast that Rohan had great difficulties following them. At least, it wasn''t as terrifying as Graan and his near teleportation speed. The two men fighting each other weren''t locked in a small space and were using the huge area with all the capacities at their disposal.


    Their movement speed allowed them to cross tens of meters in less than a second, showing a fight that Rohan had never believed he could see a day. Without more options, Rohan decided to use the Overload skill.


    Time slowed down as he kept observing their way of fighting. Rohan knew them, or at least one of them. He was Caeen, one of the disciples among the recruits. From what Rohan had heard all around since he was there, this man was the most talented among the new disciples.


    But Rohan wouldn''t have memorized his name if it was only for this reason. It was also because this young man treated him quite correctly. Surrounded by countless white-robed men and women looking at him like an insect, it was easy to remember someone treating him differently.


    Along with Flae and Glaer, those three were the ones Rohan had the most contact with. And from his point of view, they were also the keys to get out of there.


    He stared at the two opponents while they were fighting each other in this slow world, observing every single one of their moves.


    Since they all learned the same saber art, it was a must for Rohan to know more about it. Although their strengths were far above him, he would have the means to fight if he could guess the next moves.


    During this one second, the two disciples exchanged a couple of hits, trying to bypass their opponents'' defense.


    On the contrary with the sword, the saber was a weapon made to cut through the flesh, as well as weaker than a sword.


    For this reason, the number of times the wooden sabers hit each other was quite rare, and the two men preferred dodging to slash toward an opening. As the two had the same techniques, the fight transformed itself into a strange dance where the blades cut through the air before retracting at lightning speed.


    The fight continued for a short time, and Rohan used Overload at the critical moments, hoping to pierce their secret. Doing so only five times while watching a fight was almost useless, but Rohan was doing so since the start of the week.


    Now, he was putting himself in the place of one of the fighters and trying to guess what would be the next movement as well as his own.


    As Rohan kept observing them, he already knew who would win. The two young men were equally strong, at least stronger than him, but the techniques of Caeen were more exquisite than his opponent.


    The wind hissed around them as their blades slashed at a terrible speed. Their bodies moved along, offering all their strength and speed to their weapons. The control they had over their bodies was simply beyond anything Rohan had seen. Maybe an Intermediate Warrior could somewhat come close, but Rohan wasn''t sure.


    Suddenly, the fight stopped. The air made their robes fluster. Caeen''s saber had its tip posed against the throat of his opponent.


    This one stepped back and bowed his head as he was thankful for this fight.


    Rohan nodded his head, if their physics were the same as his own, he thought he would have a chance even without skills. With them, it wouldn''t be difficult to beat them completely. But with the difference in the constitution, the chance was as low as winning against an Intermediate Warrior.


    He turned around, as he still had the whole east pavilion to clean, only to be stopped there.


    "What are you doing here, slave? Want to stroll around not doing the only thing for what you''re useful?" Grael appeared in front of Rohan while looking down on him. His voice was strong enough to attract some of the onlookers while the two fighters also looked over there.


    Without giving Rohan the time to answer, Grael followed after he saw the two fighters. "So you dream to be as strong as us even though you''re a weak human, Ha! What a great joke for a dog like you."


    Rohan kept his expressionless face as he watched this man spitting bullshit. Even though he appeared to be calm on the outside, he was at the moment doing everything on his head to not let his disgust show on his face.


    "But you know what? I''m magnanimous myself." Rohan almost choked on his saliva hearing this. "If you want to fight that much, I''ll allow it! Come with me." A cruel smile appeared as he walked toward the stage where the two disciples were previously fighting.


    "I still have my chores to do, under the order of Elder Kuud, I don''t have the time to play around." What a joke, the moment he would put a foot on this arena, he would be destroyed.


    Grael turned his face full of hatred toward Rohan. "A human dare to respond to me? You are only a slave. If you don''t want me to cut off your arm, you better move and take a damn weapon."


    Rohan squinted his eyes. He searched for an answer, but before he could find one, Caeen took the initiative to talk.


    "Grael, do it quick. I''ll be the judge for the duel so you don''t go overboard." His tone was as if he was talking about the weather, while Rohan felt his heart break in his chest. ''Seems like there''s no other alternative.''


    He walked toward the arena where he would suffer while Caeen approached him.


    "If he wants to fight that much against you, no one can really stop him." He put his wooden saber on Rohan''s hands and took his broom. "Don''t worry, with me overlooking the fight, you''ll only suffer a bit."


    Rohan''s lips twitched as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Before long, he stood in front of the energized Grael warming up. He put on a battle stance and held the saber with his two hands.


    Unfortunately, he had already used up his mana, so he wouldn''t be able to use any skills for this fight. Grael approached him and stopped a few meters away from Rohan. He didn''t even prepare more than that and left the saber in his hand pointing to the floor.


    He licked his lips as he thought about the next minutes, while Rohan steeled his heart and mind. Without any signal, the fight began.


    Grael blurred with extreme speed as he charged toward Rohan. His blade seemingly teleported as it appeared in front of Rohan, aiming for his thigh. But Rohan was expecting it.


    He moved back his left leg and used this opportunity to strike with the maximum speed he could muster. His saber slashed diagonally from the top right to the bottom left and approached dangerously the throat of his opponent.


    Caeen raised an eyebrow as he watched this simple exchange. Rohan''s posture was incredible as he perfectly dodged the first attack while also carrying his own strike.. The techniques and movements were top-notch, but the speed and strength were completely lacking.

 Chapter 132 - Beaten Up

    Rohan''s saber flashed but hit nothing more than emptiness. Grael Looked with contempt as he only had to step with a mighty speed to the side. Before Rohan had the time to put once again his defense, Grael cleaved to the side.


    Rohan wasn''t able to evade this blow. He tried to leap back, but he was still too slow. The wooden blade violently hit his left arm as a grunt escaped his mouth. It was the start of a tough fight.


    Rohan rolled on the ground to put some distance with Grael, but this one only needed to stick to him like a parasite before slashing at his back. Rohan turned his body just in time to deflect the blow with his blade. But the strength behind the strike was too strong.


    He was forced to take several steps back under this strength before Rohan saw Grael blur once again with his speed. He was like a ghost slashing from all sides as he moved around him with a ruthless smile. This bastard was taking pleasure.


    "Hahaha, such a weak human. You can''t even defend against my power!"


    Rohan barely defended the blow on his right before the opponent''s blade bypassed his guard and hit his wrist. The shock nearly made Rohan lose his grip over his saber.


    "That''s why you are just a damn slave, puny human."


    Before Rohan had the time to do anything, a powerful kick crushed his guts before the terrible power sent him flying a few meters away. He landed violently on the ground and rolled on the ground to evade the saber hitting the paved floor.


    On the side, the couple of onlookers that had been attracted by Grael were now more than tens of people forming a small crowd. Caeen watched with a strange expression as he saw Rohan barely defending himself as a torrent of blows struck his body.


    Each time he received a blow, Rohan always got up to prepare for the next hit. Even with his opponent faster than him, although his movements could be qualified to be pathetic by the crowd, Caeen wasn''t anybody. His eyesight was more acute than the normal disciple.


    It was maybe barely for the others, but being able to still defend himself under a tempest of attacks faster and stronger than his own, Caeen thought he would have given up long ago. The pressure Rohan was currently feeling wasn''t something everyone could bear.


    Wanting to fight again and again with such a mind and pride let Caeen have a great impression. Humans weren''t as weak as he had thought, at least psychologically.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t that Rohan didn''t want to get out. Even if Rohan wanted to kowtow and give up now, it was a question if Grael would accept it and instead continued to fiercely attack him. The only thing he could do now was to somehow defend his body while waiting for Caeen to stop this damn fight.


    He wasn''t even putting up a fight actually, it was a straight-up beating up!


    While Rohan was cursing on his head as he wanted to know why Caeen was still watching with his mouth open, this one was currently feeling enlightened. Fighting with such an unyielding mind, ready to fight until the end rather than bending and giving up, it was the true path, the path he should from now on take!


    He always had been a genius and was considered to be the strongest in this city among the people of his generation. But he felt it wasn''t enough. What was his strength if he didn''t have a good mindset? Nothing!


    Rohan dodged a strike as he jumped on the side and slashed with his saber. He wasn''t even trying to touch his opponent, but the weapon where he believed it should appear. Grael was too fast for him, he could only try to guess his moves before this one had even started to do them.


    But the result wasn''t that great. His saber cut through the air. Before he could retract his weapon, a terrible shock sent him to the ground as Rohan felt his mind rung. Blood was flowing from his cheek as it had burst under the force of the blow.


    The sight of blood woke up Caeen as he moved forward to stop the fight. A hand landed on his shoulder and held him there. He was alarmed by such power as he couldn''t even move his limbs anymore. He looked from the corner of his eyes at the old man that had appeared at an unknown moment at his side.


    He quickly greeted him. "Elder Kuud!" He couldn''t move his head, nor his body, otherwise he would have already deeply bowed.


    "Let''s watch a little bit more, it is only the beginning." His hoarse voice filled the ears of the young man as he could only stare at the fight between Grael and the human.


    Rohan was in bad shape. Blood was dripping on the floor. His body was in pain. Countless blows had already appeared, crushing him. It was already a miracle that he had no broken bones since the start of the fight. Maybe he had a few fractures, but he was too focused on the duel to care about it.


    His force was leaving his body, decreasing his reaction speed as a grey veil enveloped his vision. He stepped on the side to dodge the blow, but like a ghost playing with its victim, the blade appeared on his flank, striking Rohan as he grunted in pain.


    Grael stepped back as he stared with a face deformed by cruelty.


    Rohan panted as he felt his strength being the lowest ever. The fight wasn''t going to be stopped in a short time, it was now obvious. He wasn''t seeing his opponent as a stupid guy venting on him while he only had to bear for a while.


    He was his enemy. His life was in danger. A cold glint appeared in his eyes as a murderous thirst filled his body. Rohan panted as he felt his body ready to collapse at any moment. His grasp over the handle of his saber tighten. The time was counted.


    "So pitiful!" Grael charged forward with a mighty speed with those words.


    The world began to slow down as red dots appeared here and there. A red light shone in his eyes as Rohan stood firmly there, waiting for his opponent to come. He saw him coming his way, with his devious expression making Rohan feel rage.


    On the side, a slight smile appeared on Kuud''s face. Even Caeen opened his eyes wide as he couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    The dots appearing all around Rohan, painting his world of red color, weren''t invisible to their eyes. All the onlookers could see them, and that was what made them show strange expressions on their faces.


    Before the two opponents crossed their blades, they suddenly stopped on the spot. Rohan froze in his stance while the red dots crumbled one after another around him, before vanishing.


    Elder Kuud had appeared between Rohan and Grael as if he had teleported there.


    "The fight has ceased now. Rohan, you still have to clean the whole east pavilion. I don''t care about your injuries or whatever. Grael, you have your own tasks to do." Then, as if he was never there to begin, he faded away.


    As the pressure left with the old man, Rohan couldn''t stay up.. He collapsed on the ground like a rag doll.

 Chapter 133 - Waking Up The Dead

    While Rohan was enjoying his days on the sect of Averlorn, far from there, and possibly in another world, two people were walking under the moonlight of the night.


    They were both wearing dark capes hiding their bodies and their faces. Even so, under the faint light, it was easy to guess one of them was a woman with her thin and delicate forms while the other one was a man, a bit taller than her.


    They walked in silence as they headed toward a place no one wanted to go when the night had fallen: a cemetery.


    "Are you sure it''s a good idea? The moment we do it, we will be chased after by pretty much everyone in the world, you know?" The apathetic voice of the man echoed on the night, amplified by the ambient eerie atmosphere.


    "Not everyone, don''t worry! Once you will prove your strength, those old farts would have no choice but to acknowledge you!" The cheerful tone of the woman contrasted with the man, as they suddenly stopped their steps.


    In front of them spread the huge cemetery, surrounded by a tall wall separating the living from the dead. Not for too long now. The woman seemed excited as she pushed open the large iron portal easily.


    "Come on, that will be fun! You have already seen me do it in Balford, you just have to do the same. With your talent, you will succeed in no time!"


    The man looked at the woman as he sighed. "Don''t make me remember this time. It''s already a couple of years ago, and I was more preoccupied with fleeing rather than trying to understand what the hell you were doing."


    They both entered the world of the dead as they headed toward the center. The woman searched around while the man followed behind her, always a meter away. No more, no less, no matter how fast or slow she was advancing.


    The woman abruptly turned around as she stared angrily at the man. "Stop doing that! Can''t you walk like normal people, it''s pissing me off!"


    "No." He straight up answered, before continuing calmly, as if he was stating the truest fact. "I am the best butler of the whole world, such skills are engraved on my body, I can''t help it."


    The woman felt her lips twitch in front of such a shameless person. She knew that a headache would appear if she continued this conversation, so she simply gave up and turned around.


    Soon, she stood in front of a grave with the man behind her. She observed the stone grave from all sides while the man stared as she cutely tilted her head to the left and right. He couldn''t help but think of someone else, who had the habit to do the same when he couldn''t understand something.


    She pondered for a bit before decisively deciding.


    "This one should be good. You can try it!" She happily stepped aside and waved her hand. "Show me what stage your power has reached already!"


    The man walked in front of the grave and pointed his hand to the ground. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his mana. The black stone inside his head he had nurtured for a couple of years shone as the strange runes hovering inside glowed a bright color.


    He willed his intangible power and directed it toward his rune engraved on his arm. The mana fused with the energy, but instead of being the power of the elements like a wizard, the feeling was different, darker.


    His mana completed the rune with great dexterity before a black fog appeared in front of his extended hand. Slowly, it floated there as it descended, before entering through the soil. A light tremor shook the ground, and it didn''t take long before the whole grave shook as well.


    The woman was pleasantly surprised as she couldn''t restrain herself from murmuring. "Rank 2 already?" But the man didn''t pay any attention to his companion as he focused on his task.


    A few minutes later, a hand broke violently out of the ground. There wasn''t any flesh nor muscles or blood. It was only made of bones, and after the hand extended the complete arm.


    The duo stepped back as they watched a skeleton leaving the earth limbs after limbs. After an endless minute, the being finally stood on its leg as its empty socket faced the two people without moving.


    "That''s¡­it? Just a useless bag of bones? I was waiting for something more extraordinary. Is it really for this that I put my life in danger and nearly caused my head to explode?" The man was totally disappointed, oblivious to the joyful woman that was almost going to clap her hands of delight.


    "Hmph, your power as a rank 2 Beginner Necromancer lets you control a maximum of ten skeletons, it is only the start to make a powerful army!"


    "Then why don''t you have any of them at your side if it is so incredible? Ho, I get it! Because you don''t want to be killed on sight by the whole fucking human population!" The man felt all his effort was for naught when he looked at this dumb skeleton standing there. "Look at that! the only utility I can think about is to give him a flower on his hands so he becomes a flower pot!"


    "Ho, come on, it''s not that bad. The Beginner ranks are always a bit weak. Plus you only know this spell, don''t you know how hard it was for me to snitch it away so you can learn it? Let''s wake up some more, that way the elders will be favorable toward you!"


    The two people strolled in the cemetery as the skeleton was clumsily walking behind them. The more the man heard the rattles of the bones clashing against each other, he felt that becoming a necromancer was the worst idea he had ever had.


    Soon, the sole skeleton became two, then the two became four, and after walking around all the places so the woman could find the better graves, ten humanoids made of nothing more than bones stood in front of the duo.


    "Now that we have our wonderful mighty warriors, what''s the plan?" The man looked deeply at the woman standing at his side. His face was still hidden by his hood, but his shown lips were reflecting all the boredom he was currently experiencing.


    He could sense the ten skeletons being a part of himself as if they were newly limbs that he had forgotten how to use before suddenly remembering. The sensation was strange, but it didn''t remove the bitter taste he had as he looked at the slow, weak, and ridiculous bags of bones facing him.


    "Bringing them with us to meet the elders. That should be easy!"


    The man couldn''t help but sigh as the woman leisurely walked away. She had the same age as him and was in her late twenties, but she was far too childish sometimes. Well, that wasn''t really surprising if her race was taken into account. She wasn''t human after all.


    The man followed her as he willed the ten useless things behind him to march.


    He looked at the moon lighting up the sky as he thought about the past. He wondered how his master was doing? Pretty much everyone was looking for him now that he had been found out, and it wasn''t a secret that he had taken the road of the Barren Lands. What was interesting enough for him to enter such a desertic region?


    He couldn''t guess, but he hoped to see him again one day.. When he would have discovered a way to get out from the deep shit he had landed.

 Chapter 134 - Visualising The Dream To Become Stronger

    Another week had passed since Rohan had been captured by those men. His meridian was almost fully enlarged, and he thought that the vortex would be formed the next day.


    Rohan lifted his chin and looked deeply at the building lighted by the sunlight. It was the place where the disciples meditated once a day. All the disciples of the sect came here in a group of dozens for an hour before leaving.


    Rohan couldn''t control his curiosity, but entering the building wasn''t going to be easy. There was only a door, and it was kept by a disciple every single minute.


    Rohan had already been inside several times to sweep the floor, and he knew that there was only a large hall, and nothing more. There weren''t any windows on the side, and no other way to enter but by the only entrance.


    It wasn''t a good idea to endanger his plans for satisfying nothing more but his curiosity, but Rohan couldn''t help it. How did these monsters become so powerful? It was a question that had appeared several times already in his mind.


    Anyway, that was the reason he was here, and he didn''t want to back down now. He headed toward the guard with his half-broken plan that wasn''t even really one.


    "What you want slave? Get out of here and go sweep the floor, shoo shoo." The guard waved his hands as if he was chasing away a fly.


    "Elder Kuud had asked me to enter to observe the process of meditation." Rohan calmly spoke.


    "Eh? That doesn''t make sense at all." The man frowned as his hand posed itself on his saber. "Are you trying to make a fool of myself, slave?"


    "How could I? I''m only a puny human slave in front of my mighty masters. I would never dare to scheme against you, nor do I have the ability with your intellect so much more advanced than mine." Rohan quickly bowed his head as a sour taste spread in his mouth. "I only say the truth, Elder Kuud did ask me to come here."


    Rohan secretly lifted his eyes and saw the man nodding his head as if it was all true. ''Stupid.'' A smile of disgust almost appeared on his face but he erased it. The time was to hammer once more.


    "If you don''t believe me, ? mighty disciple, you can still ask Elder Kuud directly, he will of course answer you."


    The first half made the man smile with all his teeth while the second one made it stiff. In the end, he could only choose to step aside.


    "If Elder Kuud had asked you to come here, I can''t say anything. You are too stupid to lie to me anyway and I know it is the truth! You can go, but don''t you dare to make any noise, or your skin will be seen floating at the entrance of the sect."


    Rohan moved forward with an expressionless face. ''If I knew it would work so easily, I would have tried it at the entrance to get out of here. So stupid.''


    He delicately opened the door and entered the large hall. His eyes widened.


    Dozens of disciples were sitting cross-legged on the floor with their hands forming a circle at the level of their chest. Their eyes were closed, and a focused expression was on their faces.


    But it wasn''t the important part. It was the red mist floating around them that was infiltrating their bodies bit by bit.


    This mist was making Rohan have the impression he had already seen it somewhere, but he couldn''t remember where. The strange part was that this mist wasn''t coming from any item, but was forming from the center of the circle made by their hands.


    The color was the same as the red mana he had on his mana core and mana stone. There was no mistake, it was the same energy. What they are calling ''Breath''.


    But mana wasn''t going anywhere, it was entering their bodies to reinforce them directly. Rohan couldn''t believe his own eyes.


    If a human was trying to do the same thing with mana without the mana core, their bodies would simply be destroyed. Rohan thought back at the time he had become a warrior. The mana was constantly damaging everything before he gathered it at the center of his chest.


    If he couldn''t control it and gather it where he wanted to, his flesh and organs would have been completely destroyed. And what the disciples of the Sect of Averlorn were doing right was with the red mana. No humans would survive such a thing.


    Rohan sat down and kept observing the disciples. He didn''t understand how their bodies could fuse with the mana in such a way. His body was reinforced by the mana via the mana core and the meridians, but it was completely different from what they were doing.


    The principle of the core was to steal the mana around someone so they could have ownership of it. After this, they could control it and reinforced their bodies with the meridians. Controlling the mana outside their body was impossible, and even their mana was dangerous for their body.


    That was why if someone destroyed his core, the mana would spread inside his body and corrupt everything, crippling or killing him with unimaginable pain.


    At least, he had the proof that those disciples had the power to manipulate the mana that wasn''t theirs. Since they could do it, why would Rohan be unable?


    He closed his eyes.


    He focused his mind on nothing. He wasn''t trying to think about the red mana or at least not now. He already had the same dream a few times. What he was trying to do was to have the same image. Rohan didn''t have other solutions.


    He imagined nothing but darkness. He was there, hovering in the middle of nothing. Nothing happened for a few seconds before suddenly, small red dots appeared here and there.


    The flickering dots become more numerous and bigger. Under Rohan''s control, the dots connected to form thin threads floating around his body.


    It was curiously easy, and under his will, the thread approached his body. They gathered and surrounded him, spinning in a direction. They constricted and soon, a cocoon was fully formed around Rohan''s body.


    While Rohan was fully focused, the same image was happening in reality. A large dome of red threads of mana had appeared at some point. It was like the dome inside the Kolmos mountain. Then, threads after threads entered through Rohan''s body.


    The other disciples were all focused on their task, so they couldn''t see what was happening near them. If they could, it was sure they would be flabbergasted. Rohan was human. They were sure of it. Even Elder Kuud had himself looked through his body and was sure he was nothing more than a human.


    That was why he had kept him alive, as a human shouldn''t be able to support the breath demons were using. But if there was something that he had never expected, it was that not only did Rohan''s body contain the red mana, but for an unknown reason, he also had the means to use an ancestral method that was reserved for the demons leading Uradan.


    Unfortunately, or maybe, fortunately, no one could see what was happening to Rohan.

 Chapter 135 - When You Dont Understand Something, Ignore It

    Rohan felt his body heating up. A scorch sensation invaded every part at the same time. Strangely, even though he had nearly let go of a scream, it wasn''t painful at all. It was warm, as a fire camp on a cold night, or the warmth of a lovely mother.


    His skin became redder while sweat profusely flowed down, soaking his clothes. His muscles thrilled as they welcomed this strange phenomenon. His heart throbbed faster and fiercer and sent his blood to ignite all his body.


    An explosion echoed inside his mind. Rohan heard something shattering like glass, but he didn''t know what it was. He felt as if shackles had been removed, his body becoming lighter, his muscles contracting.


    He had the sensation that he could destroy mountains with his fist, separate the ocean with a cleave of his sword, leap in the sky with his legs. All his cells screamed their need to move immediately under such formidable power to release it.


    The sensation suddenly disappeared. The red threads forming the cocoon enveloping him vanished. Rohan opened his eyes.


    A terrible headache crushed his mind. His vision was blurry. His limbs shook from countless spams. Rohan could only pant as he felt his whole being tear apart from all sides.


    His body was constantly strengthened as it improved as lighting speed. Among this evolution, Rohan also had his mind exploding, as if something was growing there. The pain was violent, but he didn''t know what was happening.


    A few minutes later, Rohan was left panting and lying on the floor. The other disciples were still in their meditation and didn''t know what was happening behind them.


    Rohan quickly got up on his shaking legs before leaving the building. Although he walked like an old hunched grandpa, his strength rapidly soared, and the moment his hand reached the handle of the door, a crack echoed in the room.


    The handle was crushed on his hand, startling Rohan as he widened his eyes. He had improved so much that he couldn''t control all his force!


    Rohan carefully and slowly put back the handle that was now on his right hand. By luck, the door still opened when he tried it. Without wasting time, he advanced and slowly closed the door.


    When the guard watched him closing the door as if he was scared of making a slight noise, he nodded his head. At least the slave was doing his best to not disturb the disciples.


    Rohan bowed his head to the guard and quickly left the area. He almost ran away as he wanted to reach his hut the sooner possible, but he almost tripped down over and over.


    The disciple crossing his road looked at him strangely as he rushed toward the south of the sect. Their eyes only rested a few seconds on him though, as he was only a ridiculous human from the start, they didn''t care if he was even more bizarre than what they thought.


    A few minutes later, Rohan finally reached his hut without too many problems. He immediately entered through the entrance, but as he wasn''t careful enough, the door was torn out and rested in the air, holden by Rohan.


    He cursed as he let go of the wooden door. It was already nearly broken anyway. The instant he entered his place, he immediately lay on the floor, not daring to move his body.


    "So, what should I know?" His soft murmur left his mouth as he pondered on his situation. He had no control over his body, but he knew that he was clearly stronger than before. Once he would become an Intermediate Warrior, which would be the case the day after, his strength would increase exponentially.


    *Sigh*


    The situation wasn''t as simple as he had thought before. Many questions entered his mind. His head was still under extreme pain, but his thoughts were clearer than ever.


    Only one meditation was enough to push his body forward that much. Then what after two? And ten? And hundreds? He had previously thought about leaving this place the fastest possible after reaching the Intermediate ranks, but it wasn''t maybe the best idea.


    He could silently improve continuously while enduring his treatment, growing every day before finally putting everyone on their knees to answer his questions.


    His consciousness wavered while he was thinking about his next actions. His eyes closed themselves. Like this, Rohan fell asleep in the middle of the day, something that had never happened for a long time.


    But this sleep was only a short one as he felt a terrible cold freezing his bones. He woke up suddenly and stood up, thinking someone had thrown a water bucket on his face. His mind instantly became blank once he saw his surroundings.


    He was inside a large red dome, with a diameter that was almost a hundred meters. The dome was made of countless red threads of mana spinning around.


    There was nothing here. Nothing but the ground made of stone illuminated by the bloody red dome, and the slight cold. Each time he was exhaling, a white fog appeared instantly, blanketing a small area. But curiously, the cold Rohan was feeling was only mild.


    He gulped down as a terrifying thought rooted inside Rohan''s brain, refusing to leave.


    He stepped forward, slowly, carefully. His control over his body was definitely better than before, but it wasn''t for this reason that Rohan was scared to move.


    In no time, he reached the wall of the red dome. He put his hand against it, only to see with surprise that he passed through the red threads without difficulties. It only tickles him a bit, but the sensation was the same as if it was water. Compared with the first time he had touched such a dome, the difference was like night and day.


    The instant his whole body passed through the doom, Rohan blurted. "What the fuck is happening?"


    He was inside a large cave. The ceiling was too high to be seen, but a faint blue light floating around was enough to see the opening embedded several tens of meters high on the stone wall.


    He was back at Kolmos mountain.


    He couldn''t believe it. Was it all a dream? No, his clothes were still the gray dress wrapping up his body. He didn''t even have any weapons and his bag was still inside the small hut.


    Rohan rubbed his eyes as he nearly fell on his knees to cry out loud. Apart from the incomprehension, he was feeling, and if he put away the fact he was scared to death right now, he had fled from the sect and the mad old man!


    His mind automatically deleted all questions he had on why the hell he was actually here, and Rohan concentrated on the good part of the things.


    Now at least, he didn''t have to sweep the floor anymore while bearing the insult of being a slave from those fouls! He didn''t have the chance anymore to beat the shit out of the man named Grael, but Rohan felt it was a bargain if he had exchanged it with the direct teleportation here.


    A happy smile bloomed on his face as he walked toward the corridor.. With a soft kick destroying the ground and sending pebbles everywhere, Rohan soared in the air to reach it.

 Chapter 136 - The Might Of A Man

    Rohan stood at the entrance of the cave. his feet had sunk inside the white snow as a small tempest of flakes swirled around the area. He took a deep breath. Rohan didn''t even know how many days it was anymore since he had appeared in the forest, but he only felt happy to be back here.


    In the end, there was nothing inside the heart of the mountain. Nothing but the strange red dome, and even in its center there was nothing else. The teleportation over this world of Uradan obviously was because of this dome, but there wasn''t anything Rohan could understand about it right now.


    Then, Rohan descended the mountain. The cold wasn''t affecting him, and compared to the first time he had ascended, it was much more pleasant. The world was showing its grandeur in front of his eyes as he got down one step after another, and suddenly, a thought made him stop there.


    He turned his head and looked over his shoulder. Since he had the opportunity, why not climb up toward the very peak of the Kolmos mountain? With this injunction coming from nowhere and controlling his limbs, Rohan decided to go up.


    The idea had already rooted and fully bloomed on his mind, and the curiosity was too strong to ignore it.


    The cold or the lack of oxygen was nonexistent, and the further he climbed up, the more he felt thrilled. This was the biggest mountain of the continent, overlooking the Barren Lands with its colossal might. And Rohan, a simple young man, was reaching the top.


    The more he advanced, the more he felt excited. But the more he advanced, and the more snow floating around him there was, circling him and veiling his vision with a white blanket. But even so, Rohan had no plans to halt there. He continued forward, while the large quantity of snow was melting against his body.


    HIs own heat was making the white flakes soften before they transformed as small drops of water, but even with his powerful body, Rohan was furtherly resembling a snowman.


    Suddenly, Rohan reached the end. In front of him stood a small peak, growing up for several meters. He knew it was almost the top of the mountain, and without looking back, he grabbed the stone surface and began his ascension.


    He had thought the ascension of any mountain would be tough, with the cold biting his body, the wind shaking his balance, the stones cutting his hands, but nothing of that appeared. His hand reached stones after stones as Rohan leisurely climbed the peak. It was so easy that he was almost disappointed.


    Only a few minutes later, he reached a small platform. The moment his feet landed on the top, a fresh wind rose, making his black hair flutter around along with his purple ribbon. His gray dress clacked under the violent wind.


    The platform was only enough for him to stand there, and if his body wasn''t as firmly standing on the ground, Rohan was sure that the wind would have already blown him away.


    His eyes widened on their own as he looked down on the whole world.


    Below him was a sea of clouds, while above the blue sky. He didn''t know since when, as he hadn''t paid attention, but the sun was currently shining on him. Its light reflected on the clouds painting the whole region with an orange glow.


    Through the clouds, he could barely see the Barren Lands stretching toward the horizon. The stones and sand were everywhere, with some wild green patches growing here and there.


    The beauty was crushing his whole being. Rohan had seen terrifying people. He had seen a single man murdering thousands with a single wave. He had fought against an Intermediate Warrior that could destroy him with a single move. He had encountered a large sect with all of them being powerful freaks able to trash him.


    But in either case, he had never felt this weak, this insignificant.


    He was only Rohan. A rank 5 Beginner Warrior, as well as a rank 1 Beginner Wizard. Compared with the infinity of this world, he was simply nothing. At least for now.


    What when he would become a Supreme Warrior? And a Supreme wizard? Maybe the red mana would even make him stronger than everyone. He felt that he could already fight head-on against an Intermediate Warrior.


    His fists tightened as his eyes became clearer. He had a lot to do. He needed to go back home, and check out his family if they were still alive. He needed to crush the kingdom of Prasthana, as well as kill the Old Monster of the Empire. He was unable to do anything about that for now, but he was from being the same as before.


    His father had told him that he shouldn''t treat the people around him as insects. Horim had nodded his head after he had come back from the carnage of the bandits inside the city of Blanche. The members of the Blackwolf clan had chosen to continue forward after the slaughter of their families as if it was a normal occurrence.


    Rohan thought back to the way he fought before. Trying to disarm and only injure his opponents. But such a thing in front of people like Grael was ridiculous. He hadn''t killed any humans for a long time already, but that didn''t change anything. Or maybe that was what made everything change.


    Rohan couldn''t even remember the blurry face of his first victim, but it wasn''t a problem. Countless nomads died each day inside the Barren Lands, but he was only like this. A dead man was simply that, dead. Compared to the colossal world standing below him, it was nothing.


    All those thoughts entered Rohan''s mind as he looked down from the higher peak of the world. For this short time, the bearing of the young man had totally vanished. For a short time, the might of an emperor surged from his body.


    He was only seventeen years old, but what he had lived through had forged his mind continuously. Some people had lived a worse life than him, but that didn''t mean they would have the same thoughts, nor that Rohan should minimize his life.


    Rohan felt that he could rest here for days looking at the whole world, but the time was running out. He pondered for a few seconds. He had left quite a few of his belongings with the Blackwolf clan. In the end, he decided it was fine. All his important items were already lost in the world of Uradan anyway, and there were only a few books and potions.


    Plus, finding them in those lands would be like searching for a particular stone on this mountain, there was no point in even beginning the search.


    After a few more minutes contemplating this view, Rohan finally got down, and in no time he was already on the way back, descending the mighty mountain toward the stone city.


    He would first need to bypass them all if he wanted to leave this region, and such a feat wasn''t easy with how tight the four great clans were keeping the mountain area in tight control.

 Chapter 137 - Running Away

    "Hey, isn''t there someone descending the mountain?" One of the guards shouted as he pointed his finger toward the rock slope of the mountain facing the north.


    "What are you talking about? There''s no way someone can come through the mountain without us knowing about it beforehand. And if it''s the case, then it doesn''t concern us." The captain of this group lazily answered as he didn''t even turn his face.


    There was always a patrol here, as well as countless ones surrounding the mountain, keeping the crossing paths from any intruder. The captain had never seen anyone daring enough to fiercely enter, and that was after years of being a guard for the Bluekraken clan.


    That was why he didn''t care about what his subordinate was seeing. If he hadn''t received any news about someone supposed to pass through his area, then it means that this person didn''t oblige by the rules. He wasn''t going to check on such an individual.


    From his years of experiences, he didn''t think it could truly be someone who had sneaked his way toward the peak of the sacred mountain. This feat was simply impossible. Almost impossible.


    Someone did successfully enter the mountain a few weeks ago, but that was after he had pretended to be a member of a clan receiving the sacred water. But instead, it was a vile character coming from the other side trying to plunder their riches.


    Unfortunately, although the higher-ups wanted to keep it a secret, it somehow spread around the whole Barren lands. All the clans were condemning such a man, even more so when the Blackwolf clan had been manipulated by this evil person. But after the news had been leaked, another information had been released: this Rohan had simply disappeared.


    It was obvious the details were tightly controlled, but a lot of rumors have been circulating. Since it was during the gathering when all the clans were present, it had reached an extreme level.


    Even though some of the clans sneered at the Blackwolf clan for having been easily lied to and manipulated, the clans of the Barren Lands had always been united against an enemy: the other side.


    The captain frowned as the other members of his patrols became agitated. He could hear a fast pace trampling nearing his position. His heart throbbed as he lifted his chin and looked at the directions the other guards were watching with ajar mouths.


    Several hundred meters away, a humanoid shadow was facing them, running at high speed.


    The captain needed a few minutes for his sight to perceive anything. Black hair floating under the wind, dark eyes as deep and calm as the darkest night. He couldn''t believe what he was seeing. Each second the figure dashed forward and crossed tens of meters, and in no time, it was already in front of them.


    Before anyone could act in front of this man wearing a light gray dress wrapping his body, he had already bypassed them, freezing their minds. The captain rapidly turned around to follow the man with his eyes. Such a speed was proof he was an Intermediate Warrior.


    But most importantly, how could he not recognize this person''s face? He was there that day, among the large crowd watching the fights to determine the ranking of the clans.


    "You! Lit the fire! Now! The bastard from the other side had once again appeared! He can''t leave as if it was his home!" He designated one of his subordinates, but seeing this man being too slow, he snatched away the piece of silex from his hand.


    "Damnit!" He pushed him and rushed to the side, where a large woodpile could be seen. It was formed like a cone and pointed to the sky. Without wasting more time, he quickly lit up a spark. The wood ignited almost instantly, and suddenly, a large fire appeared on the north side of the sacred mountain.


    Rohan rushed down the Kolmos mountain. His speed had increased so much that he couldn''t even believe it himself. His stamina was like an inexhaustible sea that would never be depleted. But the fun part of his plan was now being replaced with the tough one.


    Although he called it a plan, he assumed that no one would dare to call his madness a plan, not even an idea. It was extremely simple. Just running through the city and heading back toward the other side. Nothing more, nothing less.


    His body brimmed with energy as he charged down through the rocky and mossy part of the mountain. Suddenly, a voice boomed like thunder a distance away, right from the direction he was heading.


    "You!" It was the same old man that had brought the group to the cave that day, he didn''t know how he could still be alive, but he wouldn''t let him escape this time. "I''m gonna rip off your head!"


    He ran with all his speed. He became perplexed when he saw that Rohan, who was only a rank 5 Beginner Warrior continued without fleeing away. He thought he was being looked down on by this boy. His eyes became red as his angry shout left his throat.


    "You''re seeking death, you bastard!"


    The two opponents charged against each other, and the moment they were close enough, the Intermediate Warrior unsheathed his sword to slash with a mighty speed.


    But he had overlooked an important piece of information. For him, Rohan was only a Beginner Warrior and was only a weakling. He wanted to chop one or two limbs before capturing him. He was sure he could do it, and he didn''t even take the time to observe the young man.


    His speed wasn''t any lower than his. The moment the blade cleaved the air, Rohan used Charge.


    The red mana rushed like a torrent through his meridian. It burst on his right leg as Rohan stomped on the ground.


    Boom!


    The ground violently cracked as rocks as large as a head flew all around accompanied by a sea of dust.


    Rohan darted like an arrow in a straight line. He was a ghost evading the attack. He was already behind the old man in only an instant, while the distance between them widened in less than a second.


    The sword touched nothing but the rocks flying around. The old man was alarmed as his face became ashen. What was this speed?


    Rohan wasn''t waiting for the elder to snap back to reality and continued forward. The back of the stone city was appearing in his view. Now was the critical moment.


    In only a few seconds, he was already inside the city. He stormed his way through the north without any hesitation with only the other side far away as a goal.


    The commotion he created made the city panic, and as he guessed, several enraged warriors followed after him. Among them was the old man. They yelled and insulted, as they wouldn''t let this man escape this place. But their objective was bound to be difficult.


    Each time a warrior appeared in Rohan''s path, the young man would easily dodge them. When he couldn''t do so, a couple of explosions echoed in the city as the ground was destroyed. Rohan flashed through the dust as he bypassed every obstacle.


    His only purpose was to get out of here, and his mind and body worked together to reach this situation.


    The exit of the city was in front of him as he ran through the large street. All the clans had already returned in the Barren Lands, and almost no one was here to hold him back.


    Behind, a couple of warriors, from middle age to old people, were shooting angrily as they rushed with all their strength.. They were all Intermediate Warriors chasing after Rohan, but they were unable to reach him.

 Chapter 138 - Thank You For Guiding Me

    The moment Rohan rushed out of the city, a terrible Aura exploded from behind him. His expression became serious as he used all his energy to get out of here.


    A middle-aged man appeared in a street, with an intangible Aura hovering around him.


    "You think you can leave freely?" His voice boomed, shaking the whole world with his might.


    Rohan''s ears buzzed from the shockwave. He was quite a distance away, otherwise, he might have been bleeding from his seven orifices.


    He looked over his shoulder, just in time to see the man with dark hair blurring with great speed. His escape wouldn''t be that easy.


    Rohan channeled his mana and sent it toward his rune. His only goal was to make sure this person couldn''t approach him.


    But it was nothing more than child play in front of an Advanced Warrior. His wind blade flew toward the man chasing in a straight line, but he didn''t take the time to dodge it.


    He waved his hand. The moment the wind blade connected to the hand covered with mana, it was easily deflected to the side. The spell touched the ground and left a long scratch.


    The speed of the man wasn''t inferior to Rohan''s, and in fact, it was far above. Rohan kept running through the grassland and headed for a small forest on the horizon.


    The distance between the two kept shrinking and suddenly, a great explosion, as if a meteorite had smashed the ground, echoed from behind.


    Rohan turned his head and was instantly frightened. He ducked and rolled on the ground, narrowingly evading the grab of the man. With a single use of the skill Charge, he had already caught up with him!


    But it was only the start. The man was becoming slightly irritable as his target was too slippery. He once again stomped his foot on the ground, using once again Charge to appear in front of the young boy.


    "You will not escape!" His bellows filled Rohan''s ears as he desperately leaped back.


    An Advanced Warrior didn''t have the flaw a Beginner Warrior had. Rohan''s mana core was already empty, while the man constantly used Charge to catch him. His speed was already something Rohan couldn''t compare, and along with the skills, it was already a miracle Rohan was able to dodge a few times.


    While Rohan was escaping the claws of the man, he was doing everything to head to the forest that was now only ten meters away. It was part two of his plan, but he didn''t know if he could even reach it.


    The man had already tried countless times to grasp his body, but Rohan was doing everything he could to evade it, and even launch a wind blade to occupy him.


    One was becoming angrier while the other one was desperate, forming a strange dance. The Intermediate Warriors watching from the city were flabbergasted as they saw Rohan pitifully roll on the ground and jump on the side to escape the man, while this one was insulting him.


    They had believed that they would be a deadweight for their strongest warrior, and they had decided to stop running after the young boy. They looked at each other, and after cursing, they ran with all their speed while using Charge to catch up with them.


    Rohan finally entered the forest. He felt like he could cry of happiness, but it was only the start. This forest was a tight one, a rare sight on the Barren lands, and the trees were helping Rohan as he darted toward the center of the forest.


    Or so he believed. With a loud noise, followed by a loud crack while shards flew all around, a tree behind him was split in two. He watched with horror as the man used his blade recovered with mana to cut off the trees in his path. He was only two meters away from him, and that was a bit too near for Rohan.


    The man paved his way while Rohan constantly turned around the trees and bushes to evade his numerous grasp. The only luck he had was that the man wanted to capture him alive, otherwise, his body would already be dead on the ground.


    Even so, he was a bit puzzled as he evaded the man''s hand for the thousandth time. If he really wanted to catch him, why don''t use his Aura or cut off his legs with a mana blade? Was this warrior just stupid?


    But now wasn''t the time to ponder over useless questions. He rushed inside the forest, and soon, a familiar noise entered his ears. A big smile bloomed as he charged forward and bypassed a tree.


    The crushing sound became louder and louder, and soon, the duo approached Rohan''s target.


    There, a deep rapid digging of the soft soil appeared in front of them. The middle-aged man didn''t even glance at it as his eyes were locked on Rohan. The young man suddenly stopped, startling him.


    The two men faced each other. Before the Advanced Warrior decided to do anything, Rohan bowed his head.


    "Thank you so much for guiding me here. Now I need to go, so, see you later!"


    And with those words, he jumped inside the rapid.


    The expression of the man immediately changed and used Charge. His hand stretched toward the young man falling inside the deep water. His fingers almost touched his body, but he was too late.


    Rohan entered the cold water, his body disappearing inside as the violent water current brought him away.


    From the top of the mountain, he had already seen this river probably taking its source from the snow. Since it was underground for a large part, the only place Rohan could reach to jump inside was this forest or further away.


    It was the only way to escape he had found. If there were only a few Intermediate Warriors, Rohan was confident enough to keep them away. They would obviously be tired at one point and let him go away, but the appearance of the Advanced Warrior had changed everything.


    There was no way he could eternally dodge him. In fact, he had made a mistake. He knew that an Advanced Warrior had a powerful body, but he didn''t know to what extent. He was sure of him, this man wasn''t trying to catch him, or at least he was trying to do without injuring his body.


    But there was no need and no reason for this man to do that. Rohan couldn''t understand, but he wasn''t in the best place to ponder over something.


    The water was washing his body, dragging him away like trash. The violent current was heading toward the northeast, slowly bringing him closer to the other side.


    He constantly spun around as he tried to keep his head above the water. Compared to the first time he had plunged inside such a river abusing him, it was much easier. Still, it was far from being comfortable.


    He didn''t know how much time passed, and after rolling in the water and colliding with countless sharp rocks, he finally reached the shore.


    He lay on the ground as his body was soaked in water.

 Chapter 139 - Reaching The External Ring

    After Rohan had jumped inside the river, the Advanced Warrior stood there, his eyes glued on the water as he was lost in thought.


    He could simply run along with the rapid. There was no way for this young warrior to be faster than him, but he only stayed up, without the urge to follow behind.


    A short time later, the group of Intermediate Warriors came across the forest and met up with the middle-aged man. They instantly knew that the young man had successfully fled away.


    Before they could say anything, he spoke with a stern voice, his back facing them. He had chosen.


    "I tried to catch him, but he was too slippery and crafty. In the end, he was smart enough to play with me and get away by plunging inside this river. There is nothing I could do. Right?"


    The warriors instantly understood the meaning of these words. They all wanted to catch this young man to interrogate him about the Kolmos mountain, but it wasn''t possible. Even if they had successfully caught this man, they would have to give him to this person.


    They were from the Barren Lands. And the Advanced Warrior had already decided he wasn''t going to bow his head in front of this person coming from the other side.


    Rohan was jogging under the sun setting down as a cloud of dust hovered behind him. He has been running for more than ten hours, but he was only mildly tired. He even thought that he could run this way again for ten hours before needing to take a pause, but the night was already descending.


    His gray robe was full of scratches, but the fair skin behind was without any marks. A sharp rock wasn''t enough to cut his body, and this discovery was a pleasant one for Rohan.


    He didn''t know to which extent his body was reinforced, and charging through the Intermediate Warriors inside the city because he believed he was strong enough was quite reckless, but the result was incredible.


    He looked around him as he continued to run. There was only the same rocks and sand he wasn''t happy to see once again, and nothing more. Although he could maintain his running speed, Rohan decided to make a pause to sleep.


    It had needed almost a month to come here from the external ring, and even with his speed, it would take one or two weeks at least before reaching the frontier.


    He came to a stop while the sun left the place for the moon to showcase itself. He had no food, nor did he have any comfortable place to sleep. The worst would be for a fire snake to bite him during the night.


    He eyed the rocky ground with a devastating look. His bed started to miss him.


    *Sigh*


    He could only do with it anyway. Rohan began to move the rocks to put them in an oval form to make a small rampart. Or a coffin.


    Then, he sat down in the middle of this small wall reaching his waist and lit by the moon. He closed his eyes and started to meditate.


    Before moving his mana, Rohan first took a look at his body. Since he was excited when he appeared inside the mountain and had kept running since then, he didn''t have the time to carefully size his body and only looked briefly. Now, he took his time to check everything.


    As he had expected, his body was a bit damaged here and there. The strange red threads were simply beyond words for the strength they give, but he wouldn''t be able to do it again unless he wanted to permanently cripple himself.


    He couldn''t use this method anymore before his body fully healed, but he could still meditate normally without any problem. Without wasting more time, Rohan willed his mana.


    It rushed down his first meridian before reaching the end of it. This part was much more enlarged as countless deep stripes were engraved against the wall of the meridian. Rohan made his mana spin, following the stripes as perfectly as the first time, but soon, he frowned. A few minutes later, his mana dried up.


    He knew that without his collection of mana cores, it would take a long time before ranking up and finally becoming an Intermediate Warrior. But he didn''t expect that with this speed and the small amount of mana he had, he would need at least a few weeks now.


    The worst thing was that now his body was strengthened up from the red threads, his meridians were also tougher. That was undeniably a perfect hidden consequence, but he would now need to put more effort and more mana to construct a vortex.


    He shifted his attention to draw another stroke for his rune. The pattern on the blue-purple stone was now red, and the white rune hovering in the middle was also showing signs of being tainted by the red mana. Rohan didn''t know if it was a good thing or not, but the increase of power it gave him was enough to make him overjoyed.


    After his seance of meditation that didn''t even take him more than thirty minutes, Rohan lay on the not really comfortable floor and began to sleep one of the longest nights he had since a long time.


    The next few days came without any issue. Rohan ran in the direction of the north. Sometimes he had the chance to pass through a small forest. During those times, he would sharpen a piece of wood to hunt with it.


    He was beginning to be more proficient with the reading of footprints, and along with his godly strength, anything could be used as a weapon. That was why he didn''t have any difficulties eating some food during his trip back home.


    He was even familiarizing himself with the way of making a fire. Although he required more than half an hour to make one, it was better than before.


    There were only so few patches of forest on the way, and most of the time, the only surroundings he was passing through was the hot desert full of rocks of various sizes.


    Then one day, the environment on the horizon changed as Rohan attained a small cliff closing this region. The frontier between the external and internal rings.


    The Barren Lands were huge, and there was no way for Rohan to be at the same place as before. There wasn''t any opening inside the cliff allowing him to cross the cliff. Instead of following along it hoping to find a path, the young man decided to climb it.


    He had successfully climbed up the highest mountain in the world after all. A small cliff a few tens of meters tall was nothing to him.


    He even believed that if he used Charge to leap in the air, he would be able to jump over the cliff. The landing wouldn''t be funny though, so Rohan didn''t try it.


    In no time, his feet stood at the top of the cliff. It was a large platform stretching for several hundred meters and surrounding the while internal ring.. It was obvious that the name of the ring came from those strange cliffs.

 Chapter 140 - Going Back To Blanche

    Near the frontier delimiting the Barren Lands, there was a small city governed by a baron standing here.


    The city didn''t have any walls as there was no need for them here. Apart from the barbarians of the Barren Lands which would barely be able to throw pebbles at them, the baron had judged it was useless to waste time and money to construct any rampart.


    Surrounding this city which counted several tens of thousands of people was mostly green grass with a large forest stretching to the south and west.


    Crossing this forest and reaching this city after weeks of traveling in the desert, Rohan was finally able to breathe. A dirt path entering the city was taking the role of a door, and as he came in front of the guard, this one directly pointed his spear toward him.


    "Who are you?! Are you coming from the Barren Lands, you beggar?" His tone was too rude, giving Rohan the urge to slap him.


    But he refrained himself as he took notice of where he was coming from, and most importantly at what he was currently looking like.


    His gray robe was torn here and there, and the weeks surrounded by dust and sand truly gave him the appearance of a beggar. There weren''t even any other belongings on him, and as he was indeed coming from the Barren Lands, the reaction of this man was to be expected.


    "Where are we?" Since entering would be quite complicated now, Rohan hoped to know at least where he was.


    "So you really came from the Barren Lands, eh? I''ll give 5 seconds to disappear from my sight, otherwise don''t blame me to show why you bastards shouldn''t come here!" The guard stepped forward, the tip of the spear almost touching Rohan''s body.


    Rohan felt his hand itching as he wanted to wave it. Instead, he took on himself and gently smiled as he answered back.


    "Give me where I am, then I''ll naturally go away."


    Unfortunately, the response of the guard was still inappropriate.


    "You think I''ll not stab you, you filthy nomad?" Along with his words, he stabbed with his spear.


    The tip pierced the air before stopping there. The guard''s mouth opened itself. The young man in front of him was standing in the same place, with his fingers clasped against the blade of his spear. His weapon couldn''t bulge anymore even when he put all the strength he had. He was instantly alarmed as sweat flowed down his spine.


    "Before I snap this toy to shove it into your mouth, can you answer my question?" Rohan''s patience was running low. Why do people continuously waste their time with such a lack of respect?


    He had already gotten out of a place where hundreds of people were almost spitting on his face every day. Experiencing it once again made him want to destroy the man shaking in front of him, but he was barely controlling himself.


    "W-we are in Kolin, sir, a city in the Kingdom of Prasthana." The man answered with his face ashen. His hand was still holding the spear as he didn''t know if he should release his weapon or not.


    "Prasthana?" Rohan frowned. He wanted to reach Daksina before heading for Blanche. Only after did he want to go back home.


    "Are we far from Daksina?" He asked another question as he pondered what to do.


    "Not at all sir, the frontier with them is only a few ten kilometers toward the east." His speech was becoming more refined the more he was speaking, and his shakes were becoming lighter.


    Since he had his answers, and since he was without money anyway, he decided to continue his path toward the east instead of trying to enter the city.


    He flicked his hand and pushed the weapon away before walking away. It was only a light gesture for Rohan, but an impressive blow for the guard as he stumbled back and fell heavily against the ground. He looked warily as the young man was headed to the east, and without wasting, he quickly got up to rush toward the center of the city. It was his duty to report back what happened.


    Like had said the man, the frontier with Prasthana was extremely near his position, and since the city of Blanche was also close to the border, Rohan reached it only two days later.


    Unfortunately, the way the guards were treating him was exactly the same as they instantly pointed their weapons the moment Rohan reached the wall of the large city.


    He was finally back after what seemed to be an infinity of time, and people kept spoiling his great mood. It was unforgivable.


    "Beggars aren''t authorized to enter through the doors. Only the civilized people can enter, go begging in the poor districts behind you." One of the guards, maybe their leader, shooed Rohan away with a look of contempt while posing his hand on the handle of his sword.


    Rohan suddenly felt like destroying the doors with a punch, but before he could vent his anger, a man appeared behind him.


    "He''s with me, don''t worry about it." He lifted his hand and took a purse before putting it in the hand of the smiling guard.


    Without any more words and this easily, the guards opened the door. They didn''t take a glance at Rohan, as if they couldn''t see him.


    The helping man nodded his head to Rohan as he invited him to follow him. He had short brown hair and was quite bulky under his tight pourpoint. After walking away from the guards, the man explained as he continued on his way.


    "I didn''t expect you to appear here at such a time. Fortunately, the guards are quite blind, otherwise, that wouldn''t be great for you, Warrior Rohan!"


    "Do we know each other? What are talking about?" Rohan tilted his head to the side as he followed suit. He didn''t know where the man was heading, but the strongest foe in this city was a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, he didn''t have to fear anything.


    The man suddenly stopped as he turned his face with a puzzled expression. Seeing that the young warrior was truly unaware, he felt totally flabbergasted.


    "Don''t you know that the kingdoms of Prasthana and Daksina are searching for you?" His tone was showing all the unbelief he was feeling.


    "Eh? Why would they search for me?" Rohan was so shocked that this question left his mouth without him being able to control it.


    Hearing about Prasthana, Rohan instantly understood they had found his track. But it was already almost three years ago since he had fled, was there a need to chase after him? He was only the child of a count participating in this war after all. However, hearing about Daksina also searching for him was unexpected.


    The man was rendered speechless as he looked curiously at the young man. The young master Delia had explained to him that this person was unfathomable and that he should give all the respect he could.


    But from the way he was looking at this situation, this young man only seemed utterly lost. It was even a miracle that no one had captured him already!

 Chapter 141 - Meeting With A Friend

    "Rohan! What a surprise!" Delia, seeing his friend back from the Barren Lands, quickly got up to hug him. He stopped half a meter away though, as he glanced with critical eyes the clothes of the young warrior.


    A strange robe wrapped his body, which was probably supposed to be gray at some point with countless scratches on it, as well as so much dirt on it he believed Rohan had been buried alive not long ago.


    *cough*


    "Is it a habit you have to always look like a beggar? Or do you love living inside a forest that much? Anyway, come sit down!" Delia stepped back and sat down on his sofa, signaling Rohan to sit down in front of him.


    Rohan couldn''t help but smile when he saw this man with his golden clothes reflecting all the light and his big smile.


    The man who had helped him at the entrance of the city was one of the men working for Delia. He wasn''t expecting to cross the path with Rohan, but since he had easily recognized him, he had guided him until the mansion of the viscount Noir.


    "It''s quite a long time ago since you left the city, I''m sure there are a lot of things you want to know! You''re lucky to see me here since I came back two days ago from a trip, great isn''t it? This trip I made was toward the north to sell¡­"


    Rohan''s smile faded away almost instantly. He was happy to see this man once again, but he hadn''t missed his talkative manner. While Rohan was wondering if Delia didn''t have any other friends and this was the reason he talked to him too much, the excited man suddenly changed the subject.


    "Since you only came back today, you probably don''t know about it, so let me be direct." His jovial tone became serious. "You are searched by everyone, Rohan. And you are far from being safe here."


    "Why that? Plus there''s only a rank 5 Beginner Warrior here, I doubt he can do anything." Rohan didn''t hide his strength in front of Delia, there wasn''t any reason to do so anyway.


    Delia waved his hand. "That was before, now there''s an Intermediate Warrior stationed here in case you come back. He is named¡­"


    Before Delia could continue to talk about the whole warrior''s family, Rohan cut him and directly asked another question.


    "Why am I being searched? I heard that Prasthana is also looking for me." He really couldn''t understand. There was maybe a reason to catch him after the war for punishing all the nobles from participating, but it was now a couple of years ago and he was pretty much a nobody.


    "You remember Jared?" Instead of answering, Delia asked him another question.


    "No. Who?"


    "The damn wizard you killed! Can''t you at least remember his name?" Delia rolled his eyes, this young man really had a problem. "His teacher isn''t happy about it, and since you killed one of his apprentices along with Matthew, you are both to be arrested at sight. You know Matthew right?"


    He could only look suspiciously at Rohan. Maybe it was already a miracle that he could remember his own name.


    Only then Rohan widened his eyes of disbelief. The name indeed seemed to be a lingering memory, and it also reminded him that it was because of his own words that Matthew was suspected to have killed Jared with him.


    "How is Matthew? He is still working for the daughter of a viscount, he can''t be under arrest this easily, right?" This man had left a great impression on him. He was fighting like a demon, discarding all injuries to kill his opponents, while acting like a cute puppy in front of his mistress.


    Although Rohan didn''t have the best conscience in the world, he didn''t want someone he knew to pay for him.


    "Well, he wasn''t arrested. But the situation has exploded a bit. He had abducted Elia some months ago, and since then, no one knows where they are. Curiously, the viscount Macker doesn''t seem to care that much that his daughter had been kidnapped. He only sends a few teams here and there, but that was to be expected. If you want my opinion, I''m sure they are happy with the situation."


    He made a slight pause to take a sip from his cup of tea, before continuing.


    "For the kingdom Prasthana however, I have no idea." He leaned comfortably on the sofa. "After the warrants with your name and characteristic had been made public, this kingdom had suddenly jumped on the occasion to say they had been searching for you for a long time already and that if the kingdom of Daksina catches you, they have to send you to them."


    "Why does it give me the impression of being a rare wine that all the rich noblemen want to have?" Rohan dejectedly spoke.


    "Hahaha!" Delia loudly laughed for a full minute. "You are spot on! The two kingdoms have since then been fighting each other. The wizard of the court of Daksina and the head warrior of the kingdom of Prasthana had almost fought each other at some point. The situation is far worse than what you can think."


    Rohan and Delia continued to speak about what happened while Rohan was away, and several hours later, the young warrior finally decided to left the mansion to head toward Horim''s shop.


    The moment he had said to Delia that he was going to see his master Horim, he had shown a strange expression without telling him anything. Before leaving the place, Rohan eagerly accepted Delia''s offer to take a bath and change of clothes.


    It was the first bath with hot water he had taken for a few months now, and Rohan felt his body completely relax. He sighed with pleasure, and without being able to control it, he fell asleep.


    A few hours later, he was inside a shaking carriage with new clothes. It was the darker he could find among the colorful ones Delia owned. Now at least, his unclean appearance of a beggar changed to a handsome young man.


    With no time, the carriage reached the tight street where the shop was and the moment it stopped, Rohan lightly jumped off from the cabin.


    It reminded him of the first time Delia had guided him here, to work for a blacksmith to win some pocket money while hiding for a bit. Unfortunately, his coins were all lost in Uradan, and the situation was far from being resolved.


    He opened the door, and after entering the shop, Rohan immediately felt that something was missing.


    He glanced around. The racks were full of different kinds of weapons. Rohan shook his head as he thought it was nothing and walked toward the door at the rear. He abruptly stopped.


    His eyes were locked in front of him, in between the two closed doors. There was supposed to be a sword here, the more refined one of the whole shop. Rohan didn''t know what this sword represented for Horim, but he knew it was important.


    But now, this magnificent sword wasn''t here anymore.


    His heart leaped in his chest as he felt that something was wrong. He immediately rushed forward and swung open the left door. His heart throbbed faster when his ears didn''t pick up the constant clangs of the hammer normally hitting the metal.


    He descended the stairs plunged in darkness and in no time, he passed through the last door. Rohan stood there in a daze.


    There was no light and everything was dark. The large room was cold, proof that the fire hadn''t been lit for a long time. The smell of dust and iron filled the air. It was unknown how much time Rohan stood there, but suddenly, he burst out laughing.


    This old mad man had finally decided it was time to go. Rohan didn''t know his past, nor did he know why he had left, but he reckoned the reason was easy to guess.


    In essence, Horim was like him. They both had a similar goal, and his master had taken the decision he was going to do it.


    Rohan felt he was missing his master, but he believed he would meet him again. He had no talent in smithing, but he would never forget this master blacksmith who was kind enough, even though he was quite eccentric, to have taken the time to teach him.


    With nothing to do, Rohan headed to the forge and lit the fire inside the furnace.. He was going to forge another piece of scrap metal.

 Chapter 142 - Intermediate Warrior

    Rohan was sitting in the middle of his room. His eyes were closed, and his mind focused on his mana core.


    Today he would become a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior.


    The red mist floating inside the core moved under his will and gathered at the center, forming a sort of small stick. The mana was compacted at its maximum, creating an almost solid item.


    With the large quantity of mana he had, the simple oval-shaped sphere from the earlier beginner ranks had become a stick, and Rohan believed he had almost 60 points of mana. But that was only because of the creation of the vortex. Once it would be fully created, his capacity of mana would jump until his mana core and meridians can support 100 points of mana.


    But now wasn''t the time to think about such trivialities. Rohan controlled his mana and sent it all toward his first meridian, circulating through the path at high speed. Soon enough, it reached the end of the path, where the meridian was connected to the outside world, the palm of the right hand.


    Carefully, Rohan made the mana spin in a direction. His control was simply perfect, and the swirl was exactly the same as the first time he had started the meditation to become a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior, albeit larger as the entrance of the meridian was also larger.


    This meditation was extremely important to Rohan. Becoming an Intermediate Warrior wasn''t simply an increase of raw power, but also an increase of political prestige. There were countless Beginner Warriors on the continent, but the number of Intermediate, Advanced, and Supreme Warriors was limited.


    And at only 17 years old, Rohan would become one of the truly powerful people of the world.


    The red mana spun faster and faster. The goal wasn''t to dig the right path anymore as it was already done, and the patterns against the wall of the meridian were giving the right form for the vortex.


    As the mana was moving faster, Rohan was starting to lose control over it. It was so fast that it was becoming blurry, and Rohan couldn''t stop it anymore.


    It escaped his control, and without being able to do anything about it, Rohan could only watch with anticipation and eagerness. From there, his months of hard work and his countless meditations showed its might.


    Slowly, the mana was condensing itself. The whole meridian was shaking under such speed, but it didn''t break. Rohan even believed that his meridians were among the toughest ones in the world because of the red mana. If it was breaking there, he thought that no one would be able to create a vortex.


    After an unknown amount of time, the meridian stabilized itself while the spinning mana finally transformed into a red vortex. An explosion burst and Rohan''s body trembled under such power.


    Mana rushed inside his meridians like a river coming from the right hand, strengthening his body and his mana core. His muscles moaned as his bones hardened.


    Rohan suddenly opened his eyes. An overjoyed smile bloomed on his face as he felt extraordinarily good. His body swelled with power as his jointures cracked under his might. The amount of power surging through his whole seemed to be a bit less than what he had after using the method with the red threads of mana, but it still felt incredible.


    Rohan remembered that he didn''t have his Essence Anymore as it was taken away by this mad Elder Kuud. Such an item was indeed great as he wanted to see his status. Maybe as an Intermediate Warrior, he could try to ask for one? Unfortunately, as everyone wanted to skin him alive, it was maybe not a good idea to gently ask them with puppy eyes.


    Rohan focused once again and directed his mind to check on his body. His internal injuries had almost fully healed, and only some remnant could be seen. Since it was so light, and since Rohan couldn''t control his thirst for power, he decided to try once again if he could reinforce his body.


    With his eyes closed, he once again thought about his dream. Soon enough, the red dots appeared one after another and quickly formed countless red threads floating around. This method, if seen by anyone on this continent, would be seen as godly, as well as simply impossible.


    After all, Rohan was controlling the mana that was around him, forcing it to spin around him to form a red dome. Using mana that wasn''t his own to strengthen his body was something that no one would ever dream to do, or at least, no one in this world had the means to do so.


    The red threads entered one by one inside his body. Coupled with his promotion as a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior, the further increase of power nearly made Rohan lose his mind. His bones cracked as his muscles expanded. A terrible pain extended from everywhere.


    The pain was even more terrible than the time his meridian had been cracked after fighting the wizard. His whole body was heating as vapor floated above his body. He couldn''t but scream as the pain was too much, and without being able to do anything else, Rohan lost consciousness.


    The instant he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry. The pain had already disappeared, but Rohan carefully sized his body. The interior was badly damaged and from what he could see, this pain was because he had been wrong. The previous injuries weren''t healed. He nearly cursed at his own foolishness.


    He stood up on his shaking legs. Rohan instantly widened his eyes. His heart jumped as it beat harder and harder, filling his ears. Chills ran down his spine as he felt his mind spin on itself.


    It wasn''t his room anymore.


    The place he was in was small, without any furniture. It was only made of rotten wood. Rohan slowly turned his face toward the right as he gulped down. There was a small leather bag on the floor, with two daggers and a few coins inside that could be seen through the opening.


    "Fuck."


    He turned his eyes toward the entrance, where the completely broken door was somewhat still doing its job. With a loud step, as if a whole mountain was smashing his shoulders, Rohan headed out of the small hut.


    He slowly and carefully pushed the wooden planche that was once a functional door. The great amount of power he had was still hard to use, but it was curiously far easier than the first time.


    The sun shone on his face, forcing Rohan to squint his eyes. The moment he stepped outside of the hut, a voice thundered from the front.


    "You dare to come back here, slave?" The angry voice was followed by the clear sound of a saber being drawn.


    Through his blurry eyes, Rohan instantly saw a young man charging toward him with incredible speed. By an extreme reflex, he immediately used Overload to slow down the time and jumped back to nearly evade the attack. The tip of the saber passed only a centimeter away from his throat.


    The situation was totally out of his expectation. Without more choices, Rohan used Charge. He stomped his right foot on the floor as it violently cracked under its might. His body flew forward like an arrow, but it was only the beginning.


    Rohan appeared in front of the man who was surprised to have missed. He followed with a Strengthened Blow and swung his right arm with impressive speed. The disciple that was once too fast for Rohan was unable to dodge the blow.


    Rohan''s punch connected violently with the man''s chin. A loud clack echoed in the area as the disciple was sent flying in the distance, before landing on the paved ground violently.. It was unknown if he was still alive.

 Chapter 143 - They Arent Human

    Rohan only needed to take a glance to see that the commotion had attracted the attention of other disciples. By luck, this area wasn''t greatly frequented, but with the speed of those freaks, it was only a question of a few seconds before he was surrounded.


    Rohan felt a hard block of ice falling down his throat. He quickly turned around and rushed back inside his hut. He grabbed his bag filled with cores and exited once again his place.


    It only took him less than a second, but he could already see some of the white-robbed disciples running in this direction with bloodlust. The situation wasn''t bad anymore, it was simply catastrophic.


    He took out the saber on the ground near the body, and without caring about it, Rohan turned toward the south and rushed with maximum speed.


    He knew that a small distance away was a small wall delimiting the sect from the city, and once he would hide in the middle of a crowd, he believed it would be easier to flee.


    "The human had returned! Catch him!"


    "Kill this worm!"


    The rage coming from the disciples burst here and there, and the moment they saw the lying body of one of them, their need for revenge exploded.


    Rohan felt the wind hitting his face as his legs were filled with great power. He didn''t know how much his constitution had reached, but this amount of power made him thrilled. If only there weren''t tens of bloodthirsty chasing after him.


    Without a doubt, Rohan would be able to leave in the dust any Intermediate Warriors, but some of these non-humans cultivating their bodies directly with mana weren''t as weak and slow. One of them caught up with Rohan from the right as he jumped onto his target.


    He unsheathed his saber while his body was in midair and slashed in a single move. The movement was fast, but Rohan wasn''t a young man unable to see it anymore. Furthermore, this disciple wasn''t a strong one and wasn''t even comparable to the three first ones that Rohan had met, Vaal, Yuun, or Graan.


    He easily dodged the attack, letting the blade brush his body before he counterattacked. His opponent was alarmed as the moment his foot touched the ground, he leaped back with a solemn expression.


    A thin bloody line appeared on his right cheek as blood slowly dripped down. The weak human in front of him wasn''t so weak.


    Rohan wasn''t willing to waste more time and charge ruthlessly toward his opponent. He controlled his mana and sent it toward his first meridian. The moment he appeared in front of the disciple, the mana was sucked by the vortex on Rohan''s palm.


    It was projected at high speed out of his meridian and almost instantly, the saber was recovered with a thin layer of mana. The faint red glow gave a fierce appearance at the blade while the man facing it widened his eyes of disbelief.


    Rohan used the skill that only an Intermediate Warrior could use. It was called Enchantment and permitted a warrior to control the mana to recover an item with it. It was also the premise to throw a mana blade, but the sole Enchantment part was the less costly skill a warrior could have.


    It only had 5 points of mana being used, while a mana blade cost 15 more points while also wearing off the Enchantment. If he wasn''t using a mana blade, then the skill would simply fade away after a short time.


    Although it didn''t directly enhance the prowess of a warrior like Charge or Strengthened Blow, reinforcing a weapon was as important as strengthening the body, if not more.


    The blade cut through the air without any resistance. The disciple wasn''t fast enough and could only use his own saber to defend his body, but the result alarmed him greatly.


    The moment the two sabers connected, a notch appeared on the disciple''s blade, frightening him. He jumped back as he was scared to lose his weapon, but this action was a mistake. In the process, Rohan took the opportunity to step forward.


    His blade flashed with a red line. Blood spilled in the air before an arm fell on the ground with a plop.


    The disciple looked with a blank face at his missing arm, where blood was dripping on the floor. He couldn''t believe what had just happened. He shifted his eyes and stared deeply at the young human in front of him. No. Was he even a human?


    His life was in danger.


    Rohan was about to charge once again when he suddenly stopped. The fight had only taken less than a few seconds and the other disciples were dangerously nearing his position. He only needed to kill this opponent to have a chance to flee, but what he saw made him face reality.


    He was indeed in a place of demons.


    "I''ll kill you, you insect."


    Red threads of mana were floating around the man, coming from his body. Two black horns had grown on his forehead, pointing to the sky. His vertical pupils had nothing to do with a human anymore.


    A faint red aura surrounded his blade as the bleeding from his missing limb had already stopped.


    His expression was furious as he stared at Rohan. This demoniac appearance facing the young man was far beyond anything he could have thought about.


    The disciple rushed forward and attacked Rohan like a demon, which he obviously was. His speed and strength seemed to have increased to an incredible level as Rohan had difficulties defending himself.


    The worst was that other disciples were quickly approaching and ready to throw themselves against him. The situation was worse than what he had believed.


    Rohan parried an attack from the right before slashing with his weapon. His opponent had received a great boost, but it was still manageable.


    He used Overload. The time slowed down as he saw the demon cleaving with his saber at lighting speed. The speed was so great that even within his perception, it was like a normal leisurely chopping down his weapon.


    But it was nothing for Rohan. He stepped forward and evaded the blade before slashing from the bottom to the top with his saber. His opponent easily dodge the blade by stepping back, but Rohan suddenly smiled. It was exactly what he wanted.


    He abruptly slashed down in the void, sending a blood-red mana blade cleaving toward the disciple.


    He didn''t wait for the result and decided to move forward. He attacked with his sword to the right, and raised his left hand to the left, throwing a red wind blade.


    As he was only a rank 2 Beginner Wizard, his spell was weaker than the mana blade he could release, but it was still enough to block any escape route for the demon.


    The red threads surrounding his body suddenly exploded. The demon spitted a large quantity of blood in exchange for godly strength.


    The paved ground cracked under his foot as he vanished from the place he was. The two blades formed with mana touched nothing before fading away a few tens of meters away. Rohan''s saber encountered nothing but emptiness.


    Rohan took back his battle stance with a bitter smile.. The time wasn''t to care about this demon who had appeared behind him anymore, as a couple of disciples were already surrounding him.

 Chapter 144 - Teleportation Between Two Worlds

    Rohan was surrounded by tens of disciples looking at him with murderous eyes. One of them looked different from a human, staring at him with his saber raised. His missing arm along with his horns and demonic eyes gave his appearance a fearsome one.


    "Daring to come here, after successfully fleeing. I don''t know if you are stupid or if it is normal among humans."


    Rohan turned his head to the right, where one disciple approached leisurely. His saber wasn''t even unsheathed, but the moment Rohan recognized him, he knew there was no need for him.


    "Well, you did follow us like a fool for several days thinking we wouldn''t sense you, so I think it''s natural." Vaal, the leader of the trio which had caught Rohan, walked toward Rohan, bypassing the other silent disciples.


    Rohan knew he was pretty much dead at this point. He couldn''t even easily kill a normal disciple. Someone like Vaal was an opponent far above his level.


    "From the orders of Elder Kuud," his hand posed itself on the handle of his saber, "I''ll cut off your legs so you can''t run away anymore."


    A demoniac smile stretched on his face as he stared at Rohan. Before he could leap forward, the young warrior took the only choice he could take.


    He closed his eyes and standing in the middle of bloodthirsty demons, small red dots began to appear around him. It was the only plan he could think of.


    He wasn''t stupid and as far-fetched it could sound, he was confident that it was because of this method of meditation that he had been teleported here.


    The red dots linked together under the alarmed disciples and formed red threads hovering around Rohan.


    Vaal widened his eyes as he forgot his duty. His hand was still grasping his saber, but he didn''t dare to move. What was happening? How could this human control such a large amount of Breath?


    The red threads quickly surrounded Rohan and spun in the same direction, forming a sort of red cocoon enveloping the body of the human.


    The disciples subconsciously stepped back with this saber pointing to this phenomenon. Even Vaal was apprehensive as he began to smoothly draw his saber.


    Suddenly, a terrible cry echoed from within the bloody red cocoon. All the disciples shuddered under the continuous screams coming from the human. They could only imagine the pain he was suffering as they saw the threads entering the cocoon one by one.


    They couldn''t see the situation inside, but Rohan was half kneeling, supported by his saber with the tip scratching the floor. His legs were shaking as he gritted his teeth.


    The red threads fuzed one after another inside his body. His flesh was torn open here and there, his muscles trembled as his bones menaced to break at any moment.


    The previous internal injuries were already dangerous, but now that he was trying to use this same method, his body couldn''t support it anymore.


    Blood was dripping out from his open injuries as Rohan felt the world spin around him. His consciousness was fading away, and as his last bit of hope prayed for being teleported out of here, he collapsed in the bloody ground.


    The red cocoon formed with countless thin threads slowly disappeared, letting the disciples flabbergasted as they couldn''t believe their own eyes.


    Vaal felt his eyes popping out of his socket as he rushed forward. A large quantity of blood was on the floor, but the human had disappeared.


    He suddenly waved his saber from left to right as he couldn''t understand how this human had simply disappeared.


    Before he could say anything, a mighty voice appeared from the side.


    "All of you, get out of here." An old man appeared near the blood with a thoughtful expression.


    Vaal was given a fright as he instantly bowed to Elder Kuud along with the other disciples before running out of there.


    Kuud pondered as his eyes were locked against the blood. Soon, he smiled.


    "This human¡­ if I can understand what he did, should I be able to enter his human world?" His smile grew bigger and bigger. Suddenly, he vanished, excited to start his research.


    Rohan woke up in the middle of his blood. The pain was simply atrocious as he tried to get up. He could only help himself with his saber.


    The moment he stood up, he couldn''t help but spit a mouthful of blood, spilling it on the wooden floor. Although he was right and he was alive, Rohan knew that he would be likely to die if he didn''t do anything about his state. With no other choice, Rohan decided to see Delia.


    He was the only one who can help you now. He left his room with the help of his saber as a trail of blood followed him. He pushed open the door, and soon he found himself on the stairs.


    He nearly tumbled more than once as he felt his body slowly breaking apart. His time was counted, but he couldn''t walk faster.


    With extreme difficulties, Rohan finally left Horim''s shop and stepped on the street. It was only the beginning.


    He didn''t know how many steps he had taken already, walking in the streets as the crowd around watched him curiously. Along with his clothes and bag, some even ponder if it was worth plundering this almost dead body. Before anyone took the initiative, a man appeared in front of Rohan.


    Rohan nearly bumped into him.


    "Rohan Sharkan? You are under arrest by the order of the king himself, do you have anything to say?" A throaty voice filled his ears, but Rohan didn''t care at all. It was already hard to keep walking, he didn''t want to stop here.


    "Fuck off."


    Leaning on his saber, Rohan slowly tried to bypass the man, but this one positioned himself once again in his way.


    "I am a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior. I believe you want to take back your words?" A condescending tone descended upon Rohan. His irritability was already at the maximum and this voice nearly made Rohan want to cut this man into pieces.


    A flash of light burst in between the two men. The tip of the saber posed once again on the ground with a clear sound. Rohan spitted out some blood because of his abrupt movement.


    The warrior''s expression changed immediately. He slowly turned his face to the side and looked at his right arm. Or at least, where should his arm be. Blood spilled on the floor as some of the onlookers screamed in panic.


    Rohan continued his way as he passed through a couple of warriors who didn''t dare to move.


    This young man, leaning on his saber to walk like a hunched old man, continuously losing his blood, easily scared away a bunch of mighty warriors.


    But that was to be expected. Even the Intermediate Warrior wasn''t able to see the attack, much less being able to evade or block it.. The moment the warrior snapped back into reality with the pain burning his nerves, he took out his sword with his left hand with a furious face.

 Chapter 145 - Finding Delia For Help

    Even though he was feeling drowsy, Rohan still heard the man behind charging with loud steps.


    He gritted his teeth as he controlled the rest of his mana. He stepped to his right with great effort before swinging with his saber, using the momentum for his weapon to flash with red light in a grand arc.


    A red mana blade tore the air and instantly appeared before the Intermediate Warrior. His face fell instantly as one of the weaker warriors on the side blurted under this huge surprise. "Intermediate rank!"


    The rank 6 Intermediate waved his sword as he used Enchantment to cover the blade with a faint white layer of mana. Jis sword met the blade while sweat broke out from his forehead. He was forced to take several steps back, but the worst was that his Enchantment broke under the blow.


    A dent followed by a crack appeared on his sword before the mana blade vanished there. If he wasn''t quick enough to reinforce his sword with his mana, he would probably be cut in two at this moment.


    He stared with dread at the young man slowly walking away. All their information was wrong, completely wrong. This monster wasn''t a weak rank 3 Beginner Warrior like they all believed he was, but he was an Intermediate Warrior!


    How young was he? The warrior could only watch the boy going away as he shuddered under a thought. If this young lad wasn''t injured, would he still be alive right now?


    While he was walking toward the Noir''s mansion, Rohan thought hard about what had happened. For a reason he couldn''t understand, the red threads had the power to teleport him to another world.


    In this world, the people looked like humans but were actually far from being ones. The image of the disciple transforming into a demon was enough to make Rohan shudder. What was curious was that those demons kept the same appearance as a human.


    Rohan''s mind wandered toward the Kolmos mountain. The first time he had reached the Uradan world as this elder called it, it was after reaching the core of the mountain.


    Was it because of the red dome made of countless threads? Rohan didn''t know, but he remembered that after coming back and finding himself inside the dome, there was nothing around him. The interior of the dome was empty.


    While Rohan was slowly closing the distance with the mansion, a warrior was following him tens of meters away. His captain had ordered him to follow Rohan Sharkan and to never, under any circumstances, lose his target.


    But after the young man had shown off his power, the warrior was quite scared for his life. He was doing his best to hide behind all obstacles he could along the way, not knowing that Rohan was too badly beaten up to care about anything.


    After an unknown amount of time that seemed like an eternity, Rohan finally sighed as he stood in front of the mansion. He walked at a snail''s pace toward the entrance where two guards were eyeing him curiously. Seeing this bloody man walking in their direction, the two men glanced at each other before one of them advanced with his hand on his handle.


    "What you want? This is the mansion of the viscount Noir, not a place for you."


    "Tell Delia that Rohan is here. And if you could run to do it that would be great as well."


    "Eh? You think I''ll bother the young master for an unknown¡­"


    "Wait!" The second guard moved forward. "I already saw his face, he is a friend of the young master."


    He looked curiously at the bloody man. Was there a beast in the city or something?


    "Follow me, I''ll tell the young master. I know you two are friends." He decided to bring the young man. After all, he had seen this man and his young master quite a few times together already. It was enough to know his young master would care.


    A few minutes later, a cup of tea fell on the floor, spilling the clear liquid everywhere.


    "What the hell happened?" Delia was alarmed as he saw Rohan in such a state. Did the warriors already find him?


    "A band of demons had surrounded me and I judiciously chose to mutilate myself to get out of there. Can you help me now?"


    Those words instantly made Delia snap back as he stood up.


    "You, bring him to an empty room. You, quickly search for a doctor. I don''t care how much he wants to be paid but he has to move his ass in less than ten minutes!" His rare smileless face took over as he gave his orders to his men.


    ""Yes, young master!"" The guard and the butler answered in unison as they took their leave, one rushing out of the mansion while the other bringing Rohan upstairs.


    A few minutes later, Rohan was lying on a bed, waiting for a doctor. The pain was so terrible that he almost wanted to knock his head against the wall.


    "Have the warriors found out about you?" Delia carefully asked as he was standing near the door. If they indeed have, he would have no choice but to see his father right away.


    "Maybe?" Rohan had momentarily forgotten about his encounter with a warrior on his way here. The memory of a man trying to stop him slowly surged in his mind.


    "What?" Delia yelled as he looked at Rohan. "How can you say maybe? The situation is bad. How did you get out of them? I knew a rank 6 Intermediate was strong enough to put you in such a state. Damn, they will maybe come here at any time. I''ll have to talk to my father. But what¡­"


    "I don''t think it''s that much of a problem. Just bring some potions to heal me so I can stand. I have the impression of being injured too often these days."


    "Not much of a problem? Sleep and wait for the doctor. I''ll see what I can do." Delia''s lips twitched as he heard his lack of interest. He left the room and headed toward his father''s office. It already exceeded what he could do, and this by several times.


    The moment he reached the room, what he heard made his scalp go numb. There, the personal butler of his father was talking inside the office, his voice escaping through the door.


    "Master Noir, a warrior is wanting to see you. He is the newly appointed captain, the rank 6 Intermediate Warrior."


    "What does he want?" His father sounded perplexed as there was no reason for this warrior to come here. He didn''t know that Rohan had come back yesterday since Delia didn''t tell him, and in general, he didn''t care about what his son was doing.


    "He said it was important, but he didn''t explain anything to me, master."


    The door opened as Delia''s father left his office with his sober clothes. "Then let''s go see what he wants, it''s not like I can openly refuse him."


    *cough*


    "Father? I might have a slight idea why he wants to see you.." Delia said with a crisp smile as he appeared in front of his father.

 Chapter 146 - Thinking Of Such Thing Is Preposterous!

    The viscount Noir, followed by his son, stopped in front of a room. The main butler of the mansion was standing near the door, and after his master gave him the order, he opened the door.


    The instant they entered the room, a middle-aged man stood up from the sofa. He had been waiting for them and saluted the viscount and his son with a polite bow.


    The expression of the duo of father and son on their faces fell in front of this man. The captain of the city of Blanche, a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior, had his right arm missing.


    "Captain Mengua, I hope I didn''t let you wait too much." The viscount took back his spirit before presenting his son. "This is Delia, my son. I think I know why you are here, so let''s enter the core of the subject if you want."


    "Of course! Actually, I would like to invite the warrior Rohan on behalf of the count of Blanche. I think he is already injured so it is not the moment to bother him. That is why I am here now, for you viscount Noir, and for young master Noir, to inform the warrior Rohan once he would have recovered." The warrior calmly explained with a polite smile.


    Delia glanced at his father as he felt lost. Wasn''t they trying to capture Rohan after injuring him so much? Why would they wait for him to recover?


    "Captain Mengua, what happened to your arm?" The viscount asked carefully. He was starting to feel as lost as his son.


    "N-nothing, it was just my bad luck after encountering the mighty warrior Rohan on his way. It was my punition for trying to bother him while he was in such a state." Seeing this powerful man awkwardly waving his hand in front of him while praising Rohan, the viscount Noir frowned.


    "Captain, I will ask maybe a daring question, but have you not injured Rohan?" He took the cup of tea served by his Butler as he hid his urge to smack his son.


    "No!" Mengua straightened his back as he answered directly. "I or my men would never dare to injure this man, even thinking of such a thing is preposterous, viscount Noir!" What a joke, the power this young was wielding was far above his own. All his plans of capturing this Rohan were decisively thrown away until a more powerful warrior could come here.


    And that was the goal of the invitation. That way the young warrior would take his time and wouldn''t want to flee while Mengua would be waiting for reinforcement to arrive. He secretly congratulated himself on this great idea.


    The three of them continued to exchange some pleasantries for a few more minutes before the captain decided to take his leave.


    After the middle-aged man exited the room, guided by the butler, the smile on the viscount''s face vanished.


    "They have been searching for Rohan for several months now, why are they backing down this easily?" He muttered as Delia was also pondering on what could lead to those circumstances.


    The situation was a bit strange, but he couldn''t find any answer for now. He left the room with the company of his son and found Delia''s butler waiting there.


    "How is he?" Delia hastily asked.


    "The doctor had already checked on the warrior, young master. He is currently waiting for you in your waiting room. Master, would you want to go too?" The last sentence was directed to the viscount, but he refused as he had other things to do. He didn''t want to be affected by any schemes targeting him or Rohan.


    Since the kingdom had posted a warrant against Rohan, he wouldn''t do anything if the captain wanted to capture him. All he could play was on the warrior''s injuries to give him some time to recover, but since the count and the captain didn''t seem to care that much for a reason, he could only try to understand what would be their next move.


    Delia followed his butler and after entering his room, he quickly welcomed the doctor. He was an old man, and curiously, he seemed to be agitated.


    "Young master Delia, about your friend. Could you tell me what happened to him?" After the trivial courtesy, he directly asked what was on his mind.


    "Unfortunately, I do not know. Didn''t Rohan tell you anything about it? All I know is that he was bleeding from everywhere and that he had difficulties walking. I also believed¡­"


    "I have already checked him, young master, but he was unfortunately already unconscious after I entered the room. But honestly, it isn''t something that can be found every day! I have never seen such injuries in my life."


    "What do you mean? Is it that serious?"


    "No. I believe he would be able to heal by himself actually, and if he was able to drink a weak recovery potion, he would be on his legs in no time! The surprising part is that the wounds didn''t seem to come from an external means but his own body. I advanced myself a bit, but it is as if his body was welcoming an evolution but was too weak to fully incorporate it."


    His eyes were shining as if he was talking about a great discovery. He was eager to study the body of this man, but he knew it wasn''t possible. Even more when the butler didn''t want to leave him alone.


    "Well, I guess we would only be able to know the truth once he woke up. I''ll give him a few potions if you think it is enough. Although it is quite costly, I still have some of them in my personal belongings." Delia was quite relaxed after learning everything was good.


    Rohan would be able to recover whatever happened to him, and the captain was acting like a puppy revering his master Rohan. Although it was extremely bizarre, at least there shouldn''t be an issue for the next few days.


    After a few minutes, the doctor was finally dismissed, and after saying he would come back in a short time to check on his patient once again, he rapidly left.


    The question about his pay was easily solved. Delia wasn''t poor at all, and he was far from being stingy as well.


    The days passed one after another. Rohan was lying every day on his bed while waiting to fully recover. He was forced to put a stop to any meditation as he didn''t want to play with his life.


    With Delia''s generosity, he had been able to drink a couple of weak recovery potions, easing his pain a lot. Now, he didn''t insult everyone after waking up, which was pretty good news.


    About the invitation from the captain of the warriors, Rohan didn''t care at all. There was no way for him to accept it, and the moment he would be judged to have fully recovered, he would leave this city.


    He wasn''t a fool. Since the wizard of the court, one of the strongest people of the kingdom, wanted to find him to explain the murder of his disciple, he wouldn''t throw himself in the wolf''s den.


    Rohan could tell this wizard that it wasn''t his problem if his disciple was a rotten person joining forces with a group of bandits, but it probably wouldn''t save his life anyway.

 Chapter 147 - Sneaking Out Of The City

    Rohan sat in front of Delia. It has been two weeks now since had been lying in his damn bed, and this morning, he felt like his body had almost fully healed.


    There were still some minor wounds and damages near the muscles, but that wouldn''t endanger his life anymore. Furthermore, Rohan had sworn to himself that he wouldn''t dare to use this method anymore. He was sure that the next time he would make the red cocoon appear to strengthen his body, he would be teleported to the exact same place in the sect of Averlorn.


    There was no way he risked his life over it, but he was still curious about this place. Once he would be stronger, he would go back to this world. He looked at his bag that was on the sofa near him.


    Although he had nearly lost his life, he was finally able to get back the countless mana cores. This luck made him grin with pleasure. From then on, he could only become powerful faster and faster, reaching the limit of the Intermediate ranks.


    His smile became somewhat stiff at this point. He didn''t know how to become an Advanced Warrior, and such protected knowledge had no way to be found in the wilderness. It was the same thing with the wizard''s ranks. He was lucky enough to have memorized the second rune, but he didn''t have the time to even look at the third one.


    Once he would finish drawing the rune, he would have to find a way to increase his rank, as well as find other spells.


    "Are you listening to me when I''m talking?" Delia woke him up as he focused back at this young man with a golden robe as shining as the sun. He was watching him with an annoyed expression, as he perfectly knew the young warrior had ignored him.


    "Not at all. What were you saying already?" He tilted his face to the side.


    Delia couldn''t help but think that if this man wasn''t lucky enough to have met him, Rohan would currently be beaten up to death by a random pissed-off person.


    "Let me tell you." He was massaging his forehead. "It concerns you, so at least listen to a bit. With my father''s information, we know that a rank 11 Advanced Warrior had arrived in the territory two days ago. It''s obvious he''s here for you, but they still believe you are unable to move because of your injuries."


    He eyed curiously at Rohan. He secretly rejoiced as he was still listening.


    "What it means is that if we play it carefully, you can leave this place undercover without too much of a hassle. Isn''t it great? I have a perfect plan, let me tell you about it! First¡­"


    Rohan was seriously listening to Delia. The help this man was providing him was something he couldn''t have hoped for. There were also dangerous consequences if the warriors and the count found out that the viscount Noir had participated in his escape.


    He was poor, and he wasn''t strong enough. There was simply nothing he could do for now to repay this friend of his, but Rohan swore in his heart that he would do anything to help him once he could do so.


    He felt warmth spreading in his body as he carefully noted down in his mind all the information Delia was enumerating. The execution of the plan would need to be perfect if he wanted to draw all attention toward him. The risk of Delia and his father being punished was far too high.


    The day after this one, Rohan wore the clothes of a common guard with the crest of the Noir''s family on his chest. It was a simple leather armor, and the quantity of iron inside was minimal, only protecting his chest and his spine. His black hair was simply tied back, and his purple ribbon gifted by his father was put away.


    He had himself put some dirt on his face to hide his jawline and alter his face. He would easily be recognized closer, but no one would try to touch his face anyway.


    At the same time, Delia called the previous doctor for him to come to check on ''Rohan'' so that the warrior barely hidden outside the mansion wouldn''t think about Rohan escaping. To have a perfect performance, Delia, accompanied by a few guards with among them a new one, left the mansion by the main door.


    He waited there, talking with his men as he was waiting near his carriage ready to set off at any moment. A short time later, the doctor finally arrived, without expecting anything. As Delia said himself, if he wanted to trick someone, then he would need to trick everyone.


    He told him to check on Rohan as he was waiting inside. Delia also explained that he had an important matter so he wouldn''t follow him to do his duty. The doctor couldn''t expect anything and simply nodded his head before entering the mansion, led by a butler. Not even once did he look at Rohan standing at the side in his perfect disguise.


    After the doctor entered through the door, Delia nodded at his guards and climbed up inside the carriage, followed by Rohan. It wasn''t often that a guard sat in the same cabin as his master, but it wasn''t that rare either. Thus, Delia judged that there shouldn''t be any problem.


    As he expected, the warrior watching them a distance away, hiding in the shadows given by the corner of a building, didn''t suspect anything. He watched carelessly as the carriage slowly left the mansion.


    This mission was already boring for a Beginner Warrior like him, he wouldn''t be suspicious each time the master Delia was leaving his territory. Plus, the last few days, he had left in his carriage almost every day.


    Rohan was sitting in front of Delia as the carriage headed toward the entrance to leave the inner city. Suddenly, Rohan spoke to Delia.


    "Tell me Delia, don''t you think this carriage isn''t comfortable enough?"


    "What are you talking about, it is like any other car¡­" He didn''t finish his sentence as he stared at Rohan, who was smiling a strange smile. "I know I have already told you that you have a paralyzed face, but if you could erase this scary smile from your face, I would be feeling better."


    "I don''t know what you are talking about." His smile grew bigger as his eyes were like a wolf ready to pounce at his victim at any time.


    "W-what do you want?" Delia shuddered under this demonic smile.


    "Don''t worry, it will be really fun, I promise you." Without waiting for an answer, Rohan moved at lightning speed.


    He grabbed Delia by the collar with his left hand and unsheathed his saber with his free hand. A faint red light shone on his blade as he slashed behind him. A perfect red light flashed circularly.


    With a loud crack, the carriage was cut clean in half as the floor collapsed under their feet. "Holy shit!" Delia blurted unconsciously as he was violently shaken by the carriage being destroyed.


    The horse pulling the first half of the wooden carriage continued to run for a short distance as the rear crashed on the paved ground, the wooden part screeching with an atrocious noise. It was only after an intense minute that the driver successfully calmed down his horses.


    The whole street was sent into chaos as Rohan jumped effortlessly as he carried the young master Delia as if he was an old rag. The other half of the carriage slid for a short distance on the ground. Fortunately, no one was injured, but Rohan couldn''t care less.


    Before the other two guards who were following with their horses could do anything, Rohan was already out of the way and rushed toward the door of the city. Delia was still screaming on his shoulder as he was starting for the first time in his life to feel sick from a transport.


    "The son of the viscount Noir is my hostage, so don''t shoot!" The moment Rohan reached the door, he immediately yelled at the startled guards. Following his burst of voice, he simply activated Charge, and with his leg filled with mighty power, he stomped it on the ground.


    Boom!


    The clean paved floor of the inner city exploded as the street was in shambles. Rocks flew everywhere as Rohan leaped in the air like an immortal while Delia screamed like a young girl. In less than a second, he was already on the other side of the door and ruthlessly landed. From there, his escape would be easy.


    "Thank you, Delia. See you later!" With these words, he let go of a trembling friend as he quickly left the area.. The guards were already coming toward Delia with their swords unsheathed.

 Chapter 148 - Repaying Ones Debt

    Rohan got out of the city at high speed. He wasn''t confident enough to have the ability to flee from an Advanced Warrior, even if he was only a rank 11. That was why he had accepted the plan of Delia as it permitted him to put the greatest distance between the two without this powerful warrior knowing about his escape.


    The initial plan was to leave quietly under the carriage with the company of Delia, and slowly disappear in the forest, but the risk was too high for Delia and his family. There was no way Rohan would accept to put his friend in such danger. Thus he had decided to show himself earlier, showing to the guards that Delia was only a hostage.


    That wasn''t perfect, but from there, it was at Delia''s turn to make something believable. Rohan was sure he could do it. Anyway, Delia would talk so much that all the warriors wouldn''t want to ask him anything anymore. And although his father was only a viscount, all the noblemen were pretty much behind him.


    Because of this, the warrior wouldn''t dare to do anything too disproportionate.


    His muscles swelled under his leather armor as he ran like the wind, heading straight toward the forest a few hundreds of meters away. It was the one he had taken in the other way after fleeing the battlefield, and also the place where he had met with Delia.


    A strange emotion grew in his heart as it spread to his whole body. It was indeed peculiar to take back this path after three years, after living so many different things. He wasn''t the rank 2 Beginner Warrior that could only flee anymore, he was now strong enough to trash any Intermediate Warrior.


    His direction was east, toward the Duchy of Barnes. Rohan was now far stronger than before, and now, he was confident enough to rejoin his brother as well as his butler. Ho and also his mother. He shouldn''t forget about her as well.


    In only a couple of minutes, he already reached the forest as he sunk inside, quickly disappearing into the wilderness.


    The moment the Advanced Warrior who had especially been sent here after learned that that target had fled, he instantly destroyed the table close to him.


    The wizard of the court wanted to find Rohan to avenge his disciple, but after the power wielded by the young man had been shown and reported, the king himself had given the order to capture this boy.


    His age wasn''t a secret anymore, and several onlookers could swear of what they had seen. Rohan, a young man only a bit older than seventeen years old, was a bona fide Intermediate Warrior.


    When the captain had described what happened, a commotion had nearly broken out in the whole kingdom, only to be crushed by the kings and pillars of the country. They locked all information, not daring to let anything slip through their screening.


    Firstly they didn''t want the Prasthana kingdom to know about it, and most importantly, they didn''t want the Empire to catch wind of it. Although they were their vassals, they didn''t want anyone to control this man. Either they rope him, or they kill him. No other solution was allowed.


    And under this extremely important mission, the Advanced Warrior had miserably failed. He immediately gave the order to the count to gather all the people involved, hoping to explain to his king.


    Unfortunately, Rohan had already flown away for several days, and they didn''t even know where he was going this time.


    Far from Blanche, nearly at the frontier between the kingdom of Prasthana and Daksina, there was a village. The small wooden houses sparsely stood here and there, as the bright sun shining on the peasants gave a peaceful atmosphere.


    A young man slowly walked in the middle of the village, confidently headed toward the sole tavern of the place. There was a saber hanging at his waist, rare enough to be pointed. His black hair tied with a purple ribbon swept through the light wind as he advanced with a calm expression.


    The villagers couldn''t help but raise their heads to look at this man passing through their remote place, exuding a strange aura. He was like a tiger. Beautiful, graceful, but deadly so.


    It was almost noon, and a faint burst of voices could already be heard through the building in front of him. Without caring about them, Rohan entered through the entrance.


    The moment he stepped in, the sounds disappeared for an instant as the villagers eating their pittance all looked toward him. Rohan stared at the familiar middle-aged man behind the counter and approached him with a faint smile.


    Their eyes encountered each other, but before the taverner could welcome his client, Rohan cut him out to ask for a week''s worth of food. The man didn''t care about the rough demand and quietly left through a door behind him.


    As he gathered what the young man had asked him, his hand ceased to move. The appearance of this young man was telling him something, had he already met him somewhere? He smirked at himself as he continued his job, he couldn''t remember but it wasn''t his problem anyway.


    He left the kitchen with a bag full of food and directly posed it against the counter.


    "Feel free to take a look. It is the best product I have, and for all of this, I only ask for 3 silver coins."


    3 silver coins were quite costly, even if the quantity was for several days, but Rohan wasn''t caring about such things.


    He didn''t even take a look before taking the bag. Without a word, he took out a few coins and threw them on the counter before decisively turning around. The distinct clear noise of three coins hitting the wooden furniture echoed behind him as he quietly left the tavern.


    The villagers sitting around their table all followed with their eyes this young man leaving the building.


    The middle-aged man looked puzzled at this strange young man leaving like that. What a strange person. He lowered his gaze to take the coins, but before his fingers touched the money, his eyes widened on their own.


    There, surrounded by two silver-colored coins, stood proudly a golden one. He nearly fainted as he took away the coins with shaking hands. A gold coin was equal to one hundred silver coins. It was simply a fortune.


    He raised his eyes toward the door already closed. The young man had disappeared, and like a ghost, no one knew where he was going. It was only now that the man remembered the face of a young boy, from a few years ago. He also had a purple ribbon tying his hair and was daring enough to ask him for food even though he didn''t have any money.


    His fist tightened with the coins inside as he suddenly laughed. He couldn''t stop it even when the other villagers asked him what happened. That day, he had indeed made the right call to help this young man.


    After leaving the village, Rohan took back the road, towards his home.

 Chapter 149 - Traitors

    Riveras, the biggest city of the duchy of Barnes. After the duke Chrisfold who was probably killed in the battle or captured then executed, Rohan didn''t know who had replaced him. Obviously, it was a close member of the royal family, and now this territory could be said to be completely under the king.


    As Rohan entered the city without any difficulties, the first thing that shocked him was the atmosphere. The people seemed to be healthy and smiling. The famine that was supposed to hit the whole region had been restrained by the supply coming from the other duchies.


    If the kingdom hadn''t put an embargo for a couple of years, the situation would never have climbed up to such a level. The thousands of soldiers wouldn''t be dead for no reason.


    Rohan couldn''t even fathom the reason for such foolishness, apart from if the king was mad enough to try everything to have a grip over another duchy.


    The young crossed the street with a dark cloak hiding his face. He wasn''t daring enough to travel with his face visible, as the kingdom was still searching for him.


    Instead of going immediately to the territory, his family was supposed to govern, he decided to head over to the mansion which was his living place for a couple of years.


    He didn''t know what happened to his family, but since they have not directly participated in the war, he believed they shouldn''t be executed. However, it wouldn''t be strange if they had lost their title.


    Although he had lived inside this city for many years, he wasn''t very familiar with it. Most of the time, Rohan was simply reading in his mansion back then, so finding the way toward the mansion was quite fastidious.


    He could ask the way to someone, but unfortunately, he didn''t know if it was still the mansion of his family. The less he attracted the attention, the better it would be.


    After several hours of turning around this huge city, with countless people walking around, Rohan finally appeared in front of the building.


    Almost nothing had changed. There were two guards at the portal, while the large building behind stood there with all its splendor. Of course, the two guards were people he had never seen. This thought made Rohan remind of his personal guards, as well as Makin pushing him out of the cliff.


    He chased away those useless memories and walked toward the two guards.


    "What do you want, it is the mansion of the Countess Sharkan!" The guard yelled when he saw the man approaching.


    It was practically an obligation for the guards to shout the name of their master, and it gave Rohan a great amount of shock.


    He was almost sure that his family should have lost its title of nobility! His father and himself had participated in the war against the king, it was a trahison, nothing more. How could his family leave unharmed?


    "Do you know if the butler Jonas is working here?" Rohan extinguished his doubts and expectantly asked the guard.


    "Jonas? Don''t know this name, sir. I think you asked in the wrong place." The guard politely answered. The manner of speech of the man in front of him was enough to tell him he wasn''t just a nobody.


    "He was the former butler of Rohan, the son of the countess Sharkan." He took the risk to ask this question. If anyone were searching for him, it might bring him trouble, but he couldn''t stop him from asking.


    Hearing this question, the guard looked around him before answering.


    "The previous staff of the mansion had been fired after the former count Sharkan and his son had betrayed the kingdom, sir. It isn''t a great thing to ask around here if you want my opinion, sir."


    *sigh*


    ''I hope nothing bad happened to Jonas, I wonder where he went?''


    Rohan thanked the guard before decisively leaving the area. Since his mother was still countess, at least his brother, Luke, should be in great form. His father demanded to protect his brother and mother, but since they didn''t seem to need it, maybe he should depart from here?


    Still, the fact that his mother was countess made him feel uneasy. Thus, Rohan took the initiative and left the city in the direction of the family''s estate.


    As Rohan was leaving the city, a conversation between two men took place inside the mansion of the new duke. One of them was the new general, a rank 12 Advanced Warrior, while the other one was a soldier doing his report.


    "General, the Lord Hanshen has been right. A suspicious man had asked about the whereabouts of Jonas, the former butler serving Rohan Sharkan." Seeing the general without reaction, he continued. "We believed this man to be Rohan, as he had disappeared a few days ago from the city of Blanche, inside the kingdom of Daksina."


    "The lord is indeed incredible." The general stood up from his seat. "We have confirmation he left without any horse. With such speed, he is indeed far stronger than a simple rank 3 Beginner Warrior, and that also explains the movement from Daksina. Where is he going now?"


    "We can''t be sure, but I believe his next destination will be his family''s estate, general." The soldier confidently declared.


    The last report he had heard from the ones following the target only said he was heading toward the exit of the city, the soldier could only guess.


    Seeing the general nodding his head while thinking, he knew it was almost the start of the operation.


    "You order, General?" The soldier straightened his back.


    "We leave right now. I want someone to monitor every movement of this young man, but he has to pay attention. No one is to act before my order." Since the Daksina kingdom needed to deploy an Advanced Warrior, it meant there was the need for one. He wouldn''t look down on them, and the fact an Advanced Warrior had failed to capture the young man was proof enough of the target''s abilities.


    "Yes general!"


    Rohan rushed toward the city that was under the governance of his family. He didn''t know that his simple question had triggered a large operation behind him, and he didn''t know that a man mounted on a horse was following him, with a stunned expression.


    Even with his horse, he had difficulties keeping up with his target, and in the end, he could only hope his direction was indeed the Sharkan''s estate.


    Soon enough, Rohan reached the territory controlled by his family. The city was a small one and should initially only be governed by a baron. He didn''t directly head for the mansion and was simply strolling around.


    There wasn''t any difference with the inhabitants of Riveras, and it was as if the war a couple of years ago was but a dream. The people on the market were smiling and lively, and the food didn''t seem to reach a whopping price.


    All in all, the situation inside the duchy of Barnes had become smooth. All of that could have been achieved without the war if the kingdom was willing.. Unfortunately, the blood of ten thousand soldiers had been spilled for this peace, but everyone had forgotten this, only treated as traitors.

 Chapter 150 - Mistake

    Rohan directly headed toward one of the inns of the city. The cost for a night wasn''t high, and even if it was, Rohan didn''t care at all.


    He booked a room and without looking back, he entered inside. It was a small room, with only a bed and nothing more. There were better inns with rooms made for rich people and even special ones for nobles, but Rohan''s plan wasn''t even to sleep here anyway, and the more inconspicuous it was, the better.


    He sat down on the floor and took out a sheet of paper, as well as a small bottle of ink and a pencil from his bag. He could only thank Delia for giving him all of that, as he didn''t know where he could find paper.


    He quickly wrote something, and a few minutes later, Rohan left the room and the building. He headed straight for his family''s estate, but he wasn''t planning on showing himself as a flower. He was still searched by everyone after all.


    It only took a short amount of time for Rohan to reach the area, where a large estate took its place. Several buildings were protected by a small wall, while a couple of guards stood in front of the large portal.


    Some people were walking around, and Rohan engaged with one of them after being sure the guards couldn''t see him. It was a man that was simply passing in front of the estate to go his way, and the moment he heard the offer made from the man with a hood in front of him, he quickly accepted.


    Rohan asked him to hand over the letter he had written to one of the guards for him to give it to the young master Luke. He gave him two gold coins and also asked him to give one to the guard to bribe him.


    The man was obviously enchanted with such a lucrative offer and accepted it easily. In no time, he walked toward the guards to perform his task. Rohan wasn''t afraid of this random man cheating and fleeing with his money, as he could catch up with him in a second anyway.


    When the guard took the letter as well as the gold coin, he immediately set off from his post and headed toward the largest building, letting his buddy keep the gate alone.


    Ten minutes later, the guard finally came back, and since everything was done, Rohan walked away. His direction was the inn in which he had reserved a room, where he would wait for his brother to come.


    He waited patiently inside the small room. His heart throbbed faster in his chest as he thought back at everything that happened to him. His journey was far from being uneventful, and he could even say that it was near hellish. To finally see his brother once again, he was excited, yet in a relaxed manner.


    The time flowed, and the more he waited, the more his frown deepened. He had already been there for several hours, but there was still no sign of his brother. Did he meet some difficulties?


    He stood up from the bed and walked toward the door. He put his hand on the handle, but before he could put some strength in his arm, the door suddenly swung open.


    A cloaked man appeared on the doorstep. He stared at Rohan for an unknown amount of time before pushing him away without any sound and entering the bedroom. After closing the door behind him, he removed his hood as he glared with fury at the young man.


    His long blond hair was tied back, and his handsome face would definitely make all women fancy this person. If it wasn''t for the obvious rage in his eyes, contorting his face, this man could have been qualified as a woman killer.


    "Why did you come here?" His lips were trembling as he tightened his fists, trying to control his anger. Rohan was rendered speechless from the moment he had seen his expression and didn''t have the time to answer before the blond-haired man continued. "No one wants to see you here again! Mother doesn''t even want to acknowledge your pitiful existence, and yet you dare to point your damn nose?"


    His anger was slowly shifting into a fury as he almost yelled the last words. Rohan''s expression deepened as he looked at his brother on the verge of losing his control. His calmness reached a dangerous level as all emotions left his face, leaving only a soulless mask behind.


    The tough words his brother had thrown on his mouth spun in his mind, ravaging his insides as it destroyed all expectations he had to meet his brother after a long time. The two brothers stared at each other for a short time.


    One was loudly breathing and ready to punch, while the other one was calmly watching without any emotion. The contest slowly stopped as Luke took a deep breath.


    "Why is mother still the countess?" Rohan threw this question. He was already pissed off by his brother, and the terrible thought that his mother had betrayed him and their father before the war came to his mind. Otherwise, why wasn''t there any punishment administered to her?


    "You fucking dumbass," Luke muttered through his teeth.


    He took a deep breath and released it, as well as a large chunk of pressure. He glanced at his brother before moving toward the bed.


    "Can''t you think you bit? Don''t you know that the whole kingdom is after you? What do you think was their best way to attract you apart from using your family?" Luke sarcastically asked question after question. "Can''t you understand that their goal is to capture you, to chain you, and to make you their dog?"


    "That is indeed accurate." The new voice booming from the other side of the door startled Rohan and Luke as the former one unsheathed his saber.


    The door opened and a man with an apologetic smile entered. "I am sorry to intrude while you are so warmly catching up with each other, but the time is counted. You don''t need to be in a battle stance. You have no chance against me, Rohan Sharkan."


    Following his words, a mighty pressure descended against Rohan and crushed him on his shoulder. His brother couldn''t resist and was already kneeling on the ground with a groan. He could only gnash his teeth.


    His saber was shaking in his hands. Rohan steeled his mind as he prepared to fight against this man. He knew he had no chance to win, and from the fact he used his Aura from the start, Rohan also knew he had no way to escape. He wasn''t like the warrior from the Barren Lands.


    "Under orders of the Lord Hanshen, you are now arrested in the name of the king, and you will have to kindly follow me. We have been given no boundaries to achieving our task, and using the life of your mother and brother to make you wield if necessary will be done. Please, consider it before attacking me or trying to flee away."


    The solemn voice of the man thundered in his ears, fused with Aura to explode in the inn. Rohan''s eyes flickered. He reluctantly sheathed his saber as he stared at the Advanced Warrior standing proudly in front of him. He didn''t want his brother to die for anything, and now he understood why Luke was acting this way.


    Rohan had indeed been stupid to dare and come here.

 Chapter 151 - To The Capital

    "Are you not going to disarm me?" Rohan asked calmly as he walked beside the Advanced Warriors.


    There were tens of warriors around him. Two of them were Intermediate Warriors while all the others were Beginner Warriors. For such a large group of warriors to be sent here, all the inhabitants were crowded as they looked with apprehension.


    "What for? With or without a weapon, you can''t beat me anyway, so there''s no meaning. Lord Hanshen had especially told me to treat you the best way possible, so you can think you''re just accompanying me as a guest, nothing more." The man grinned.


    "With a sword ready to cut my legs and with an arrow pointing toward my brother? What a great definition of guest you have."


    The man slightly glanced at Rohan from the corner of his eyes. This young man was walking leisurely as if nothing that was happening right now mattered. He gave the impression that everything was under his control, even though there was an Advanced Warrior not even a meter away.


    Was he a fool, or was he not afraid of dying?


    "If your family is still alive, it is completely because of the orders of the Lord Hanshen, so I think you should thank him for this. Otherwise, they would have been executed a long time ago." He led the group toward the horses they had kept outside the city. He hadn''t dared to come inside the city with them as he was afraid it could have alerted his target.


    He was confident to catch him, but the Lord had repeatedly told him to be meticulous with the young warrior, as he was quite slippery. This order was even before Rohan had escaped from Blanche, and for this important mission, he had carefully thought about everything.


    Even the plan to post someone monitoring anyone coming to ask about the previous butler of Rohan or his family was from Hanshen. This operation could be said to be a great success, and the Advanced Warrior had only followed the steps the Lord had explained. His reverence over this mighty warrior had already reached its peak.


    "Why is he searching for me?" It was a point Rohan couldn''t understand. Even if he thought that it had something to do with his talent, from the words of this warrior, this lord or whatever had taken this decision when he was only a rank 2 Beginner Warrior. It was just too strange.


    Most importantly, if Rohan had decided to take the risk and approach his family in the first place, it was because he found it too strange for his mother to still be a countess. How could he think about the possibility of someone baiting him with such behavior?


    It was almost impossible! Being a noble wasn''t a joke. They had duties and power and had the right to have some guards as well as form soldiers. Giving such power to someone simply to attract his son, Rohan couldn''t fathom what was on their mind.


    "You will see when the time will come." The man promptly answered. He couldn''t tell this young man that he had no idea, right?


    Soon after leaving the city, the large group of warriors met with another small group that was keeping the horses. Without delay, they set off immediately, giving a horse to Rohan. He was surrounded from all sides and the Advanced Warrior was less than a meter away from him by all time. They were obviously scared that Rohan could get away, but he didn''t even want to try for it.


    Deep in his heart, he thought that if the situation was too catastrophic, he could still teleport away to appear in the middle of the Sect of Averlorn. It would be like jumping away from the sword''s slash to appear in front of the spear''s trajectory, but it was a sure way to evade death for a short time.


    Contrary to what Rohan was thinking, the warriors weren''t heading toward Riveras, and after asking the general of the duchy of Barnes what was his direction, he simply answered the capital. This answer made Rohan''s blood boil inside his body.


    It was in front of the capital that thousands of warriors had been annihilated. It was now three years since this nightmare, and he would cross this place once again.


    The large group of almost forty warriors rode on their horses and flew in a straight line toward the capital of the kingdom of Prasthana. The trip took several days, and during this time, all the warriors were treating Rohan as if he was an extraordinary monster. Even the Advanced Warrior always kept the young man in his sight, as if was scared he would simply vanish at any time.


    Curiously, the situation was almost funny, and Rohan was amused every time he saw the warriors staring at him, ready to draw their swords at the slight movement. Was he that monstrous?


    One day, in the afternoon, the group finally reached the capital.


    The scorched earth that Rohan was almost expected to see was nowhere to be seen, and the fields surrounding the huge city were greener than everywhere else. The large forest was still the same, and the tall walls were still the same. Nothing had changed, and Rohan felt uncomfortable seeing this.


    This was the place his father died. This was the place his guards all died. But there was not even a mark to show it, and only the soft whispers insulting them of traitors lingered in the country.


    The warriors headed toward one of the four entrances of the city and easily bypassed the civilians. The guards quickly got out of the way the moment they saw the warrior''s insignia on the general chest, and Rohan was escorted inside.


    It was the first Rohan entered inside a capital. It was like any big city, albeit it was larger. The inner parts of the city were cut in two by another wall, surrounding the center. It was where the important and rich people of the kingdom were living, and it was in this direction that Rohan was led.


    The door of this second wall wasn''t as easy to cross as the first one, and the Advanced Warrior gave a letter to the guard. Rohan was shocked to see that this guard was a rank 3 Beginner Warrior.


    Although such a warrior was as weak as an ant compared to him, having such a powerhouse keeping a simple gate said a lot about the importance of this area and the power of the king.


    It shouldn''t be forgotten that the captain of the city of Blanche, governed by a count, was only a rank 5 Beginner Warrior before being replaced.


    At this point, all the other warriors backed down as only the General of Barnes led his prisoner inside. Their horses slowly walked inside this quiet area, their hooves echoing on the clean paved ground.


    They were surrounded by tall buildings while a few patrols could be seen here and there. This place was the center of the kingdom, and near the very center, a grandiose tower grew toward the sky.


    Rohan instantly recognized it as the wizard''s tower, which was far more breathtaking than the short tower inside the duchy of Barnes.


    Close to this tower was the king''s palace, and further away was a big castle. This austere building made of gray rocks slightly contrasted with the other imposing and refined buildings, but it also gave an impression of power.


    Rohan walked forward with a solemn expression as if he was penetrating a dragon''s lair.

 Chapter 152 - Monster

    The Advanced Warrior carefully knocked at the wooden door in front of him. There were no guards in this part of the castle as if the owner wasn''t afraid of anything.


    "Enter." A calm and soothing voice came through the door.


    The man escorting Rohan quietly opened it and signaled the young man to follow him. Compared to before, he was much like a child ready to be judged by his parents.


    The room wasn''t an office like Rohan had expected it to be. A large refined sofa was in its center as it was turned oward the large window facing the door.


    A small garden lightened by the bright sun was fully seen through this window. A large tree with luxuriant green leaves, surrounded by a field of flowers stood there, in a relaxing atmosphere.


    In between the sofa and the window was a short table with an opened book and a beverage resting on it. The sole purpose of this room was to relax the mind, and even in this situation, Rohan secretly took note of this idea.


    The moment Rohan passed through the doorstep, his eyes stared at the only person waiting for him. His back was facing the entrance, and he was lazily sitting on the sofa.


    "Thank you General for bringing this young man, you have done a great job."


    "I am not worthy of such praise, my lord!" Taking the hint, the Advanced Warrior bowed his head before quickly taking his leave.


    After Rohan was left alone with the man, lord Hanshen asked him to come forward and stand in front of him.


    The well-known Hanshen, a rank 15 Advanced Warrior, the highest level strength in this kingdom apart from the court wizard, was sitting in front of Rohan.


    He was younger than what Rohan had thought, and had the appearance of a man in his thirties. It was simply an appearance though, and Rohan was sure this man shouldn''t be far from the hundred years old.


    He had black short hair and black eyes, as well as a thin beard. At first sight, he strangely felt to be an easygoing man, which wasn''t something to be expected from the more powerful man of the kingdom.


    "Rohan Sharkan. Starting the path to become a warrior four years ago, and in this small period had already become an Intermediate Warrior." Rohan felt uncomfortable as he was stared at by this man.


    Those scrutinizing eyes were piercing through his soul and were digging every secret he had, he couldn''t stand it, but Rohan refrained to speak. The more he was listening, the more he would learn about this lord.


    "I was waiting for you in the Barren Lands, I really didn''t expect you to bypass them all as if they were simply a bunch of children. You have truly surprised me." Hanshen declared with a thin smile.


    Hearing this sentence, Rohan''s eyes widened on their own, and a mocking smile stretched on his face.


    "So it seems your fame wasn''t mighty enough for their warriors to be willing to be ordered by you." Rohan immediately understood why the Advanced Warrior wasn''t trying to capture him, it was now obvious that he didn''t want to work like a pawn for this man.


    In contrast to what Rohan was expecting, Hanshen burst into laughter when he heard his remark. "You can''t be more right. If I wasn''t this magnanimous, I would have already exterminated them. Discreetly obviously, otherwise, the other empires would take some freedom to kill me."


    Rohan was a bit shocked by this reaction. This man was Lord Hanshen, the most powerful warrior of the kingdom. He was even said to be the closest of the whole empire to have the potential to reach the Supreme rank.


    Seeing such a man laughing it off and being this relaxed, destroyed the image he had made in his mind from all those years when he had learned about him.


    "I am sure that you are curious to know why I took so much care about your situation, right?" Rohan unconsciously nodded his head. "Well, it was a bet with myself."


    This explanation gave Rohan the urge to punch this man in the face. Unfortunately, such action would sign his own death.


    "Okay, let''s talk about the important matters." His smile vanished as he straightened his back. "Your family will keep its nobility title. And everything will be done to nurture you. That means all secrets about how to become an Advanced Warrior will also be disclosed to you. Once you reach the rank 10 of course. In exchange, you will work for me and the king."


    The abrupt change in the speech nearly made Rohan unable to keep his mind concentrated.


    "You expect me to freely work under two persons I want to kill?"


    Hanshen was stunned by those words. A grin appeared on his face as he looked at this fearless young man. He originally wanted to throw him to another warrior to be nurtured, but now he was quite interested to do it himself.


    "Welcome to life, Rohan Sharkan, where only so few people can choose under whom they will work. And do not forget your family is under, let''s say, protection."


    Rohan frowned. The situation was too strange, and this man was taking this too easily. Before he could answer anything, Hanshen continued.


    "In any case, you do not have the choice. You accept or you and your family will be executed in the next seconds." His voice was now solemn, without an ounce of the previous lightness. "A talent like you can''t roam freely in the wilderness. Either you work for me, or you will work for no one. Your answer?"


    Rohan squinted his eyes. As this man had beautifully said, he didn''t have the choice in the end. "I accept."


    Those words let a sour taste in his mouth as if he was disgusted by himself from saying them. But Hanshen didn''t care about Rohan''s feelings and took out a black stone from the side.


    "Let''s officialize it directly then. Put your finger on it so I can give your rank 6 Intermediate Warrior insignia."


    It was an Essence Stone. Rohan was a bit apprehensive as he hesitated. He didn''t know what would be shown by it, but the potential result made him a bit scared.


    He took out a deep breath and activated the Essence Stone. A few red lines appeared.


    Race: human


    Age:17


    Constitution: 26.57


    Mana: 111/111


    Spirit: 15


    Hanshen''s mouth hung there as he stared at those numbers. There was nothing that could make sense with this status and he felt his mind going blank.


    He wasn''t the only one though, as Rohan also had his eyes glued to the black stone. An adult rank 5 Beginner Warrior had on average a constitution of 6, while a rank 6 Beginner Warrior had a whopping value of 10.


    In the Intermediate ranks, each rank up made on average the constitution of the warrior increased by 4 points. That meant that an average rank 10 Intermediate Warrior had a value of 26, which was extremely powerful.


    And now, before their own eyes, it was shown that Rohan had already reached this value.


    But the two men weren''t stunned for the same reason. Hanshen was deeply shocked by this strength while the amount of mana didn''t make sense. Each rank up in the Intermediate rank made the mana increase by 50 because of the vortexes, while the process of formation only brought a fifth of the total value.


    That meant that if someone completed a tenth of the base of the vortex, the amount of mana inside the mana core would only increase by one point.


    A mana value of 111 could only mean one thing: Rohan was a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior who had already formed a tenth of his second vortex, while he was also a rank 1 Beginner Wizard. And despite this, his strength was the same as a rank 10 Intermediate Warrior.


    But Rohan wasn''t looking at that. He already knew his strength was far above anyone else at the same ranks because of the cultivation method with the red threads. However, his spirit value made his mind spin, as it had somehow increased from 11 to 15.


    "Monster," Hanshen muttered in the void.. That day was without a doubt the day he would have been the most deeply shaken.

 Chapter 153 - The Court Wizard

    Rohan found himself in front of the large and high tower. He was alone, with a sealed letter in his hands.


    It was given by the lord Hanshen, as well as a few instructions for the next days. All those events were coming so fast that Rohan felt his mind going numb.


    He took a deep breath and walked toward the entrance. He wasn''t a fool. Even though nobody was paying attention, Rohan wouldn''t try to flee away.


    Firstly, it was a question if he could flee from this place, and second, his family would suffer for no reason. Since this lord was adamant for Rohan to work for him, he could only play his role for the time being.


    He reached the sole wooden door and loudly knocked. Looking at his left and right, Rohan took note of how huge the tower truly was, as he was minuscule compared to this building.


    A few seconds later, a woman opened the door and critically observed the young man. "What do you want?"


    She was young, maybe in her twenties or late teens. She had blond hair cascading down until reaching her hip, while her white tender skin with her green eyes gave a doll-like appearance to this woman. She was wearing a dark robe, with a common style with what the two wizards Rohan had met in his life were wearing.


    Rohan raised an eyebrow as he heard her tone. On his chest, there was a bright new warrior''s insignia, flashing with the number 6 on it. There was no way for this woman to not see it, and for her to act mighty in front of an Intermediate Warrior, was impressive.


    "I am here to see the court wizard." Rohan succinctely said. Even if her status wasn''t weak, Rohan wasn''t someone who cared much about it. It was just surprising since she was the one opening the door, nothing more.


    "You think a nobody can meet the court wizard?" The woman looked with ridicule and disdain at this poor warrior. There was so much judgment in her eyes that Rohan believed she would almost spit on him.


    "I have a letter to give him, from the lord Hanshen." The first half of the sentence made the woman lose her patience, while the last part surprised her.


    She took back her countenance, and as if she understood, she squinted her eyes and barked at Rohan.


    "Then give me this letter! You''re just a messenger and you think you can meet the court wizard? How stupid are you?" She quickly took a step forward and attempted to snatch the letter from Rohan''s hands.


    Rohan was starting to lose his patience. This day wasn''t the best one he had in his life, and now someone was ruining the last bit of good intention he had.


    "The letter is about me, so of course, I need to give it myself. Now get out, thank you." His tone was colder than ever.


    He stepped on the side to dodge her hand and directly bypassed her. She was only a mediocre obstacle in his eyes, and he had important things to do. Now that the door was opened, Rohan simply entered the building without caring about her.


    The hall was large and several people were strolling around. It was huge enough for hundreds of people to be here, but only a few dozen were moving toward their tasks.


    The lights were coming from yellow crystals hanging from the ceiling, and as there weren''t any windows, the hall was a bit somber.


    The woman screeched some incoherent words behind him as Rohan ignored her. The other people in the hall all faced the entrance as they heard the commotion.


    They were all wearing the same kind of robe, without particular distinction between them. Even so, it was obvious the status among them all wasn''t the same as one of them stepped forward. The moment he headed in the direction of Rohan, the whispers dimmed a bit.


    He was a middle-aged man with grey hair. He looked curiously at Rohan who had penetrated the tower and at the woman behind him with anger painting her face.


    "Warrior, what are you doing here?" He took the initiative to ask, as he wasn''t in a hurry to judge him. No one was stupid enough to barge inside a magic tower, filled to the brink with powerful wizards.


    Rohan once again repeated what he had said to the blond woman. Instantly, the man understood what happened and shook his head. He turned toward an apprentice on the side and asked him to lead the warrior toward the court wizard.


    Most of the people here didn''t care about the outside world, and no one seemed to recognize Rohan. His face had been described and even drew in a lot of warrants, circulating all around the country, but no one here knew about it.


    After telling him his name, the middle-aged man didn''t have any reaction.


    Rohan simply nodded his head and followed suit behind the young man going upstairs.


    It was his first time inside a magic tower, and even if the situation wasn''t the best one, Rohan was still quite excited as he went up the tower. There were a lot of floors, all hidden behind a large wooden door.


    The place of the court wizard was at the very top of the tower, and the whole floor was reserved for him. The apprentice leading him didn''t speak a word, and after going up an infinite amount of stairs, they finally reached the last door.


    Rohan was a warrior so he didn''t care, but for a wizard with a weaker body, just going to meet the court wizard was a challenge. Even the young man in front of him was slightly panting!


    He quickly knocked at the door with shaking hands. The moment he heard the strong voice coming from behind the door, the young man gulped down and opened it, allowing Rohan to enter.


    He immediately closed the door after Rohan and rapidly descended the stairs.


    The last floor of the tower was as big as the hall, and apart from the main room, there were a couple of doors on the sides. Countless books were lying on the wooden floor, and suddenly, a man appeared from nowhere.


    "What do you want?" Rohan was stunned as he stared at the court wizard. He was expecting an old man with silver hair and beard, along with a lot of wrinkles on his face. But the reality was far from it.


    He had indeed long silver hair, but his face without a beard was young, and he gave the impression to only be in his twenties.


    Rohan unconsciously stretched his letter and gave it to him. Without a word, he took it and broke the seal.


    While he was reading, his expression changed several times, and after reaching the end, he looked incredulously at the young warrior in front of him.


    Lord Hanshen had written down the stats shown by the Essence Stone.


    "Do you know a spell?" He didn''t care about the part of him being an Intermediate Warrior, but the wizard part was interesting. From someone to become a wizard while being on the run, it was rare and even technically impossible.


    "I do, I only know the spell Wind Blade."


    "Show me, just throw it anywhere." He impatiently asked, eager to see what he could do.


    Rohan executed and pointed his left arm in the direction of a naked wall. He didn''t want to aim toward the poor books lying everywhere. He willed his mana and completed the rune in less than a second.


    Immediately, an almost invisible wind blade appeared in front of Rohan, with a faint red glow. The meter-long blade wasn''t as smooth as normal blades and looked much more dominating.


    The wind blade cleaved at lightning speed, but before it could touch the wall, it disappeared into nothingness.


    The court wizard looked at Rohan as if he was a freak. There were too many problems with what he had seen. The speed of the execution, the faint red light, the aspect of the blade. It wasn''t the might that a rank 1 Beginner Warrior should be able to show. It wasn''t perfect at all, but it wasn''t something expected from a Beginner Wizard.


    "From this letter," he quickly suppressed his shock and excitement, "you will have to work for lord Hanshen, but he is also asking me to make you a disciple of this magic tower.. I am the court wizard of the kingdom of Prasthana, Elynir. Are you willing to become my disciple?"

 Chapter 154 - Alice

    "Yes, I am willing." Rohan bowed solemnly in front of his future master.


    It was an act, but it wasn''t much to show his willingness. In the end, even if Hanshen or Elynir were both working for the king of Prasthana, a person Rohan wanted to cut into pieces, they would teach a lot of things.


    Those things were extremely important for him, as he wouldn''t have access to this knowledge, no matter how much he searched for them. It was already considered lucky to have found books on wizardry, but there would be no way to find more of them.


    A simple method to become a Beginner Warrior was pretty much circulating everywhere, and it wasn''t that difficult for people to have access to this, at least for nobles as one need to read it. Even so, this method was far from being perfect, and all books on Intermediate ranks and further were considered with extreme care and secrecy.


    Thus, becoming a disciple of the Lord of the country, as well as the court wizard, would give Rohan a lot of opportunities. What he didn''t know was that not everyone in this tower was a disciple of Elynir, and the letter wasn''t asking to take Rohan this way.


    But those values given by the Essence Stone were simply outrageous. A spirit of 15? What did that mean? A wizard was one of the only mana users who could increase his spirit after becoming an Intermediate Wizard and an Advanced Wizard. But even Elynir himself didn''t have that much!


    The most important point was the age of Rohan. It wasn''t a secret that he was only 17 years old.


    While being a rank 1 Beginner Wizard at this age wasn''t incredible at all, and there were even children at 10 years old with the same rank, being able to throw a spell with such speed and control was out of his expectations.


    What was even stranger was the faint red light. Elynir was a rank 13 Advanced Wizard. He was still far from reaching the supreme ranks, but his sight and sense over mana wasn''t something a warrior could compare to.


    His sense was so strong, that compared with an Advanced Warrior, it wasn''t a difficult feat to check the mana that was inside a person. With this ability, it wasn''t hard for Elynir to see that Rohan was a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior as well as a rank 1 Beginner Wizard. It wasn''t hard either to see the strange state of his mana.


    The moment he had seen the wind spell corrupted with this red light, he instantly understood that the mana Rohan had wasn''t normal at all. In fact, among the powerful ones of the whole continent, there was a theory trying to explain the provenance of mana, and red energy was somehow involved.


    All in all, the young man was too prodigious and interesting for the court wizard to let go of such a disciple. He had then decided to take him on the spot.


    "Great!" He looked around, trying to find what he was looking for. "Ha here! Take this book over there, and check among those ones! One of them is the book describing the third rune, and the others are almost all the Beginner spells I have."


    Rohan turned his face toward the place where the wizard was pointing his finger. His face turned unsightly as he saw a pile of books on the floor, forming an unstable tower. ''Can''t he have shelves or something?''


    "Just take one of the spells you fancy the most and learn it! I know you will have to work with Hanshen, but you will have to work harder to become a real wizard. Don''t think that becoming my disciple is costless! You will have tasks to do at some point." Elynir seriously declared when Rohan skimmed through the books.


    Rohan already knew about it. He didn''t really know what a wizard was doing for the kingdom though, so he could only wait and see.


    Among the tens of books, Rohan finally decided to take the one called "Wind armor".


    From the small description, the principle was to recover his whole body with a spinning wind, making his body lighter as well as hindering all attacks coming his way.


    It was still a beginner spell, so the might in the first ranks wasn''t that strong, but it would become more impressive the stronger he became. Although the cost of 5 mana was somewhat huge for protection lasting only a couple of minutes, it was still better than nothing.


    And since Rohan already had an attacking spell, he might as well take one enhancing his speed and agility.


    Elynir secretly nodded his head watching this. A magic warrior training both warrior and wizard paths was rare, and fusing both ways to improve his force was an obvious good choice.


    After Rohan had taken the two books and other small details from his new master, Elynir called over another disciple.


    Rohan would now live inside the tower, and there was a need to give him a place to rest. Obviously, this task wouldn''t be done by Elynir himself.


    After a few minutes, someone knocked at the door, and a clear voice came through.


    "Master, you were looking for me?" It was a simple spell that was extremely useful, but only Advanced Wizard could learn telepathy. It was one of the few trademarks spells that all wizards wanted to learn, along with teleportation and flying that an Intermediate Wizard could learn.


    Rohan turned his face toward the door. The voice was dangerously telling him something. He was sure to have heard it before.


    "Yes, come." Oblivious to the expression Rohan was making, Elynir quickly made his disciple enter. He still had his own research to plunge into, and although Rohan was interesting, he only had his talent for now.


    The door opened and a delicate young woman appeared at the doorstep. The instant she and Rohan crossed their gaze, their faces fell immediately.


    "Alice, I present to you Rohan, he is now my disciple. Give him a place to rest. There should be a few free rooms on the eighth floor. After that give him a tour and explain to him everything you know. From now on, you also have to teach everything you know. You can come to me for a specific plan later. I believe you can do it!" He glanced at the two people, and after smiling at them, he disappeared, leaving them alone.


    At this point, was there a meaning to call him master if he wasn''t to teach him anything? While Rohan was having this thought, Alice stared at Rohan with mixed emotions. It was as if she wanted to murder him with cruelty, but before doing so, she wanted to cry all the tears she could.


    "Since master had asked me this, then follow me, I''ll show you around." After an internal struggle as violent as a tough battle, Alice finally gave in as she whispered defeatedly. She turned around and walked down the stairs, forcing Rohan to follow behind.


    "Let''s go directly to the eighth floor. By the way, even if we are both disciples of master Elynir, don''t you dare to be familiar with me. I don''t know why master fancies you to take you as a disciple, but I am a rank 6 Beginner Wizard, not a nobody like you."


    Rohan almost choked on his tongue. He cursed in his mind. In what world this powerful woman was the one opening the door for visitors?


    It was said that the differences of power between a rank 6 Intermediate Wizard and a rank 6 Intermediate Warrior were larger than the differences between the latter and a rank 1 Beginner Warrior.


    Although Rohan didn''t know how strong an Intermediate Wizard was, Alice had indeed the right to look down on him.. At least if it wasn''t repeatedly like she was doing right now, otherwise he might want to try and figure out her power.

 Chapter 155 - Morning Training

    Rohan sat on his bed. The room was a small one, with a bed against the left wall and a desk on the other side. There was no window, and the only light was coming from the crystal hanging from the ceiling.


    On his side, leaning against the wooden bed frame, the saber he had stolen from the sect was there, showing off its sharp blade. Next to it, was his leather bag, which no one had bothered to search through.


    Rohan couldn''t help but smile, as a large number of mana cores inside would make anyone drool from desire. It was running low, but it should be enough for the next month at least. No one would believe that Rohan had such a quantity. After all, he was in the Barren Lands not long ago and on the run.


    Earlier, he had visited the tower and its eleven floors following behind Alice. The number of people inside the tall building number to more than a hundred, but the large proportion of them wasn''t even wizards, they were only apprentices, trying to engrave the first rune.


    What was easy for Rohan wasn''t for everyone. The two books his new master had given to him were posed on the small table near his bed. It must be said that they were coming perfectly in time, as he believed that he only needed a few days to finish his second rune.


    In any case, the learning wouldn''t be done in a couple of hours, so Rohan decided for the first time in a long time to take a break. The night had already fallen, and he had eaten a couple of hours before in the refectory, among tens of people. His status as Elynir''s disciple had already made the tour of the tower, but Rohan didn''t care about it.


    Without wasting more time, Rohan decided to sleep without meditating, relaxing his body and mind.


    The next day, he woke up early and put on his leather armor in the dark. The crystal was supposed to be easy to light, but he couldn''t be bothered to try it and took out his saber.


    He quickly left his room and went down the stairs, before leaving the tower. No one was really keeping the entrance, and everyone was free to come and go. Rohan even thought that he shouldn''t have knocked at the door and simply entered, no one would have stopped him.


    The sun was starting to rise, and a faint fog was enveloping the center area of the capital. Guards were patrolling in the distance, keeping it safe from all potential intruders.


    Rohan''s goal was the Lord''s castle, and retracing the path he had taken the day before, he finally reached his destination.


    The guards at the entrance easily let him enter, and following the instructions he had received, Rohan walked toward the large cour.


    There, still covered with a disappearing fog, a tall man in full armor was standing in the center. He was facing Rohan, and the moment they saw each other, the man took out a large sword.


    "You took your time. Are you that scared to be beaten up?" Hanshen playfully said as he pointed the weapons on the side. "Take a sword, I wouldn''t want to break your saber. Where did you even find it? Not a lot of blacksmiths forged this kind of weapon."


    "A battle loot." Rohan calmly answered as he put away his saber. He really should find a scabbard for it one of these days. He took out a random sword and came in front of Hanshen.


    "Before sending you on a mission, you will have to train a bit. At least, until I find it reasonable enough." A small sadistic smile appeared on his face. "A great constitution is good, but if you are unable to use it, it''s pointless."


    The two fighters immediately put themselves in a battle stance. There was no need for more words, and suddenly, a terrible battle took place.


    Rohan took the initiative and charged forward. He knew he had no chance to win against lord Hanshen, as his title wasn''t a joke. Lord was reserved for the most powerful warrior of the territory, representing his country with the might of his sword.


    His sword flashed as he put all his strength in every muscle he had. He didn''t want to use any skill for now, and this decision made Hanshen pleased.


    "That''s right! A warrior uses his body, his strength! Before using a skill, your techniques should be perfect." He swung his large sword, deflecting the attack to the side. "And it is far from it."


    Rohan didn''t stop. He rushed to the right and attacked with his sword. He used everything he had learned from Makin, and all tricks he had encountered himself. Even the saber art from the Sect of Averlorn was somewhat present, concentrated on his footwork.


    He was like a tempest as he tirelessly cleaved from all sides. He put all the pressure he could against the warrior in front of him. The clangs of iron against iron resonated all around, and sparks exploded here and there, painting the fog with violent orange light.


    Hanshen easily deflected all attacks, but it didn''t mean he wasn''t impressed. After countless rounds of battle, he believed he had fully grasped the talent of the young man in front of him. Thus, he decided to change the roles.


    He attacked.


    His large sword flashed down with a mighty speed. Rohan''s expression fell instantly as he stepped aside at the last moment.


    But the attack didn''t stop here. The sword brushed beside Rohan, heading toward the ground. Abruptly, it changed directly without slowing down. The blow came from a vertical slash to a horizontal one without any flaws, and Rohan was forced to use his sword to defend.


    The two swords connected with a loud crash. A small crack echoed, and under so much strength that Rohan felt his whole body going numb, he was sent flying.


    Before his body could violently land on the ground, he tapped it with his hand, keeping his body in the air. He slightly spun on himself and rolled down on the paved floor, minimizing all the force received he could.


    He quickly stood up and looked with dread at Hanshen, who was nodding his head.


    "Not bad, not bad. A warrior should learn to receive violent blows, as well as to be sent on the floor like a rag doll. Your reflexes are good, but it is only the start." Hanshen wielded his sword as he moved forward, ready to teach Rohan the art of crashing down.


    A large part of the morning was focused on Rohan being violently beaten up, and as the sunlight was shining against the training field with the fog which had already fully disappeared, they came to a stop.


    Rohan collapsed on the ground. He couldn''t stand anymore, and the sword on his hand was already broken. It was the third one since the start of his training.


    "Well I think it''s all for today, you still have your wizard''s duty I think, so you should go. Let''s meet up tomorrow at the same time." Hanshen sheathed back his sword and turned around. He took a deep breath as he felt relaxed. Nothing was better than a good warming up!


    "I...swear¡­I will beat you into a pulp one day.." Rohan could only glare at Hanshen as he was laughing out loud, his breath chasing the dust on the ground.

 Chapter 156 - Making A Potion

    After coming back from the training exhausted, Rohan used a small time to take a bath. At least, the people living inside the magic tower weren''t low people and the second floor had a place specifically made to clean one''s body.


    Testing if someone had a mana stone needed the approval of the court wizard, and it was obvious such a deed wouldn''t be done for a poor commoner. It was extremely rare for someone to have one, and wasting time over thousands of commoners for no reason wasn''t their goal.


    Because of this, most of the wizards and apprentices were nobles or from rich families, and their daily lives were far more refined than what Rohan had first thought.


    After cleaning his body, he directly changed with the dark robe that was given by Alice, and he directly went to meet with her.


    She was impatiently waiting for him inside the hall of the fourth floor, and the moment he came out from the entrance, she almost pounced on him. She slightly glanced at this young man as he couldn''t hide his exhaustion. It was obvious she was internally gloating, but Rohan chose to ignore it.


    He nodded his head as a salutation and waited for the next operation.


    "As I said yesterday, today I will show you the secrets behind the method to brew magical potions. Even an apprentice should already know about it, it is very ridiculous for you to be accepted as master''s disciple." She gave him a look of haughty disdain before walking toward a desk.


    A man was waiting behind the desk, with an open notebook in front of him. The moment he saw Alice followed by Rohan, he bowed his head.


    "Wizard Alice, like you have asked, we have kept a free room for you to use until noon." He was himself a rank 1 Beginner Wizard, but it was tradition to specify their title when a wizard was talking to a more powerful one.


    After exchanging a few words with the man, Alice then walked away and headed toward one of the many doors that were on the sides. She simply opened it and after Rohan entered after her, she closed the door.


    Welcoming Rohan was the light smell of dried plants, as well as a room filled to the brink with different tools and utensils. To the right, against the wall, was a shelf with countless plants on it. The place was almost the same room of the wizard Rohan killed before.


    From what he could understand, every person in the tower had access to one of those rooms for a limited time, and they must pass through the man managing this floor. The Intermediate Wizards had their compartment to make potions in their place on the ninth and tenth floors, but Alice would not bring Rohan into her own room.


    Although she didn''t want to do that as it was taking up her precious time, Alice still wanted to do her job perfectly. Hence, she put away her grievance and explained everything she knew to him.


    "This is in this room that you will have to brew potions. Once you will be able to make some of the simpler potions, you will have a duty to give a certain amount each month. All potions you make after this limit will be yours, you can sell them or keep them for you."


    This explanation was what Rohan needed. Now at least, he knew how a wizard was paid. He thought that the court wizard was maybe paid directly from the kingdom, but there was no way for all wizards and apprentices of the tower to be paid as well for nothing but as a prevention force.


    After this short introduction of the future tasks Rohan would have to do, Alice reached the important part: the brewing part.


    "Today, I will show you the different parts you will need to do to brew a potion. So open your eyes, it isn''t every day that someone could watch me!" Rohan ignored her boasting as they came closer to the utensils.


    She firstly described to him everything there was in the room as well as all their uses. It was obvious her knowledge had reached an extreme level, but the more she was losing herself in explication, the more Rohan was starting to lose himself in understanding.


    Was he supposed to remember everything she had just said?


    Oblivious to the unsightly expression of her student, Alice then took out the utensils as well as a few plants that were on the shelves. She would show Rohan how to brew a weak recovery potion. Those tools ranged from a simple mortar to the most complicated one which was composed of long and narrow glass tubes.


    As Rohan listened and watched carefully what she was doing, he immediately understood it wouldn''t be easy to make a potion. It was far from only putting the plants with some water to heat everything, and the numerous steps one needed to do were each more complex than the previous one.


    Firstly, one needed to take into account the quality of the plants as it would play a large part in the brewing. Of course, if the quality wasn''t high, it would be impossible to make high-grade potions, even with the best skills in the world.


    After that, one should know everything about the ingredients, and how to process them. It wasn''t really hard to learn how to do this for each ingredient, but it wasn''t this easy. As different ingredients had various effects when combined with others, the process must also take this into account.


    Since Rohan had learned by heart the botanic book during his time in the Barren Lands, he already knew the plants Alice was using. But not all ingredients were a kind of plant, as there were also other sorts such as a strange glowing power and other nonliving matter.


    All the utensils which were in the room had as a sole utility to process the ingredients, to mix some of them, or to separate a small part from an all. They didn''t have a direct use during the most important part.


    After the ingredients were processed in the best manner, the wizard should now mix them all together to extract their essence. It wasn''t for no reason that only a wizard could brew a potion, and it was mostly for this part.


    Alice heated the stove with a flick of her fingers and put a cauldron on it. This move greatly alarmed Rohan as the emanation of mana was almost nonexistent.


    She then put the ingredients in the right order in function of the temperature of the cauldron, as well as the composition of the ingredients, and once everything was inside the large pot, she stretched her hand above the mixture and stopped to talk.


    From the start, she was giving the impression it was incredibly easy and she commented on every single one of her gestures. But now, this step necessitated her utmost concentration.


    Rohan''s perception was clearly above a normal rank 1 Beginner Wizard, and he easily felt the ripple of mana coming from her hand. It was the pure mana that was inside her mana stone, without being tempered with any elements.


    It coiled around her fingers like several snakes dancing under her control, and delicately, Alice made her milky white mana descend toward the ingredients which were starting to liquefy.