3 soldiers were currently gathered around a corpse with their hands clenching into fists. A clear look of frustration and anger could be seen over their faces.
"How dare they..."
Private Naro stared with contempt at 2 other bodies not too far away, one dismembered, the other crushed and torn apart.
There were few things that could make him angry, especially after all the things he had seen in his life. Injustices weren't something secret, they were all over the world. However one thing he despised over all was betrayal and selfishness.
Hence, he was currently boiling with anger. Not only had his leader died, he had been betrayed by his trusted comrades in arms.
In disdain, he could only be disgusted with the current situation. After all this should have simply been a typical scouting mission. Now they were 4 men less with 3 dead and 1 having fled most likely.
Due to seniority, Naro had been nominated as temporary squad leader.
"We will return immediately back to the southern border and report that deserters have betrayed the leader while alone with him. We will also take his corpse with us as he deserves a proper burial with his family"
Nothing spoke against the conclusion of the remaining members of the squad. Especially when knowing that both, Private Marsh as well as Sergeant Diedlem were gunning after the position of leader and had no sympathy for Captain Almun.
Biting his lips, Naro thought of the poor children of Captain Almun that were now left all alone, as their mother had died some years ago. This was also the reason why their former leader even started overworking himself, so that his children could live comfortably.
"We will head out!"
"Yes!"
-----
Damascus dashed across the Camar Forest, ignoring any obstacle, it seemed like a cannon projectile flew through the area. His speed also didn't decrease as he kept dashing harder, to the normal eye it looked like wind resistance didn't even exist.
Even when monsters stood in front of him, Damascus simply kept dashing forward in a straight line, penetrating them in an instant.
"..."
"Shut it!"
""
The closer he got to their campsite, the more stressed Damascus became.
'It just had to happen when I wasn't in arms reach...'
Slowly, Damascus got in reach to sense the campfire as well as the surrounding beings, however there was nothing. Nothing besides corpses of monsters and humans alike. As sweat started to break out, Damascus reached the corpses but a huge sense of relief came over him.
Instead of seeing a torn apart child, 2 soldiers of the Luxrion lied on the ground, massacred beyond normal means. Also the area surrounding them was broken apart, with chopped up trees and rocks lying across the entire landscape.
"..."
"Yeah I know... this isn't normal..."
Damascus knew that he had been scaring many monsters away from their habitat which most likely migrated to the north. But he didn't expect for soldiers to be sent this deep into the Camar Forest, especially when analyzing their skills, the corpses in front of him weren't really diamonds.
While not weak, they didn't have the necessary strength to come here alone. On top of that he sensed residue of mana in the air, stronger than what the 2 corpses should have been capable of.
Tapping his foot hastily on the ground, Damascus looked into different directions, narrowing his eyes as if trying to spot something. Then, after recognising something familiar, he instantly stared dashing again for a few seconds.
All of a sudden, he stood in front of a collapsed entrance, where a boy lied on the rubble. Although visibly exhausted and slightly bruised, he didn't seem hurt. The most interesting thing was that the atmosphere around him had been different.
An intense energy pulsed out of the boy.
The desire to ascend.
Damascus could feel that Wendel was close to ascending to the next tier of the Thaumus rank.
'Just what has that twerp done...'
He knew that the kid had talent but even for him this was unheard of, even he himself never ascended so fast.
"..."
"Tsk, stop praising him. You didn't even want him to be trained in the first place..."
"..."
"Okay, sorry..."
Quickly giving up in the battle of words against his mysterious companion, Damascus looked back at the child. Wendel was lying there with a slight shiver, seemingly freezing due to the cold temperature.
Ripping off his cloak, he used it as a blanket and put it over Wendel. In silence, he stared at the small boy and if one would see under his helmet, they were able to see a slight smile.
-----
As I woke up, bright sun rays shone down on my face and blinded me. Covering my eyes with my arms, I looked down onto the ground as I started standing up.
The memories of the night before came back up, as a small golden window appeared again before me.
}————{ Arcane }————{
Name: Wendel E. Maelstrom
Age: 12
Mage: Thaumus III
[Progression]: 98%
Physical: Gladiator II
[Progression]: 8%
Core Capacity: 54%
Blessing: Purity
Gift: Absorption, Inner Circulation, Pure Body, God's Language: Arcanum, Arcane Creation, Formula Drawing, Transference
Companion: Stäreschnaiz (Pure Spirit)
..
.
}————{ End }————{
Everything was still the same.
A huge relief came over me as I saw that what happened wasn't just a dream but reality. I also felt different from usually as a slight tension ran through my entire body. It was a tingling which felt good but uncomfortable, as if my body was growing.
"What about a good morning brat?"
Nontheless, all good things must come to an end. I heard the voice of a devil behind me which made me turn instantly. Standing there like nothing happened was Damascus, arms crossed and his spear embedded in the rubble of the collapsed entrance.
"?!"
His appearance shocked me from the core, as I didn't imagine him to have already returned.
"What happened..."
Different from his usual demeanor was his voice. Instead of tired and annoyed, it seemed more wrathful. A slight intent of murder even seemed from the knight, as he waited for me to answer.
Hence, I told him everything that had happened, from the sudden appearance of the soldiers, to the creation of Stäreschnaiz and my plan of staging it like a coup.
The whole time I explained, Damascus stood there motionless. I couldn't read his mind in any way, making everything far more uncomfortable as I didn't know if he was satisfied or angered with my actions.
When I finished, he simply bent forward, looking deep into my left eye in which Stäreschnaiz resided right now.
"You did well... especially for the fact that you seemingly created an Disaster ranked spirit... These spirits were strong but by combining them out of coincidence as well as giving them Pure Mana, you made them reach a level far higher than expected..."
Unexpectedly, he spoke friendly words for the very first time. Additionally, the fact that Stäreschnaiz was a Disaster tier spirit shook me even more. This explained why even an Argos ranked soldier had his problems against him and lost, although he was quite heavily injured
Cough
Coughing into his fist however, his demeanor quickly reverted into his normal one. Then as if on cue, he took out a letter from some part of his armor and pressed it onto my chest.
"We have a job to do or rather, we will start our journey which will make you strong and me rich."
Bewildered, I looked at the piece of paper in which a detailed contract was written on with explanations on which places would be visited as well as the estimated time. There was even a pay with an astronomical high sum and a signature: 'White Comet'.
I turned my view back on Damascus and I could guess that the title 'White Comet' was most likely his name in the public. However if I understood it right, this letter would have me and him journey through the whole Rydeon continent for several years.
If I could take a guess, it seemed to take around 8 years until one had visited each of these spots, taking into account the days in which one rested and the overall distance to be covered.
Gulp
'Please don't tell me I have to endure 8 more years with him....'
Seemingly reading my thoughts, the knight smacked the back of my head.
"Oy, better be happy that you can spend your time on this. Not many get to visit all these places safe without any worries!"
'Safe? With you?'
Again, Damascus smacked the back of my head, this time even harder than before. As my limbs were still sore, I slowly rubbed the back of my head, while glaring a little at my so called teacher.
"Ouch..."
"But before going on the expedition, we will do something far more important."
"Huh?"
The knight in silver armor suddenly disappeared from my view as I felt the touch of 2 hands on my back.
"You have to ascend from your current Tier to Thaumus II. The faster the better."
A huge shock went through my body as I felt something forcefully invading my body. Following this feeling, an intense pain went throughout my body as if rejecting the energy and I collapsed with the last thing that I saw, being a 100% in progression rate.
Standing behind my collapsed body was Damascus who tilted his head slightly.
"Huh?"
"..."
"What I am an idiot? He is ascending, I just gave him a heartfelt push!"
"..."
"SO?! I used my Mana to show his body what it should do! Then he will hurt a bit."
"..."
"!!!"
"Oh, you are one to talk...."