CHAPTER 34: THE ROAD AHEAD
The morning sun rose over the ruined valley.
For the first time in days, there was no battle.
No monsters.
No collapsing dimensions.
No mysterious voices whispering inside someone's head.
Just peace.
Shen hated it.
"This is boring."
Ryulga, who was drinking tea beside a campfire, slowly lowered his cup.
"You survived a life-threatening battle three days ago."
"Exactly," Shen replied. "Three whole days without punching anything."
Ryulga threw a small stone at his forehead.
"Ow!"
"That was your training."
"That's not training!"
"It worked."
Shen rubbed his forehead while muttering complaints.
A few meters away, Nolan sat quietly beneath a tree.
Golden energy flowed around his fingers in thin streams of light.
Unlike before, the power no longer burst out uncontrollably.
It obeyed him.
Mostly.
A small golden bird formed above his palm.
The bird chirped proudly.
Then exploded.
Nolan sighed.
"Progress."
Shen pointed at him.
"See? Even your magic is bored."
Nolan threw a stick at him.
This time Shen dodged.
The stick hit Ryulga instead.
The old man stared at both of them.
The two immediately looked away.
Silence.
More silence.
Then Ryulga stood.
"Good. Since neither of you can behave like normal humans, training starts now."
Both boys groaned.
---
Training lasted until sunset.
Shen spent the entire day learning how to control Dark Mage Form 2 without destroying everything around him.
The result was disappointing.
Three broken boulders.
One destroyed hill.
And a tree that somehow exploded for no reason.
"It wasn't me this time."
"It was absolutely you," Nolan replied.
"I have witnesses."
"There are no witnesses."
"The tree witnessed it."
Nolan stared.
Ryulga stared.
Even the wind seemed disappointed.
---
As evening approached, Ryulga finally called them over.
His expression was different.
Serious.
The joking atmosphere vanished immediately.
Shen noticed it first.
"What happened?"
Ryulga tossed a folded map onto the ground.
Both boys looked down.
Several locations were marked in red.
One mark stood out from the rest.
A city near the western border.
Nolan frowned.
"What's there?"
Ryulga's eyes narrowed.
"Trouble."
"That's not helpful."
"It never is."
Shen crossed his arms.
"Arcane activity?"
Ryulga nodded.
"Not normal activity."
The smile disappeared from his face completely.
"An Arcane Commander has appeared."
Silence fell.
Even Shen stopped joking.
An Arcane Commander was far beyond the monsters they had fought before.
Entire squads had disappeared fighting one.
Nolan slowly looked up.
"How strong?"
Ryulga answered immediately.
"Strong enough that both of you would die if you fought it right now."
"Great."
"Wonderful."
"Fantastic."
Ryulga ignored them.
"Which is why we're leaving tomorrow."
Shen's eyes brightened.
Finally.
An actual mission.
Nolan noticed that look and sighed.
"You enjoy dangerous situations way too much."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
---
That night, while Shen slept beside the campfire, Nolan remained awake.
The stars reflected in his golden eyes.
His power had grown stronger.
Much stronger.
Yet something felt wrong.
A faint vision flickered.
A battlefield.
A city in flames.
A massive figure standing above countless Arcane corpses.
The vision vanished almost instantly.
Nolan's heart raced.
"What was that...?"
For the first time in weeks, uncertainty crept into his mind.
Far away, beyond the mountains, something was waiting.
And whatever it was...
it was watching them.
---
End of Chapter 34
Next Chapter: The Arcane Commander