I slowly opened my eyes, groaning a bit as I looked around. I was still in the same forest spot as I was before falling unconscious. Slowly, I pushed myself up from the ground, before getting onto my knee. "God… My head feels like it's about to split open…." I thought, before taking a more careful look at my surroundings. It definitely was the same spot as before, just… The wyverns that had surrounded me right before the corruption took effect…
Were now dead.
I shed a slight sweat, standing up and approaching one of the bodies. Carefully, I formed a spear with venom, before poking the wyvern body gently. "...No reaction. The thing definitely is dead." I exhaled. I was relieved that they had died, but… How did they die?
Did… Did something similar to the last time the corruption took effect occur? That time, after I woke up, everything had been defeated as well.
Then, I heard something break behind me – a small branch. Flipping around, I swung my spear towards the sound, before a sudden sword made of what looked like lightning pressed against my throat. In front of me stood a rather short mage, holding a hooked staff. She was wearing a large white coat, with a hood over her head — a pair of wolf ears poking through two holes in the hood.
The mage glared at me, with a serious expression – basically blazing green eyes. I backed up a bit, the lightning sword following my motion. "Who is this…? The magical energy she gives off…. It's through the roof."
I thought, before the mage exhaled.
"Who are you?" She asked. I lifted an eyebrow, before tilting my head to the left side a bit, lowering my spear down a bit. After a bit of silence and observation, I let out a gentle toned answer. "...Riyo. You can call me Riyo." The mage sharpened her glare, as if trying to stare a hole into me. "...You're lying."
"..No? What makes you think I'm lying—?"
"Don't play tricks with me." She emphasized the lightning sword pressing a bit more at my throat. I really wanted to avoid a fight if possible, especially since her magical energy was so insanely absurd, but if this went the wrong way or I say the wrong thing, she'll for sure try lobbing my head off. "My kind can tell when someone is lying."
Her… Kind?
Well, I guess it's time to see what she is.
I narrowed my gaze, activating 'Enlightened' after a moment.
[ Status ]
Name; ?
Species; Superior Hybrid
Level; [Unknown]
Not much information is known about this certain individual. She is a member of the 'Hybrid' race, a race which is one of the three evolutionary paths of the Beastkin kind. Hybrids specialise in magical energy.
[ Status ]
That's more than enough information for me to work with.
Though, it didn't tell me anything about some ability that allows them to detect or see through lies… Did she… Maybe bluff about that, to scare me? I cannot say. Maybe for now, since I am unsure who she even is or what she's actually capable of, I should play it safe. "..Fine…. My name isn't really Riyo."
The mage narrowed her eyes a bit more.
"What is it then?"
I remained silent for a moment – thinking of whether to give her a different fake name or to actually just say my name. After a bit of debating, I decided on a third potential answer. "Shin. My name is Shin." The mage remained silent. Technically speaking, I wasn't lying.
'Shin' was the other half of the name that Arabor gave me.
While my 'real' name was 'Faofa', Shin is also part of that name. So, when I say I am named 'Shin' — one could say I am not lying technically, since it is part of my name. After a bit, the mage moved the lightning sword slightly off of my neck. "How'd you get so far into the forest? We're dangerously close to the Deadman's Graveyard. Newbie adventurers aren't allowed to journey this far."
Can't tell her I'm on an errand for the Guildmaster in case of anything…
"I'm not a 'newbie' adventurer… I'm a B-Rank adventurer." The mage looked at me surprised, as if not having expected that. Afterwards, she examined me a bit more closely, performing a few circles around me, before returning to her spot in front of me — keeping the lightning sword at my throat the entire time.
"...You don't look like a B-Rank adventurer."
….That feels like some sort of insult. I exhaled lightly.
"Looks aren't everything you know."
"..True enough, I suppose." She then gripped the thin staff in her hands a bit more tightly, eyeing me intensely. "Show me your adventuring card." She's a rather cautious one… Not necessarily a bad trait to have. It's good to be cautious, especially when you're with strangers, so I can't judge her for being so… Suspicious of me. I reached into my pocket, before taking out my adventurer card, handing it to her.
The mage examined the card carefully, cross referencing it with my appearance – or at least, it looked like that was what she was doing. It was honestly a bit difficult to tell what was going through her head. After a bit, she handed it back to me, before stepping back, the lightning sword disappearing.
Then, she sighed.
"You're not lying I guess…. It'd be a stupid move to try and forge official documents from an organisation such as the Adventuring guild." She looked away, fidgeting a bit with her staff, before clearing her throat and looking at me again. "So, why exactly are you this deep in the forest? Like I said, this spot is quite close to the Deadmans Graveyard. A B-Rank adventurer has no business being here."
"I'm here on a… personal request from someone."
"Personal request?" She narrowed her eyes. "From who?"
"....An acquaintance, let's call them that."
The girl scoffed. Then, she aimed her staff at me again. "I will require a better answer."
"Why are you so quick to jump to threats…" I asked, shedding a cold sweat. More and more, it was beginning to seem like avoiding a fight would be impossible. This girl is overly cautious…. And pushy as well. Seriously, I understand being cautious, but she's already seen my adventuring card and stuff, isn't that enough? Why is she so persistent?
After a quick inhale and exhale, I made my spear disappear.
"Look— I'm not looking for trouble… If you could just—"
"Let you go?"
She laughed. "Good joke."
Why not?!
What's so suspicious about me at this moment? Did I… My body did something while I was unconscious because of the corruption and she witnessed it? I seriously don't understand why this girl is so insistent on not letting me go anywhere…
"I told you, I'm just here for a request. More specifically, to deliver a letter for the acquaintance I mentioned earlier. I'm not looking for trouble. Now can you—"
"Where are you delivering the letter to?"
She glared at me intensely. "Or rather, who are you delivering it to?"
"Why does that matter?"
The mage gripped her staff more tightly, small bits of lightning forming around the hook like part of it. I could feel Arvalor and Regaria stirring in my shadow, the two growing more and more restless. If I don't find a way to deescalate the situation, the two shadow beasts will no doubt jump out to defend me. Shedding another cold sweat, I reached into my small pouch. "Maybe if I show the seal on the letter, she'll leave me alone?"
Pulling out the letter that Gidou had given me, I flashed the wax seal on it to the mage. Upon seeing it, her eyes slightly widened for a moment. Then, after a bit, she lowered her staff and sighed heavily, before flipping around — seemingly… cursing to herself in a language I couldn't understand. After a bit, she sighed again, before looking at me, resting her free hand onto her hip.
"You could have told me from the start that you were on an errand for Gidou."
"Well, I was kind of told to keep it a secret by the Guildmaster…" I thought to myself, before exhaling and sliding the letter back into the pouch. "Am I clear now–?"
The mage remained silent for a little bit, before spinning her staff and nodding. "I suppose I have no reason to be suspicious of you now that I know you're here on the behalf of Gidou…. Apologies for my rash behaviour."
"...No need to apologise." At least she had some reason in her.
"It's good to be cautious, especially with strangers." The mage nodded in agreement. Then, after a bit of silence, I turned around. "Then… Since you're no longer suspicious of me, I'll be right back on my way—"
"Now hold on."
She cut me off – stopping me in my tracks. I grit my teeth a bit.
What was it this time…
The mage moved after me, joining my side, before eyeing me. I raised an eyebrow towards her, before she cleared her throat. "I'll accompany you."
"...Why?"
"Because if it's a letter from Gidou you're delivering, there's only one person you could be heading to that lands you this close to the Deadman's Graveyard." She stated, as if she was familiar with my destination. Then, after a bit of silence, she looked away. "...Also because I'm bored."
….Right.
I don't know what I expected. After a moment, she looked back at me. "Oh and also because I know exactly where the person that the letter is addressed to lives."
"...How can you be sure that it's that person you're thinking of that the letter is addressed to?"
"Didn't you hear me earlier? There's only one person you could be heading to that lands you this close to the Deadman's Graveyard." She sighed, before looking away. "Don't tell me you have hearing problems."
"If you don't count the fact that my true form has a certain hearing range that is different from normal humans, then no I don't." I thought to myself, before exhaling. Rubbing the back of my neck, I debated on what to say. Me, Odale and Avy were the ones supposed to deliver the letter, plus Gidou told us to try our best to keep it a secret… Even if she seemed familiar with Gidou and whoever this letter was addressed to — was it wise to have her tag along?
After a bit, I looked at her.
"Alright, fine. Guess I can't exactly stop you from doing what you want."
She nodded, before moving ahead of me. "Follow me, I'll take you—"
"Actually, I have to meet up with a few of my pals who are on this request with me." I cut her off, the mage throwing her gaze back at me. After a bit, she shrugged and flipped around walking back over to me. "Alright then, lead the way I suppose."
And so, I did.
The two of us walked through the forest, tracking back the 'path' I had used to lure away the pack of wyverns that the three of us wanted to avoid. Within a little while, I was back onto the dirt road, looking around – searching for any signs of the carriage that Odale and Avy were taking.
"According to the route Odale planned out, they are supposed to exit out from the forest detour further down this road and wait for me there…" I looked down the road for a moment, before looking at the mage, who had been following after me. "This way. My companions should be waiting for me down the road."
Without saying anything in response, the mage nodded and continued following after me. I won't lie, it felt slightly… ominous having her follow me. The magical energy surging off of her was immense, and that staff she was holding her hand – well, it definitely was no mere everyday staff… I could sense this powerful force coming off of it. It felt like the staff itself had magical energy infused into it.
Not unusual for a mage, I imagine – but it was something I hadn't seen before… At least, I think I haven't seen it before.
After a bit of moving down the road, I managed to spot the carriage further down the road, with Odale and Avy waiting by it – clearly appearing nervous. I took in a quick breath, before letting out a relieved exhale. "Thank the gods they're here… Looks like the plan went smoothly… for the most part." I quickly picked up my pace, racing over to the two of them.
Looking up at me Avy immediately lunged towards me, hugging me, while Odale placed his arms behind his back. "Avy…? Is everything alright?" I laughed gently, placing my hands on her shoulders.
"I-I was just… Worried that something may have happened to you." She replied, small bits of tears forming at the edges of her eyes. I sighed, wiping away the slight tears, before looking at Odale. The lich bowed towards me. "Good to see that you're alright Master Faofa."
"Yeah, well, it definitely was a bit close, but I managed to get the wyvern pack away without much trouble." I gently laughed. There was no way in hell I could tell them about the fact that I almost died, especially when the corruption kicked in. Odale then turned his attention to the mage who had accompanied me as she joined us. Avy backed up from me, quickly taking a more defensive stance – perhaps she felt a bit intimidated by the mages magical energy?
"...And who's this Master?"
"This is…" I went silent for a bit, before looking at the mage.
I had… forgotten to ask for her name. The mage eyed me confused before seemingly realising the fact that she hadn't introduced herself to me and sighing. "Honestly, I didn't expect to need to introduce myself, considering my reputation."
Well… This little crew of mine wasn't exactly one that was up to date with all 'important' or 'famous' people in the world nowadays…
After clearing her throat, she posed a bit, resting her other hand onto her hip. "My name is Rhysta. I am one of the seven current Masters of Magic." She proudly introduced herself, her expression remaining the same the entire time. Hearing her introduce herself as a 'Master of Magic', I couldn't help but look towards Odale to see whether that was something he was familiar with. However, the lich seemed just as clueless as me.
"Seven Masters of Magic…?" Odale repeated to himself.
"I have never heard of such a thing." Rhysta looked at him with pure confusion and shock. "That's not possible. You look like a mage, there is no way you haven't heard of the Seven Masters of Magic as a mage."
"It must be something that has shown up in the recent years – considering that Odale hails from a kingdom that fell god knows how many years ago, I'm not surprised he's unfamiliar with whatever this is."
Odale shrugged before exhaling. "My apologies Miss, but I simply have never heard of such a thing as 'Seven Masters of Magic'." The girl looked at the lich with pure confusion, before exhaling and then shaking her head, looking away for a moment, swearing under her breath in an unknown language again, before turning back towards us, clearing her throat.
"...Anyways.." She quickly changed the topic.
"I heard from this guy here that you're on a request from Gidou to deliver a letter for him. I can lead you to the place where the person that the letter is addressed to lives." Both Avy and Odale eyed me intensely, as if asking why I told her anything about the request, sending shivers down my spine for a moment. After taking in a deep breath, I exhaled.
Looks like I'll have to explain myself to them…
A while later.
We were back on the road. Avy was manning the carriage, while me, Odale and Rhysta were talking amongst ourselves inside the carriage. Rhysta had explained to us who are the Seven Masters of Magic and what their purpose was. Supposedly, according to her, the Seven Masters of Magic are people who have reached the highest peak of magic a mortal could reach. In the modern world, they act as the 'keepers' or guardians of powerful artifacts, entrusted to them by the King of the Holy Night order.
The Seven Masters of Magic also act as the highest authority figures within what is known as the 'Magus Union' or simply 'Union' – the most famous and biggest organisation that gathers mages and sorcerers from all over the world. The main base of the Union was apparently located in Sertalia, the Elven capital…. Which also happened to be the same place that was 'shadow ruled' by Avy's mother.
In short, the way me and Odale understood it – was that the Seven Masters of Magic was the modern equivalent to what Odale once was recognised as; 'Grand Mage'.
Now with all this in mind, I did ask her why someone as 'important' as her was simply… Wandering around the Abyssal woods, to which she replied—
"Because the duties of a Master of Magic are so tiringg…" She exhaled, before laying down onto the 'floor' of the carriage. "I just want a breaak, but the other Masters always shout about our 'responsibilities' and what not. So I snuck away to Ordial for a break."
…So yeah.
Basically, we had picked up a runaway, modern Grand Mage. The only thing I could do now, is hope that having her tag along with us won't land us in trouble with the 'Union' organisation.
Eventually, the mage fell asleep in the carriage, sleeping a lot like a cat would. While she slept, me and Odale continued discussing the whole 'Seven Masters of Magic' thing, alongside the organisation they ran.
"It would appear that the world has gotten rid of the concept of 'Grand Mages'." I said, observing the sleeping passenger. Odale shook his head gently, crossing his arms. "I do not believe so."
"Why?"
I threw my gaze at the lich. For a moment, she remained silent, before looking at the mage. "For starters, while the magical energy she possesses is no doubt immense and she certainly has great control over magic, she is far, far weaker than the Grand Mages were in my time." He then looked back at me again. "You have to understand Master Faofa, 'Grand Mage' wasn't simply a title. It was recognition. It was acknowledgement that you were above any and all other magic casters in the world." Odale stated, before exhaling. "A single 'Grand Mage' could bring entire nations to their knees with the power they wielded. But her…" He looked at the mage.
"...I doubt she would be able to even put a dent in a nation. If I had to take a rough guess, at best – she'd be able to cease control of a city, but no more than that." After Odales… rather harsh comment, I slid into my thoughts for a bit. He had a point. In the memories that he showed me, his strength was enough to oppose the 'Angels' – even if he was unable to defeat them. The 'Grand Mages' weren't something to scoff at. They were forces of nature.
And while Rhysta absolutely had more magical energy than me or Odale – that was simply because I had only been reborn into this world around two or three months ago, while Odale had lost most of his strength over the god knows how many years that he spent trapped in the Fire Princes domain.
If Odale was in his prime…
I doubt she'd be anything significant compared to him.
"However, I certainly am interested in what happened with 'Grand Mages' after I was sealed away. These 'Seven Masters of Magic' and the organisation 'Union' didn't exist when I walked the land." Odale stated, before looking away from the girl. "After we finish this request, would you accompany me to a library? I will try to see if there is any information about them I can learn there."
I looked at the lich in silence for a moment, before sighing and nodding. "Sure. I'll accompany you. I doubt you'd be able to find your way to one on your own anyway."
Odale laughed lightly at my comment, which I joined in on after a moment.
The carriage then suddenly stopped – startling us both for a moment. Then, Avy looked inside at us.
"Looks like we made it." Avy stated.
I exchanged gazes with Odale before the two of us got out of the carriage and walked over to the front. A gentle breeze blew towards us, before we got a good look at the location in front of us.
The dirt road led down a small hill that we were on top of, leading towards a massive wasteland — where the green grass turned into dried, dead looking ground. Countless 'dead' trees covered the zone creating an appearance that was similar to a 'forest'. Most importantly… The energy that surged in the area was so strong that I could feel it all the way from here. Taking in a deep breath, I exhaled a moment later. "That most certainly is our destination." Odale commented, placing his arms behind his backs, snickering lightly. "Looks like that despite the long, long time I have been away — it is the one place that hasn't changed."
It was right there in front of us.
The place where the supposed 'acquaintance' of Gidou lived. The Deadman's Graveyard. Appearance wise, it certainly matched the name it held. Plus, using 'Overworld Detection', I could sense countless energy signatures roaming around the place – most likely being the 'Wicked' that were only findable in the Graveyard.
Avy eyed me with a nervous gaze, before reaching for my hand. "Is everything alright Faofa?" She asked. Something about the graveyard… sent shivers down my spine. Something about it also had this… magnetic pull, that felt like it was trying to reel me in. It was an odd, ominous feeling. However, I decided to ignore it. Shaking my head, I turned around and hopped onto the carriage, picking up the reins of the horses. "...Let's move. The faster we deliver the letter, the faster we'll be done with this." Avy and Odale remained silent for a moment.
Then, they joined me on the carriage, with Odale moving back inside the carriage itself, while Avy sat down next to me. Smiling gently, Avy nodded. "Let's move out then."
Whatever that ominous pull I felt was…
I would figure it out when I entered the graveyard itself. Until then, I should avoid worrying my friends. With one swift pull of the reins, the horses resumed their movement, moving towards the desolate wasteland that we were headed for.