Adui stood there, trying to grasp what the hell was going on there. The old man, the boss of these people was clearly not there to kill him or something. As far as the knight is concerned, it was written on his face that he wanted to flay his skin and wear it like a shawl, the soldiers behind him shared the same sentiment as well. So what the hell was going on there?

“You can be serious,” Knight said, “You want me to recruit this man?”

Recruit? The fuck.. This old man is surely out of his mind. He wants to recruit me? The guy who killed one of his men in cold blood?

The old man nodded, “The man you speak of destroyed the ego and noses of several of your well-trained men. And he was able to walk out of the fight with some bruises at best.”

The knight protested, “But sire.. He killed one of our soldiers,”

“Only because Goto fired an arrow at him. For no apparent reason.” The old man then turned to the men behind the knights, “Look at the faces of these men. They are defeated, but not dead. Do you reckon a man like him, who is about to complete his first circle could not massacre your troops?”

What the fuck is the first circle? Adui thought.

The knight then looked at him weirdly, “This boy is at the same level as me?”

I am at the same level as a knight? What the fuck?

From the books at the Hampshire house, he knew for a fact that all the knights in the country were mana-wielders. And any mana wielder could become a knight, only when they reached a certain level of mastery in mana wielding. How this mastery is attained, or what it is called was beyond him, as there were no books about this topic. Which is why, he was quite surprised that in one year's worth of time, he was able to reach a level where he could become a knight.

“Think about it Greg, you lost a stone, but you found gold instead,” the old man said.

Hearing the words, Adui couldnt help but chuckle, gathering their attention, “Old bones, surely you have gone senile in your old age.” It made the old man face him, “You are trying to recruit me, without even asking.. That is some next-level insanity,”

“If you dont come to work for us, you die,” the old man said.

Adui raised his hands sideways, ready to embrace death. The old man didnt show any hesitation. Within a blink of an eye, Adui saw the white-gloved fist of the old man hurling its way toward him. In that fist, he could see his death. For the first time in this life, he bloomed the warmest smile and accepted his faith. He would die here.

But the first came to an, about a half inch from his nose. The fist created a gust of wind, that not only ruffled his hair but managed to reach the tree behind him as well.

So close. So exciting. He thought.

He then tilted his face to the right and said, “Why did you stop old man? Got scared?”

***

Half an hour ago.

Travis was having a very bad day as it was. They were supposed to reach the Sumor Keep two days ago, if it weren't for the cursed carriage axel. That damn old creaky thing had never in his life has ever troubled them before in its life. But in the past three weeks, it had broken down at least 4 times. According to the carriage driver, the whole axel assembly needed to change. But, where would they find an axel in the middle of nowhere?

He had contacted Lord Sumor, and the new axel was on its way to the keep. Only, if they were able to reach the keep before the axel arrives.

Travis then looked at the practice test that he had prepared for the young mistress, and he felt an even bigger headache coming his way. Most of the questions were wrong, there were a few where he could not understand what the young mistress had written.

I am too old for this. Young mistress needs a strict teacher, if she had to grasp the concept of keeping accounts and penmanship.

The knock on the door broke his stupor. The old man pushed himself up and opened the door. Beyond him stood, Greg, the knight assigned to protect them.

“We have a problem,”

Travis sighed, “What did young mistress do now?”

“Well..” Greg hesitated, then spoke, “She vanished for a few minutes. But she came back, crying. She said that a man scared her, and then ordered the soldiers to get the man’s head for her.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Travis started massaging his head for the upcoming head, “Which poor sop did the soldiers kill?” They were on a thin budget right, and compensating the villagers meant that they might have to empty their pockets. Although, he could just not pay the villagers, but he couldnt let someone tarnish the good name of Marquis Sumor.

“That is the thing… One of our soldiers is killed. The rest of them.. They were all beaten up.”

Hearing Greg’s words a vein pooped on Travis’s head. “Such a blatant disrespect..” He mumbled, “What are you doing here, instead of erasing those pests,”

“All of this was done by one man. Alone.”

That caught him off guard. Alone. Then this person should be a mana wielder. Otherwise, there is no way that the well-trained guards of the Sumor family would be defeated that easily.

“Nobel?” he asked.

Greg shrugged, “From what I have heard of the man, doesn't seem like it. But the way that the man had been beaten up… This man is extremely skilled. Might be a lapdog of some noble.”

“Let me see for myself what had happened.” He said coming out of the room. Greg soon followed him behind, “And made sure that at least four guys are keeping an eye on the young mistress.”

“Already done,” Greg said, and they went to meet this mysterious man…..

It was unsettling. That smile, was very unsettling. Travis had met a lot of people in this world, and there were some that he knew, who were not afraid of anything. But death was something, that everyone was afraid of.

It was his first time encountering a person, that is not afraid of death and was willing to embrace it with open arms. And then that unsettling smile, this man was smiling at the face of death. Travis had fully made his mind to kill the man, he just stopped to gauge the reaction of the man. But he was not expecting this.

That man then tilted his face, and asked, “Why did you stop old man? Got scared?”

This guy… He would make an excellent soldier. He thought.

“What is your name boy?” Travis asked.

“Ad.. Drake. The name is Drake,”

“So Drac..”

“No.. Not Drac.. It's Drake, with a k…”

That is the stupidest thing that I ever heard, Travis thought and then asked, “Is that really your name?”

The man then sighed, “Look, old man, dont wanna talk to you or your boys anymore. Fuck off, before I get angry,”

He says that he would become angry.. But look at the fucker’s face. He was clearly enjoying the situation.

Travis then turned around and asked Greg, “Why did your men attack this man again?”

“Young mistress ordered to kill him sire. But the boys truly wanted to just beat him up,”

What would I do with the girl,

Then he turned towards Drac, “Why dont you work for us?”

“Do you work for someone else?”

“Nope. Just dont want to work as a fucking as a useless soldier,”

What? Travis was having a hard time understanding the young man before him, “With your talent, you would become a knight in a few years.”

“Not interested,” the man said and then turned around and started walking back to his campfire.

“Are you working for someone else?” he asked.

“Nope,” The man said and kept walking.

“Then what do you want to do in your life? Teach? Become a butler?” Travis had just said it with sarcasm. There was no way that this man would be interested in such things, with his talents he would become someone in the future. Surprisingly that stopped the man, and he turned around, “Butler at the Marquis family?”

He recognized the symbol on Greg’s armor. Only nobleborns are made to learn all the important house insignia. He thought.

“There might be a chance,”

The man then came back, as quickly as he went, and then with a cold face and asked, “When do I start?” Travis could only stare at the man, trying to understand what kind of man was this, Drac….

***

A few days later.

Keeping an eye on the Drac, Travis couldnt help but be impressed by that man’s teaching skills. When Drac offered to help the young mistress with her studies, he was hesitant, but at the same time Drac was the best candidate for the job, he knew it. Ever since the young mistress came to know about what Drac did to one of their soldiers, and the fact that he was a mana wielder who was on the same level as Greg, she had been a little bit afraid of him.

Which is why he believed that Drac would have done a pretty great job at teaching her, because no matter what he does she doesn't take him seriously.

But when Drac started teaching her, she started improving. Didnt know whether it was due to fear, or she suddenly became smart. By the time they reached the Sumor Keep, Travis started seeing improvement in the young mistress’s performance.

Young mistress progress was the only thing, that made Lord Sumor even consider taking Drac as a butler. And slowly Drac became one of the butlers under him. It is only then Travis started seeing why Drac wanted to become the butler, it was because he was pretty good at it. Somehow that man was able to wake up early, train, do all chores assigned to him, and then find the time to wander around the library of the Keep.

Drac sure loved the books and kept great care of the library. His interest didnt go unnoticed by Young Mistress’s mother who liked books as well. And before Travis knew it, somehow Drac was able to come close to Mistress. Some staff didnt like that a new guy, who only had been here for about six months was able to become a close confidant of the Mistress.

On the other hand, Travis didnt know what to think of Drac. He was good at his work, remained professional, and always smiled at everyone. But he and Greg knew the truth. Drac was a killer and a very dangerous one at that. They both thought that the man had an ulterior motive for coming to the family. It was just that they had no idea what Drac was planning.

The only thing that they could do was to observe, and be ready for whatever the man does next…