“We should find another place to rob,” Sahra said excitedly.

“I don’t think this town has anything worth robbing,” Rufus said, “We’ll have to head up to Dorbarta for a chance at getting something worth anything. That Tyllen family is a Noble family now. I bet they have some nice treasures.”

“See what you’ve done?” Benji said to Adion.

“Okay, guys.” Adion interjected, “It won’t matter how much valuables we’ll be able to steal if we don’t have the strength to protect it.”

“Not exactly what I had in mind, but sure,” Benji said, shrugging shoulders.

“Ah!” Sahra turned to Adion, “That’s the best part. With the pills and money we steal, we’ll get stronger a lot quicker!”

“Well, we should spend the money first if that’s the case,” Adion said.

“That’s true,” Sahra nodded, “I don’t think I’m far from reaching high Silver. I might become the youngest Gold in history at this rate.”

Adion shook his head but couldn’t help but smile. Both Rufus and Sahra had become slightly obsessed with the idea of repeating their robbery. Adion could understand them. Everyone in the group had received 15 Focus Pills and 8 Tempering Pills, along with plenty of other valuables. Especially enough money to buy even more pills when they ran out. Adion was a little underwhelmed by the pills, but that might be because his advancement was so fast even without them, and he had plenty of other ways to increase his strength.

But being rich was a nice feeling. The group's mood had been at an all-time high since the robbery two days ago. They had walked north until they reached the town they were just now entering.

“Should we rent a carriage?” Lomin asked.

“Rent?” Sahra scoffed, “We’ll buy one. Ganta, we’ll buy one for each of us.”

“You should probably be the one in charge of your economy in the future, Benji,” Adion said.

“I’ve come to realize that,” Benji sighed.

“Have you decided where we’re going, Benji?” Rufus asked.

“I think we should head up to an outpost outside of Dorbarta. It will give us some distance to Wender but won’t take too long to travel. It’s not like we’re on the run, but it will feel safer to be away from that place for a while.” Benji said.

“What about Vianca?” Adion asked, “I wouldn’t mind moving closer to Cyalis.”

“It might be a little dangerous. There are plenty of areas with Gold and even Diamond beasts in those areas,” Benji responded, “We could go there if we stay out of the Outskirts though. I’ve heard Vianca is a very nice city.”

“I would prefer staying in the Outskirts. We can’t grow lazy just because we’re rich. We need to continue training to grow strong.” Adion said.

“Can’t you take a moment to relax, Adion?” Sahra said, “You deserve a break more than anyone.”

“I guess I wouldn’t be opposed to having a small break,” Adion said, “But we should still head for a place where we’ll get good training.”

“Adion is right. We can take our time to travel to the outposts of Dorbarta, and perhaps visit a few towns along the way. But we shouldn’t laze around either. Aren’t we all aiming for Soul mages?” Benji asked with a grin, “We still have a long way to go.”

“Haaah,” Rufus sighed, “You have even managed to brainwash our leader with those fantasies of yours, Adion. But I suppose being a Soul mage doesn’t sound too bad. I’m sure the ladies will love it.”

“Whatever motivates you,” Benji said with a smile, “Alright then, let’s get a carriage and some fast beasts to pull it.”

“We’re not gonna take a moment to celebrate?” Rufus asked, “We’re finally in a place with beer. We should stay the night.”

“I’m sure Heavenly Light will realize that their treasury was cleaned out,” Benji said, “It might not be a good look to throw a big celebration this close and this soon. We’ll celebrate properly once we get to our destination.”

“That makes sense, I guess,” Rufus nodded.

The group followed Benji as he went to a place where they rented out carriages. Adion was a little lost in thought, though.

What should I focus on now? I guess getting my teleportation up to par so I can use it in battle isn’t a bad idea. My new attack could use a lot of work. I haven’t really gotten far on my concepts for fire. I should ask Sahra and Benji for help on that.

I also have my shadow affinity. It feels stupid to just leave that ability useless. My water affinity hasn’t gotten anywhere, either. But space and fire are just too important. I’m a space mage, after all, and it’s my most powerful weapon. And fire will be needed to use as a cover in Cyalis Academy.

I might just have to hold off on everything else for a while longer. But it will be nice to stay in the Outskirts with everyone. The weeks we spent in Rettor were very effective for training. I’m looking forward to experiencing the same thing without the looming threat of a Diamond mage hanging over us.

“Hey, Adion,” Rufus said in a low voice. Benji was talking to someone about renting a carriage a few dozen feet away.

“What?” Adion asked.

“You get any useful information from those papers? Any leads to other branches?” Rufus asked.

“Not as much as I thought,” Adion said, “The papers were mostly concerning things happening around the Silver Wall. Most of that information is useless now anyway. But a few tidbits were interesting for sure. I’ve only skimmed it so far. It will take a while to read everything thoroughly.”

“Mm,” Rufus nodded, “Just wanted to make sure you’re not planning anything stupid. You know Sahra and I are mostly joking about new robberies and all that. Sahra almost died after all. Even if you find something, you’ll have time to take care of it in the future.”

“Mm,” Adion nodded, “I know, don’t worry.”

It didn’t take long to sort out the carriage, and the group continued their way north. Adion sat in the carriage opposite Rufus and Lomin, while Benji and Sahra were seated up front, making sure the Silver beasts pulling the carriage didn’t run off course.

“Something interesting?” Rufus asked Adion.

Adion was sitting reading through the papers he had stolen from the treasury. The previous two days, the group had been traveling by foot, and reading through them thoroughly wasn’t really convenient.

“It seems the burning of Iitha was done by Heavenly Light,” Adion said with his eyes on the paper.

“What!?” Rufus yelled out in shock.

“It seems what happened to your family wasn’t an exception from their usual way of doing things,” Lomin commented.

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“Why would they do that?” Rufus asked.

“It seems it was done to create a misunderstanding that the Fire Phoenix Church was behind it,” Adion said, “But it’s strange. It seems like they weren’t expecting people to actually believe it. Or at least they don’t seem afraid of people not believing the story.”

“So why did they do it?” Rufus asked.

“I don’t know. They might just have wanted to do damage to Iitha for some reason. There’s not really a detailed plan in here,” Adion said.

“To pull something like that off,” Rufus muttered, “And what you told us about what they’re planning to do in Valis. Heavenly Light is definitely not weak. I know you already planned on staying low, but now more than ever, you should realize that you are far too weak to deal with them. For now, at least.”

“Don’t worry, Rufus. Do you really think you have to convince me to train?” Adion asked with a small smirk.

“Haha,” Rufus chuckled, “I guess not, no.”

“By the way, how far are you guys from reaching high Silver?” Adion asked.

“I’m still a few months off at least,” Rufus said, “Even with the pills. I’m not as talented as Sahra and Benji.”

“I’m probably at least a year away,” Lomin said with an awkward smile, “We faelin are not as fast in advancement as humans. In any other group of people, I’d probably be able to carry my head high anyway thanks to my Words of Truth. But in front of you, it doesn’t seem all that impressive anymore, Adion.”

“What are you talking about? I would love to find some Deep Concept and manage to ingrain it in my core. I don’t even know how to get started, least of all reaching your level.” Adion said earnestly.

“Haha,” Lomin chuckled, “Well, thank you. It isn’t that I’m not aware that I’ve accomplished something great. But next to a high Bronze mage who managed to think of a way to kill a Diamond mage in two months, and then actually succeed in doing so, everything seems to pale in comparison.”

“Not only a Diamond mage, two Gold mages too, and Silver mages were cut down like they were Irons,” Rufus added.

“Well, they were all distracted, otherwise I wouldn’t stand a chance. And if it were a fair fight, they would be able to kill me before I had a chance of doing anything.” Adion said.

“But you were the one who distracted them. Who says you only have to fight using magic? As I see it, you went head to head against a Diamond mage and won,” Lomin said, “I can’t wait to see what your next surprise will be.”

“I’m not sure I’ll have something like that,” Adion shook his head, “I’ll just focus on my concepts and polishing my teleportation and new volatile space attack.”

“I’m sure you’ll shock us plenty more,” Lomin said with a smile, “If I return to Fornia with my Words of Truth, it is sure to be highly regarded, but the stories about you will make my fellow faelin forget all about them.”

“You planning on ratting out Adion?” Rufus asked jokingly.

“Not if he doesn’t want me to, of course. But I’m sure he will be too strong to care about that by the time I return to Fornia,” Lomin answered.

“You think way too highly of me, Lomin,” Adion said.

“Hahaha!” Rufus laughed loudly, “Adion, do you think it’s common for someone to kill a Diamond as a Bronze? I wouldn’t believe it if someone said they killed a Gold as a Bronze, let alone a Diamond.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s unusual,” Adion said, “But surely it’s been done before. Diamond mages are far from invincible.”

“Maybe,” Rufus shrugged, “But you should be a little more aware of your own uniqueness. Otherwise, you might make those poor kids at Cyalis give up on their dreams altogether, hearing you speak of the impossible in such nonchalant terms.”

“Well, I do realize that much,” Adion said.

Rufus and Lomin looked at each other, questioning Adion’s words.

“Whatever,” Adion shrugged.

They continued traveling through the day, with Adion reading through all the papers he had stolen. Unfortunately there wasn’t much more juicy information. When it started to darken, the carriage came to a stop, and the group made a fire ready for dinner.

“How are your burns, Adion?” Benji asked as he put a piece of meat on over the fire.

“It’s almost completely healed now,” Adion said. He had not wanted to waste one of his precious healing pills on the wounds, but there were some pretty powerful healing pills in the treasury that he didn’t mind taking.

“Yellow Healing Pills are a lot more powerful than Green ones, it seems,” Benji commented.

“You’ve never had a Yellow Healing Pill before?” Adion asked.

“No, they are far too expensive. Well, not anymore, I guess,” Benji answered.

“They didn’t have Yellow Pills at the Merond family?” Rufus asked.

“I’m sure there were some, but nothing I got sent with me,” Benji answered.

“Merond family?” Adion asked.

“My family clan,” Benji answered, “I never told you about it?”

“No,” Adion shook his head, “I just heard you were from a 2nd tier family in Rellen.”

“He doesn’t really talk much about his family,” Rufus said, “Why is that, Benji?”

“Well, it’s just not very interesting, that’s all,” Benji answered.

“I’m sure hearing about a friend’s upbringing in a foreign land is anything but uninteresting,” Lomin said with a smile.

“Well, for all your stories, I don’t believe we’ve ever heard anything about your upbringing, Lomin,” Benji countered.

“...It’s not very interesting,” Lomin said with slight embarrassment.

“Am I seriously the only one who has shared about my family?” Adion questioned, “That’s unfair.”

“Haha,” Benji laughed lightly, “You’re right, sorry, Adion. I’ll be sure to tell you everything you want to know.”

“Why don’t we visit your family?” Sahra asked, “I've never met your parents, after all.”

“It’s quite far to Rellen, Sahra,” Benji said.

“I’m not saying to visit now, but Adion is going to head to Cyalis soon anyway. We could travel with him and stop by your family, no?” Sahra asked.

“That would be nice,” Adion put in.

Benji looked around hesitantly, “I don’t think my family is worth visiting.”

“Oh, come on, Benji,” Sahra said, “I know you don’t get along very well, but it’s still your family. Shouldn’t you at least introduce me?”

“Well…” Benji paused, “We won’t be able to hunt any beasts. We live far from the Outskirts.”

“We can head there afterward,” Rufus suggested, “Or maybe head to the Kuwa Mountains. I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“Me too,” Lomin nodded, “From what I’ve heard, it sounds like a very fascinating place.”

“I almost want to go with you instead of heading to Cyalis hearing about your plans,” Adion said.

“Oh, don’t be sad, Adion,” Sahra said, “You can always come with us when you finish your studies. Cyalis is a valuable experience that you shouldn’t let go to waste.”

“I know. I just got itching to head to the Kuwa Mountains hearing you talk about it.” Adion said.

“Well, it’s not like we’ll have the chance to explore all of it even if we had a hundred years, don’t worry,” Sahra said.

“We should maybe look into having a Kuwamin as our next team member,” Rufus said, “Preferably someone with a little more enthusiasm for the ladies than this kid.”

“You’re already working on replacing me?” Adion asked.

“It’s good to be prepared,” Rufus said seriously.

“I’m still saying we should have a girl as our next member,” Sahra said.

“I thought you didn’t like the idea of a girl for Rufus to hit on either?” Benji asked.

“...We’ll get someone he doesn’t like,” Sahra answered.

“You willing to have an annoying teammate just to make sure I’m all alone?” Rufus asked dejectedly.

“Oh, how fun, watching some girl annoy Rufus all day!” Sahra said and started laughing.

“Adion,” Rufus said in a low voice, “You’ll help me get a girl before you leave, right? Otherwise, it might be over for me forever.”

Adion just shook his head with a smile, “Sure, Rufus.”

I hope I can meet a group of friends as nice as this at Cyalis.