I often lay on the rooftop, contemplating the world and pondering the many experiences I had yet to witness. The curiosity within me felt like hunger, intensifying every time it surfaced. Furthermore, now, it was at its peak. The opportunity to meet someone new was within reach and no storm would deter me from satisfying my desire to see something beyond this meager forest even if I was happy with living life here.

Rain poured from the darkness above, and the wind blew at me relentlessly. Despite the adverse weather, all I did was run, each footstep bringing me closer to the origin of the screams. My heart beat so fast that I could hardly breathe, attempting to think of things to ask, or just to talk about. Even the idea of conversing with someone else made me nervous.

"I had to do this. It was for my education. Grandfather would approve of this if he knew my intentions," I thought, confident that it would help me understand the world firsthand.

A bright smile formed on my face as I thought. Excitement engulfed me in its flames.

"Maybe we could even become friends!" Grandfather often told me about friends being the best and worst thing that could happen to oneself, but this description was honestly pretty vague to me. And what I wanted were clear perspectives.

"Help! P-Ple-ease!" The voice sounded pretty nearby.

Considering that the person would need help from something or someone, I put on a stern face and prepared to be on guard for any danger.

As I jumped off the ledge of a boulder, I instantly saw them. A young boy was lying in a worn carriage, and someone who looked around my age was lying in his arms, breathing heavily. I must've scared the young one, as he looked at me in total shock the moment I landed.

But by the time I regained my balance, the gravity of the situation also started to hit me like a rock.

'Strangers...'

I instantly froze, my mouth shaking like that of a malfunctioning toy. For a moment, all I could do was stare, while the rain turned me into a sponge. The cold winds couldn't even budge me from my position. However, the boy seemingly recovered as he started to bombard me with questions.

"Hey! Is there shelter? Please, my brother, he's wounded! I can't keep him here anymore!" He shouted desperately towards me.

"Uh, I- I- I don't know," I mumbled, not knowing how to answer.

He gave me a questioning look. This reaction made me realize how embarrassing I was behaving in front of him. A boy that was probably even a few years younger than me as well.

My answer didn't stop him from trying, though.

"Please! We will pay you for your help! I beg you." He started to weep, seemingly close to crying. I looked at him with an uncertain expression, not knowing what to do. Grandfather had understandably never brought anyone to our home because of the risks that would follow if anyone knew about his hiding spot.

However, as I glanced at the older brother, I fell into a dilemma. The wound the older boy had was even worse than I imagined. It dawned on me that my decision would determine whether they would die or live. Sweat broke out, running down my back. The overload of consequences both decisions could lead to was too much for me.

While I gauged whether to help them or not, the boy started to cry. Like a fountain, tears poured out of his eyes. He probably understood that I was trying to decide if I could take them with me or if I should just leave them. Somehow, inside of me, something felt like it was being crushed.

'What is this?'

My eyes started to become watery. Could I cry because of some mere strangers? Grandfather once taught me that one would cry when seeing someone they care for suffer and I started to understand why he said that. But I didn't even know these people.

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'So why?'

"Please, you can't just leave us! I beg you!" Seeing this young boy desperate brought shivers down my spine. It kind of reminded me of myself.

'I could at least take care of his brother,' I thought, as I wiped away my imminent tears.

Taking all my confidence and strength, I took a step towards the carriage. While it did protect them, it was fairly obvious that it would break down. The wood was already torn apart in most places, and the cloth that was stuck on some planks seemed like it was about to fly away. The boy shook a little but calmed down once he saw what I took out of my bag.

It was a bottle of medicine that my grandfather gave me for emergencies. This particular mixture was a very weird one. The effects settled in fast compared to every other bottle in our storage. Even I had only used it once back when I was 10 or so, and it felt like thousands of ants were crawling all over my skin, knotting together the tendons of flesh.

I jumped inside and slowly approached the place where the boy and his brother were, trying not to agitate them.

'Calm down, Asrem, you don't need to worry; it's just a kid,' I reminded myself, knowing that my demeanor was important to not scare them.

As I arrived, I calmly opened the bottle and nodded at the boy to signal that I was ready. As he lifted the bloody shirt of his older brother, I noticed that he was shaking as well.

"What is your name?" I asked him to calm him down a little. He looked at me for a second before answering.

"Henry," he said.

"Okay, Henry. I will now pour some m- medicine. Keep your brother calm; it could hurt a little."

I started to apply the medicine. The wound, situated right on his chest, was pretty large. However, it didn't look like something that an animal or monster would do. Normally, claw marks would look a little larger in the middle areas and become thin at the edges. This made me a little curious.

"What is the reason for your brothers injury, eh, Henry?" It was hard to keep my cool, but I had to be calm for his sake.

"We were riding the carriage as usual, but suddenly this storm hit. My brother, Heinrich, and I were still trying to get through. Our village is pretty small and far away from any city, so we decided to just continue instead of stopping. That's when the horse started to get scared. It shook until it freed itself. My brother tried to calm it down and reattach it to our carriage, but it just kicked him and ran off. That's how he got this wound," he answered, seemingly regaining hope as he saw his brother reacting to the medicine.

Finishing the small bottle of the magical mixture, I tried to gauge the body's mana layer.

The mana layer was something like a net spun over the whole body underneath the skin. It distributed mana evenly and made the mage able to enhance or manipulate bodily functions.

However, inside Heinrich, I didn't really feel anything.

"Shouldn't he be dead, though?"

Grandfather had told me that once a mage loses the mana layer, certain death would approach. But he was alive.

"I can't really tell if he's gonna recover, but his mana layer is pretty much gone," I said, expecting a shocked reaction, but the boy just looked at me confused.

"He didn't awaken yet. His 16th birthday is in a month," he said. Now I was confused.

"I understand," I said to just close the topic.

"Anyway, I wish you both good luck!" I said, a bit too worn down to clearly handle this situation.

As I instantly turned around to leave, the boy suddenly gasped.

"Can't we come with you? Even if he might survive thanks to the medicine, we have no chance with these winds! The blankets barely keep us warm as well. Please, you can't just leave us!" He said with panic resurging in his voice.

'Grandpa would kill me if I took them with me. What am I supposed to do in these types of situations?' I thought, concern showing on my face.

There was also another problem imminent. The protective layer of wind mana I had conjured around my body also started to weaken. Even if I wanted to take them, I don't know if we would make it to our home. We would most likely all die on our way back.

While I thought about my options, a sudden boom resounded in the distance. I knew exactly who was coming and I also dreaded something like this.

"Well, Henry, I will try to take you with us, but I can't promise anything," I said as an old man appeared behind me, outside the carriage. I turned around with a nervous smile on my face.

"H- Hey," I said quitely, raising my hand to greet Grandfather. The frown on his face clearly represented his inner anger, however, he just ignored me, instead leaning on the carriage's rear end and putting on a fake smile for Henry, he tried to talk to the boys.

"Are you and your friend alright, boy?" He said. The winds around us had slowed down dramatically, indicating that he had used some area spell to keep us safe from the winds.

"Yes, sir, we were just heading to our village when we were struck by the storm. Thanks to him my brother seems to feel better," the boy said, pointing at me. He seemed a little surprised by my grandfather's sudden appearance.

Instead of giving the boy an answer, he just nodded at him. Then Grandfather faced me, his critical gaze stabbing me like a hundred daggers.

"Asrem, we're heading back. I will take the boys; you go get their belongings and come back instantly."

"Of course," I said, fully knowing that the scolding I was about to receive was going to be next level.