+1 progress point in the [Magic Cave] quest!
[Quests] [Progress] [Magic Cave] 11/11
Quest completed! Congratulations, you’ve earned 1 attribute point!
-1 progress point in the [Save the Eternal Village] quest!
[Quests] [Progress] [Save the Eternal Village] 2/20 -4
Holy cow!
The satisfaction of completing his quest and acquiring the Riverash Family’s {Spells} books nearly evaporated as Jonn saw the system’s interpretation of his actions.
Is getting these {Spells} a bad thing for the village? Is it because I killed a mage to get them? Or is it because the Riverash Family will now pursue me?
The implications of his actions were complex and difficult to unravel. After a moment of dismay over this unexpected consequence, Jonn refocused on the valuable {Spells} in his possession.
Contemplating the reasons for his setback wouldn’t alter his current situation, and he was in a hurry to leave the building.
‘Delusion of Force—Level 3 Spell.’
‘Hex of Silence—Level 2 Spell.’
‘Ice Whip—Level 3 Spell.’
‘Meteor—Level 4 Spell.’
Jonn had found only four {Spells} books in the Riverash Family vault. He took them all, using the silver ring that Hewet had left for him.
It had taken Jonn some time to grasp the purpose of the ring his grandfather had passed on him. Upon reaching 50 points in [Wisdom], he realized the item functioned as a spatial storage device—a highly convenient tool for carrying a large volume of items discreetly.
The ring was uncomplicated to use. Anyone with a certain level of [Wisdom] and a bit of mana could instinctively operate it by linking their mana to the artifact.
Jonn channeled a unit of mana, the minimal amount needed, to store the four books. {Spells} were akin to weapons, and he had no intention of leaving them behind to give his competitors any advantage in the future.
Time to leave.
He retraced his steps, passing the mage’s lifeless body in front of the two doors in the underground corridor. It seemed no one had noticed the earlier commotion, and Jonn soon ascended the stairs to the estate’s first floor.
On the ground level of Count Javis’ home, activity had dwindled in the past few minutes. Servants had returned outside, and the nobles had closed off themselves in their rooms. The guards remained vigilant, their focus on the estate’s exterior, a mix of anxiety and wariness of nocturnal surprises.
They vividly recalled the surprise attack weeks ago, which had occurred shortly after the prince’s group departed the area.
Tonight could indeed present an opportunity for them, yet the men left behind remained wary. They suspected that the fire near the Yeoman Ferry estate might be a trap designed to weaken them.
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Jonn sensed their unease as he peered outside, making his way back to the roof.
As he neared his destination, Jonn suddenly froze upon reaching the retractable ladder leading to the roof. It was open, although he had left it closed.
Has someone discovered me?
He retreated, scanning both ends of the upper floor, his senses attuned to the shadows near the attic entrance.
After almost three tense minutes, Jonn felt his heart pound harder, his clothes clinging uncomfortably to his damp skin. The longer he lingered, the greater the danger. Ice and Windy were out there, taking risks, he reminded himself.
His apprehension about encountering an enemy had solidified, but he had no choice.
With a dagger in his dominant hand, Jonn moved with stealth, his left hand poised defensively and his right ready to strike.
He paused at the stairs, peering into the attic’s darkness. Nothing but the roof and shadowy surroundings lay before him.
With mana coursing through his fists, he ascended, re-entering the attic to find a different animal than before.
A cat?
He doubted a cat could have opened the retractable ladder, yet the attic was empty.
He proceeded to the roof access and, without hesitation, exited the house to make his escape.
As soon as he was outside the Riverash estate, a shiver ran down his spine, triggering an instinctive leap to the side. He rolled down the roof just as an arrow zipped past his left shoulder, narrowly missing him.
Jonn’s eyes widened in realization, and he turned to locate the source of the attack. A guard stationed in a sentry box overlooking that section of the roof stood with a black bow in hand and a quiver of arrows at his side.
“Trespasser!" shouted the archer at the sight of one of the enemies he had foreseen would act that night.
Damn!
Jonn moved to flee, taking advantage of the open space to use [Air Palm] to his advantage.
Several men looked in his direction as he jumped from the roof into the backyard of the Count’s property, where a few men armed with spears were already running towards him.
The archer lost sight of Jonn as the white-haired boy with a mask on his face moved across the yard, seeing enemies chasing after him and two opponents blocking his path.
There are no mages here, so I just need to stick to my escape plan. They’ll eventually lose my trail. I just have to get past these two.
Jonn saw the two men position themselves with their spears to prevent his escape. He simply made a palm strike movement, thrusting one of his hands forward as he darted from one side of the back lawn to the other.
A large palm of air formed, surprising the two guards, who did not know they were dealing with a mage.
“A mage!" one of the two exclaimed, his surprise and fear evident in his tone.
Jonn’s movement affected both men. One was thrown against the back wall, while the other felt a powerful force stop him in his tracks, hitting his body with a powerful slap. Although he didn’t fall, the sting of the slap on his arms and legs was enough to make him momentarily forget about the fleeing enemy.
“Aaagh!” The other man shouted as he slammed into the wall, clearing the way for Jonn to jump over and escape.
Jonn seized the opportunity, deftly dodging the knives and arrows thrown in his direction in his last moments within the property.
He jumped over the wall into another estate.
Even though the Count had wealthy neighbors with good estates, none of them had as many guards or protective measures as the Count’s house. Upon entering the yard of another house, Jonn found the space and tranquility he needed to slip away into the shadows of the night.
The sound of the Riverash Family guards chasing him echoed for a while, with men inside and outside the Count’s property hearing the commotion and starting searches around Littlewood.
My luck is that [Air Palm] isn’t just an offensive spell. With it, I can enhance my senses and move faster!
He pondered the usefulness of his only effective combat {Spell} at the moment, anticipating the advantages he would gain from learning the four new spells he now possessed.
Jonn remained calm amidst his escape, taking ten minutes to make his way from the Count’s estate to one of the city’s exits—a more arduous journey than he had initially thought. Despite being a mage with an advantage over ordinary mortals, he knew that facing a battalion like the Riverash Family’s would spell trouble.
His {Spell} had a limit to how often it could be used, and as his mana depleted, he would become vulnerable. It would only take one brave man to land a hit and leave a wound, weakening him further. Many enemies would surely fall before him, but if a group of twenty or thirty individuals engaged him in mortal combat, he had no hope of escaping alive.
To avoid such a confrontation, he moved cautiously during those ten minutes, reaching the city’s exit after evading several guards searching for him.
Sigh! Now I have to get back to Ice and Windy. I wonder what their situation is. I imagine the Riverash Family forces have reached Yeoman Ferry’s estate by now. Are they fighting?
Jonn made his way through the dark woods, leaving Littlewood behind. He ran at a moderate pace, not as hurriedly as one might expect. Having already spent some of his [Stamina] and [Mana] earlier, Jonn wanted to conserve his power for a safe escape alongside his beasts.
After almost an hour since he had left, Jonn arrived back at the area where the fire had started earlier. He found a blackened area scorched by flames, which had advanced and turned the property into a huge bonfire.
The flames had subsided because of the efforts of the servants trying to prevent the fire from consuming Yeoman Ferry’s house. Meanwhile, the combat between the estate guards and the Riverash Family guards had smothered the remaining outbreaks of fire.
Jonn spotted bodies scattered unevenly around the inner and outer edges of the area where he had started the fire—ordinary men among the bodies of warriors from both sides of the power struggle in the region.
The fighting was not over. The metallic sound of clashing weapons reached Jonn’s ears, drawing his attention to the warriors facing each other on the west side of the estate.
When he saw the group of fewer than twenty men finishing their fight, he felt something approach him and turned to see Windy neighing behind him.
“Ice is surrounded?” Jonn heard the message brought by his horse. “Where is he?”
Windy turned and started running, with Jonn following her, leading him close to where he needed to ride.
Jonn understood Ice wasn’t hurt, but the local mages were fighting nearby, and the winner of the confrontation would likely turn against the white wolf.
It looks like I’ll have to eliminate the survivors of this fight… Well, I’ve already killed one; doing it again won’t change much. Maybe this will finish the forces of Yeoman Ferry and Count Javis, taking away their chance to cause trouble in the Barren Hills of Deepshadow.
He soon reached the spot Windy wanted to show him, just a minute’s walk into the woods, in a hilly part of the region where Ice was supposed to be hiding after being chased by the mage’s group.
Jonn spotted a man standing with his knees slightly bent, in a strange combat stance. The man was sweating profusely, his mouth open, and deep circles under his eyes. Blood dripped onto the ground from one of his arms, marking the stones beneath him.
About 40 feet away from Ferry’s mage stood an old man with white hair and a beard. His situation was much better than that of the other mage, with no injuries on his body and seemingly able to withstand much more of the fight. He had a calm look on his face, while cursed chains floated in the air behind him, glowing orange and illuminating the dark surroundings of the tall trees and mountainous soil.
Ice was behind a rock, exhausted from running and dodging attacks for several minutes, obviously cornered.
This is the level 3 mage. The strongest Acolyte in town.
Jonn recognized the identity of the older-looking mage, while the Celestial Magnifying Glass was already in one of his hands.
He didn’t act immediately, listening to the conversation between the two men responsible for some of the fallen trees and destroyed rocks in the surrounding area.
“... Give it up, Serrell! Yeoman Ferry will fall tonight! Let him perish and join His Grace. By our side you will find redemption!” shouted the white-haired old man to the enemy amid what was to be his defeat.
“Or remain stubborn and die!” The ultimatum was issued, forcing not only Serrell to prepare, but also Jonn to plan his ‘response’ to these circumstances.