It was time for Kayden to go. There wasn’t anything left for him to do in Dragonsteel anymore, and if he stayed here any longer, he might just be late for the Solus Academy entrance exams. He doubted that they would accept him if he was even just a few minutes late.

The journey was going to take a full week by horse, and Kayden, with the last of his money, rented one out for the journey. Unfortunately, he was going to have to return the horse once he reached the Kingdom of Arcadia, where a branch of the horse-renting company was located.

‘’A horse loan business, huh? That’s not a bad way to earn money…'

Kayden was lost in thought as he rubbed the new sapphire ring on his finger. Thanks to the size of his fingers being larger than normal, the ring didn’t fit anywhere else but his pinky, but even still, it was uncomfortable. As it turns out, the ring was not custom-made for him or anything, it was just a hand-me-down from his master.

A hand-me-down with divinity…

Kayden observed the ring closely with the help of the sunlight. There really wasn’t anything special that he could sense from it, yet Hel insisted that there was divinity inside.

‘Hmm… perhaps this is the secret to my master’s strength! Whatever it can do, I sure am looking forward to it!’

His master in the end never revealed to him the true purpose of the ring, and he guessed that she simply wanted it to be a surprise for him. Well, it didn’t matter, since Kayden liked surprises… as long as they were good.

“Sir, your carriage is ready! Thank you for using our service!” A young boy called out to him, pulling along the reins of a brown horse with a messy black mane. This was to be his steed, and Kayden couldn’t help but praise the boy for choosing a good one.

“Here, Sir. It’s the whistle for this horse. As long as it’s within range, no matter where you are, the horse will be able to find you if you blow it.” The boy explained, handing over a whistle that was tied to a piece of string. Kayden immediately took it and wore it on his neck.

Taking the reins from the boy, he continued admiring the horse as he left the establishment. The horse had a large saddle on that fit Kayden perfectly, but he wasn’t going to be riding it.

No no no, he was going to ride in a wagon instead, and the horse was going to pull him. He had lined his little cart with his pillows and blankets, ensuring him maximum comfort for the journey. If he was going to spend an entire week traveling, he was going to do it in the cheapest and most comfortable way possible.

It didn’t take long for him to finish setting it up, and once he did, Kayden couldn’t help but feel incredibly smug. He could sleep and ride at the same time, and he didn’t even have to worry about passersby giving him weird looks thanks to his illusion magic. Heck, if he really wanted to look cool, he could turn his horse into a dragon, his cart into a majestic carriage, and himself into some sort of king.

‘Right right. I can fill my cart with mountains of gold, and wherever I go, gold bricks shall trail behind me…'

Before he got too carried away with his ideas, he finally realized that he had reached his destination, the wide-open gates of Dragonsteel city. It was a colossal arch made of stone bricks that formed two towers on each side of the gate. Situated on top of those towers were two enormous crossbows, the ballistae.

Kayden waved at the two people who stood by the gates: His master, Morgan, and Aisha. They had come to see him off.

Pulling up beside them, he noticed something strange. Both Morgan and Aisha had their bags packed and seemed ready to go. Kayden wasn’t notified of this, and for a second, he felt mortified. Were they joining him on his trip?

“What’s the occasion?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Morgan, in a rare state of not being drunk, tried to pinch his cheek, but Kayden easily dodged her hand. Pouting, Morgan explained their situation.

“I’m going to the Adelastor Kingdom for some personal business… as for Aisha—”

“I’m going to travel around the world as a solo adventurer. I’ll be coming along with Miss Morgan, but we’ll split up once we’re there.” Aisha gave him a determined look and clenched her fists, “I wish to train enough until I can take on the Adventurer’s Guild ranking exam. Then, I’ll be able to fulfill my dreams of becoming an A-ranked adventurer.”

Kayden wasn’t surprised. Now that Aisha had gotten over her fear of hurting others with her magic, she was very much capable of vying for the A rank. Now, if only Kayden could get over his fear… he would probably be able to do it too. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented him from revealing his true power to others.

“I’m sure you can do it! You’re the Crimson Menace after all!”

Aisha smiled and nodded at his words of encouragement, and they shook hands. They were probably not going to see each other for a very, very long time. After spending quite a few years together in Dragonsteel city, it pained him slightly to have to see her go, but it was for the best. And Aisha wasn’t the only person he was going to miss either….

“Master? Thanks again for the ring.”

“No problemo! No need to miss me too much! I might occasionally visit if I have the time,” His master assured him, “And try not to get into dangerous situations again, okay? Remember! Running is always an option.”

“Yeah yeah… Goodbye, Master…”

A bright smile formed on her face as she returned his goodbye. With an energetic shout, a black portal appeared above both the woman’s heads, which slowly began to descend upon them.

“Good luck Kayden! I believe you can pass your exams! I’ll be taking back the ring if you don’t!” Morgan gave a thumbs up.

“Passing the exams can’t be any tougher than facing that giant skeleton alone, right? Good luck!” Aisha gave a small wave.

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With those final words, the black portal consumed them whole, bag and all, and they winked out of existence. Kayden was left staring into empty space, smiling.

Then, a sudden thought popped up inside his head, and his smile quickly disappeared.

“Hold on! Can’t she teleport me there? F#ck! I forgot to ask!”

It was far too late now, and Kayden resigned to his fate of traveling on a cart for a whole week straight. Well, at least he had someone to talk to.

“It’s the start of a new journey, Hel! Aren’t you excited?”

“[…Not really no. More importantly, I have something I need to tell you.]”

Kayden sighed, “What is it?”

“[Don’t forsake your training!]” Hel scolded him with a stern voice. “[That includes physical training, and your ice magic too. Your spells were sloppy, and your body is weak! I’ll be helping you train from now on. Look forward to it.]”

There was nothing to retort. Hel was right, he had been sloppy. With the power of hindsight, he realized that there were many things that he could have done differently. For example, if he had been more careful at the start, he may not have been separated from the party to begin with, and forced to fight Ryan one-on-one. If he had been more skillful with his ice magic, he may not have had to worry about hurting others, and used it quickly to dispatch the most threatening foe.

All in all, the fight has been a terrible showing of his fighting strength. He needed to do all he could to prevent the same situation from ever happening again, even if it meant he had to suffer through training from Hel.

“[For now, stick to a training regimen that can improve your body. As you are right now, the only thing you going for you is speed.]”

“And what’s wrong with that?! I’ll have you know that I—”

Suddenly, his cart started shaking, and Kayden felt a small impact land on the vehicle. He could instinctually feel that someone was behind him, and instantly pulled out one of his knives to defend the cart from the aggressor. Yet… there was no one there!

Then, like as if it was swallowed by the air itself, he felt a tugging sensation of his knife, which was swiftly wrenched free from his hand before completely vanishing. Kayden had no clue what was happening, but it couldn’t be good.

“[There’s someone in the cart!]”

‘You think I don’t know that?’

His eye twitched in annoyance.

“Oh you messed with the wrong thief, thief! The only person that steals from me is me!”

Kayden was about to jab that sucker in his invisible face when suddenly, it was not so invisible anymore. The illusory veil was lifted, revealing a short figure that was wrapped under a dark blue cloak. In one of his hands held Kayden’s knife, while the other went to pull his own hood back, revealing a familiar face.

A large, bulbous nose, a scruffy, white beard, and a shit-eating grin missing a few teeth… This person could only be…

“Long time no see, boy! I trust that you've—”

“I’m sorry. Who are you again?”

“…Sigh. I had a feeling that you’re going to do this, so don’t blame me for what I’m about to do!”

The familiar old gnome jumped and smacked Kayden in the middle of the forehead. It was just so sudden that he didn’t have the thought of dodging, and Kayden was left holding his forehead in shock.

“What was that for? I see your grumpiness hasn’t changed… you halfling!”

“I’M A GNOME! And I see your immaturity hasn’t changed either, boy. Now if you really did forget my name, you can just look in the mirror.”

“Huh?”

Kayden didn’t know what that meant, but he very soon did. Hel sent him a mental image of his own self, and printed across his forehead in golden block letters was the name ‘CASPER’.

He had really gone too far this time…

“You short, big-nosed halfling! Don’t think you can get away with this!”

Kayden was just about to cover Casper from head to toe with illusory bird shit, but quickly remembered that his mana regeneration was stunted right now. Doing so would be a complete waste, and that meant that Kayden had no choice but to take this transgression quietly. It still irked him to no end though.

He hung his head in shame and could only admit his defeat. Now all he could do was beg Casper to remove the letters from his forehead.

But just as he was about to do so, he heard the words of the System pop up inside his head.

[Spell learned: Create Personal Illusion]

‘Hmm? What’s this?’

He had just learned a spell, just like that. It was almost like when he had read the necromancer’s journal, except this time, he didn’t even need to read. The details of the spell just popped up inside his head! Technique, chant, and everything!

“Old man… did you perhaps use a different kind of illusion spell on me?”

“Oh?” Casper stroked his beard with an eyebrow raised. “I’m surprised you noticed. It’s an illusion that can only be seen by the person the spell is cast on, meaning those letters across your head can only be seen by you and me.”

Kayden smelled an opportunity right away and his eyes shone like diamonds.

“Oi! Why are you smiling like that? It creeps me out!”

Kayden forcefully kept his excitement under control and covered his grin with a hand. If this situation was truly what he thought it was…

“Old man! Your spell game is weak! Is that really all you can do? You’re a shame to all illusion-magic users everywhere!”

“WHAT?! You little… Take this!”

A loud bang nearly burst Kayden’s eardrums, somehow ringing his ears for only a few short seconds. But in return, he got…

[Spell learned: Create Illusory Sound.]

“Weak! Too weak! I thought your race was known for illusion magic! What happened to you?”

Casper’s face turned red in anger as he fired spells at Kayden consecutively. All his five senses were assaulted at once, leaving him hyperventilating on the cart from all the chaos he just experienced. But that didn’t matter! Not when the reward for this punishment was so good!

[Spell learned: Inflict Blindness]

[Spell learned: Create Illusory Taste]

[Spell learned: Create Illusory Smell]

[Spell learned: Illusory Tickle Torture]

He had to admit, that last spell was weird, and by far the worst to go through. Eventually, Casper dropped the spells on him, and Kayden was left with a wide, contented smile on his face.

“Why are you smiling…? I find it hard to believe that anyone can smile this happily after that assault. Hmm…”

Casper squinted his eyes and scrutinized him suspiciously.

Kayden froze.

‘Ah crap. Did I already get found out? No way, right?’

Casper chuckled.

“…Ah. I see. So you’re into this kind of thing, eh? I’ve heard the rumors, you know? Taking on a giant skeleton by yourself, angering a party of B-ranks, and you’re acquainted with two women, one called the Raging Alcoholic, and the other one called the Crimson Menace…”

Casper shook his head with a smug smile on his face.

“You’re a true-blue masochist, aren’t you?”

Kayden froze one more, his teeth glued together to show the widest smile he had ever shown in his life. However, the smile never reached his eyes. This damned gnome…

“[Ha! I see where he’s coming from! Oh, do you want me to treat you more harshly from now on too? HA!]”

With obnoxious laughter ringing in his ears, Kayden gave Casper a withering look before sitting down and giving the reins of the horse a light tug, signaling for it to move forward.

As the horse clip-clopped past the city gates, Kayden had a disgruntled look on his face. He had thought that the one-week journey was going to be somewhat lonely, but it seems that he got more than what he bargained for…

“Wait, hold on!” Kayden suddenly had a thought. “Why are you even here?”

“I was just about to tell you that until you rudely interrupted me!” Casper yelled, “Anyway, we made a deal. You’re going to help me find my daughter! She’s not in Dragonsteel city anymore!”

“Ah well, that’s too bad…” Kayden feigned looking helpless. “You see… I have to take the entrance exams for the Solus Academy… so, unfortunately, you’re going to have to do it alone…”

Now that Kayden had learned so many new spells from the gnome, he felt that he didn’t want to fulfill his end of the deal anymore. His silkweed clothing, which was another part of the deal they made, wasn’t that appealing to him, and so he chose to end it here. Rescuing a kidnapped person from a slave organization? He was already being hunted as it is! He didn’t need to make more enemies.

Of course, things didn’t always go his way…

“Solus Academy, you say? Isn’t that situated in the Kingdom of Arcadia? To think that you already knew where I was going to search next! Onward, my boy! We’ll save my daughter together!”

“…F#####cck…”

With no other choice, Kayden set off on his journey with Casper in tow.