He stayed close to his home and just gazed at his village. He was as still as stone. His caramel eyes were fixed on the valley and its ruins, only blinking occasionally.

During such an intimate moment, Max stood beside him and barged in on his moment to gesture that it was time to depart. With uttering a word, Morchel nodded in reply.

He got inside, picked up the leather rucksack, and swept his home one last time to look for anything he had possibly missed. Once he was sure, he held his head down, took a deep breath, and straightened his back.

With renewed determination, he got Flint to accompany him to the Pandits who were already waiting ready to leave.

‘It’s been a while since I left the village, hasn’t it?’ thought Morchel. He took a look at Flint and then at Max and his comrades.

Max noticed that the brothers had come out, he glanced at Sahera and Asius and greeted Morchel and Flint.

“Great! Let’s head out, shall we?”

Morchel could tell that it was all a facade. His attempt at a gentle smile did not mask his anxiety and cautiousness.

Morchel did not point it out. Instead, he remained silent and nodded to affirm.

In their march to Ulm, they were structured like so; Asius led the group as he walked in front, Sahera was in the back and Max was in the middle. Morchel and Flint were to be near Max at all times.

Morchel theorized that it had to do with abilities as Holders. He could make out certain things about them.

‘I’m pretty sure that Asius is the strong one, almost like a wall, just like how massive he is. Max is probably some kind of wizard-like holder, isn’t he? I’m not sure about Sahera, though. She whispers stuff at times and is very mysterious. She’s cool.’

His mind drifted, as he wasn’t tasked with anything. The Pandits weren’t ready to allow a rookie who didn’t have an ounce of grasp on his powers.

Morchel had no time to even explore the possibilities of his new self, so he was still unsure what kind of powers he had. For all he knew, he could heal up, but it took some time, and he was a bit, only a bit, stronger than before. His hearing was affected in some manner. It wasn’t sharp, but his ears rang when someone was approaching him, or something of that sort.

To express it in simple terms, he was confused about what he was as a Holder.

From the descriptions of Max, each holder had abilities pertaining to a certain aspect or domain of the world. He didn’t give examples, but Morchel imagined it as something like controlling wind and being super strong, like legendary beings found in the epics and myths that were told.

‘They weren’t omnipotent in their abilities, but they were masters of some aspect.’

He sighed and decided to give up on it for now.

‘Since going to Ulm from the village would take a couple of days even with the Highways, it should take at least more than a week and maybe even two, if we are slow.’

He was now in the same forest where he was almost killed, but he had all but a nonchalant look. He only looked around, pausing at times to revel in his almost fatal relation to this place.

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‘Ah... the place where I died is near. I wonder if it would bother them if I told them that I wanted to visit. Nah, I don't want to. Who knows what else hides in that cavern. Besides Finsterwald always gave me the creeps. Better to keep moving.’

The tall trees shaded from the sun, so it was darker underneath. Nothing remarkable, but somewhat nostalgic.

Countless warnings were showered on Morchel and Flint to not approach this place, but now, the plague's ramage leaves it lifeless and dead.

Any longer, it would probably be infested with those accursed beasts. They were abominations that flocked to the scent of death and the ominous.

Roots shot out from the ground in unpredictable places, and the terrain was uneven with a slight incline. There were numerous tall trees, with their tops littered with needle-like leaves. The trees almost hugged each other, and moving through this forest as a group of a dozen members or more would be challenging. Small bushes with red cherry-like fruits sprouted at the base of the trees, decorating the woody bark of the trees.

The locals called the trees "Aloveca" and the bushes "Musnema".

The forest was located at the base of one of the mountain ranges, the Western Hills. It was a group of small, rocky hills which had almost no vegetation.

A certain group of ascetics carved into its craggy surface, footpaths long before this valley was occupied.

The trees were becoming sparse, and the narrow path was widening. It meant that.

‘We are almost at the base of Folker,’ thought Max. He turned to Sahera, and she understood the task right away.

She split off from the group and went ahead, while the party itself remained seated at the moment.

After a few moments, she came back and opened her mouth for what seemed like the first time to Morchel.

“No danger ahead for now. There aren’t a lot of animals or insects left alive in this valley, so it’s difficult to gauge out the terrain.” Her cold but pleasant voice mentioned.

Max replied, “That’s okay. For now is sufficient. Let’s move.”

Everyone nodded and followed Asius right away.

Within a few minutes, they reached a small enclosure of sorts at the base of a cliff. If one didn’t look up, it would seem like a tall rock wall blocking their path ahead.

They all gathered and sat down right beside the cliff.

It had been a few hours since they set out, and Flint, who was the weakest and youngest among them, felt drained.

It was very obvious that he was going to have the hardest time. Morchel looked down beside him to look at how Flint fared.

Flint was panting hard, but was still motivated.

‘That’s good. Looks like he can go farther. We should be able to cover more distance today then.’

He took out his leather pouch and offered it to Flint, saying.

“Here drink runt.”

His angry stare pierced through his fatigue, but he was silent as he snatched the pouch from Morchel’s grasp and gulped down copious amounts of water without pause. Morchel watched in silence with a faint smile.

‘It’s nice to see him normal for once.’

Once Flint finished chugging on the water, Morchel finally had his turn to enjoy some pleasant sips of it. He wanted to conserve it.

‘I don’t think there are any lakes or ponds nearby. We need to save water.’

At this moment, he didn’t feel tired or burnt from this trek of a few hours. Despite his plump stature, his athleticism and endurance as a Holder were amplified.

Once satiated, he lifted his head to look at the sun the gauge the time.

With his eyes narrowed, he thought. ‘It’s still a while until night. We can probably climb the cliff without the current pace. Let’s see what mister Max says."

He capped the leather pouch and slung it on his leather belt. He looked at Max and asked in a concerned tone.

“Mister Max, how long till we put camp for the day? I’m not sure if we can cross the hills within today.”

Noticing his concern, Max promptly agreed, “Yeah, you’re right, kid. Sahera said that there is a small shelter up this cliff. It’s better protected than here, so we will be going there before nightfall. Just a few more hours.”

“Got it!” answered Morchel.

He stood up and dusted off the dirt off his pants, and the rest followed.

They walked right along the cliff for a while until a small pathway propped itself up on the cliff. It would be a joke to consider it a pathway, but there was no other way to describe it.

‘What kind of sick joke is this? That’s steep, and who in the right mind thought this path would take him up the cliff? Stepping back a bit, the Pandits can definitely climb the thing, but what about Flint and me? Maybe I can do it. I leaped out of the cavern, after all. Even then, Flint is a lost cause. He already seems tired.’ A deep frown appeared on Morchel’s face.

This time, however, Asius was the first to notice as he turned around to look at the group before proceeding. His enormous arms threw the midget Flint onto his shoulders and he started climbing without pausing for even a second longer.

Morchel cursed his fate and continued.