After Roland spoke, the wall of flames burned for a few seconds before slowly dissipating.
Lowen regained his senses and the hairs stood up on the back of his neck. His alertness became sharp to a terrifying degree and his mind raced with multiple thoughts.
(Was that a Mage's power just now? How can it be so fast?)
The fires appearance wasn't necessarily a worry for Lowen. He had seen many Ki Manipulators at the later stages who could summon flames and kill hundreds, if not thousands, but in order to do that it required time, enough time to channel a mass of ki. Because of that, it was considered to be very inefficient in actual combat between two masters. When two masters were facing each other, every second was precious. If one were to take the time to summon up a mass of flames, hed of been killed in a flash but what Lowen had just witnessed, sent shivers down his spine. This wall of flame had appeared almost instantaneously. Roland could do this before Lowen could kill his opponent.
(I was only 3 feet away from this Greg fellow when I launched my attack, while Roland was separated from us by more than 15 feet. To attack an opponent 15 feet away without a weapon, faster then even I could move, does that not mean this Roland could kill me instantly.)
This moment had changed Lowen's perception of the world around him. He began to look at the gathered crowd more cautiously. He could sense that energy in every single villager around him, whether they be old or young, everyone had it but why then did no one use it.
Roland came forward, followed behind was the three elders who shared similar expressions with the gathered crowd. They each had looks of shock and confusion. They were all surprised by the wall of flames. They had all been aware of the rumor that Chief Roland was a Mage but most had never actually witnessed it. Roland had kept his power completely hidden until now, why he showed it now though nobody knew, this only further made the people in the crowd grow anxious with questions. Even the elders had many things they wished to ask. Now no one even looked at Lowen, they were too busy staring at their chief. Suddenly someone in the crowd yelled out at Chief Roland.
"Chief, so its true, you are a Mage."
Roland gave a simple nod but with it, some of the villager's expressions turned dark and gloomy. That same villager then asked in a trembling voice.
"Chief, you, you're a Mage. Then why....1 year ago.... why didn't you save my wife?"
Suddenly the crowd erupted with noise and began to throw question after question at their village Chief.
"Why didn't you save them?"
"Why didn't you protect us? My child is gone and you did nothing."
The entire village was gathered here and everyone had heard everything. Even one of the elders had turned pale. Because of what happened that year, his son and his son's wife, including his two grandchildren were gone. He had blamed Nia's father this whole time but if this entire time Chief Roland could have done something, then had he misplaced his hate and anger. The elder's thoughts tumbled about chaotically, but Roland looked as though none of it bothered him. He looked over the crowd and shouted.
"SILENCE!"
The crowd's voices died down in an instant before Roland continued to speak.
"Yes, it's true I am a Mage. Now I know you all have many questions and I will answer each and every one of them, but for now I need to discuss something very important with this boy.
Roland looked towards Lowen at this moment causing even more confusion for the people. Many in the crowd shared the same thoughts.
(He wants to speak with the boy, for what?)
Roland ordered a few men to take Greg away and lock him up but some of the people were showing a bit of resistance to his words. Roland then slammed his cane down hard into the dirt before a few men finally stepped out of the crowd and followed his order. The elders wanted to speak out but Roland gave them a meaningful glance and they suppressed the words stuck in their throats. They had known Roland for nearly 20 years and he had completely earned their trust, even the elder whose son had died, even with his chaotic thoughts he trusted that Roland had a reason, there just had to be. Roland looked at Lowen and said.
"Boy, come with me."
Nia instinctively stepped in front of Lowen with arms spread, as though she were protecting him. She just saw Roland use magic and Lowen almost just killed someone, who knew what the Chief would do to him.
Lowen took a few steps forward and smiled back at Nia.
"Everything will be fine, you go back for now and have a meal with Ben and ill be back as soon as possible."
Lowen said some reassuring words but he himself didn't know what was about to happen. If Roland wanted him dead then he could do it instantly and even if Lowen wanted to escape, he didn't know whether or not he could pull it off. With the broken rib his breathing had become slightly impaired and to run without being able to take proper breaths would definitely slow him down. Thinking of that, he began to circulate his ki to his broken rib and immediately started healing it. Normally a broken rib would take 1 sometimes 2 months to heal properly. With ki, however, Lowen could probably heal it within 1 to 2 weeks. Within seconds the pain was already starting to lessen. Lowen breathed slowly trying his best to take deep breaths, in through his nose and out through his mouth. As he did, he calmed himself while thinking.
(If Roland wanted me dead he could have already done it, especially after I nearly killed a villager. He would have been completely in the right. Looking into his eyes there doesn't seem to be any murderous intent, in fact, he looks almost happy. It's obvious he wants something from me but what could I possibly have that he wants?)
Nia looked at Lowen as he followed Roland back to the Chief Hall, shaking the worries from her mind, she turned back and made her way home.
At this point, none of the villagers really knew what to do. They've never had a situation like this, it's never happened before. Some stood in circles discussing the chief, while others discussed Lowen. One thing was for sure, Roland had to explain some things or this crowd would not be satisfied.
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Lowen once more was sitting in a room with Roland and the three elders. The number of questions on his mind was equal to the questions the three elders had if not more. The room was filled with a tense atmosphere. Lowen had nearly killed a villager and Roland was revealed to be a Mage, this was truly an odd happening. Finally, after a few minutes, Roland looked at the 4 people sitting around the table and spoke calmly.
"Lowen, I know you have many questions and I'll soon answer them but first I'll need you to answer something for me."
Lowen and the three elders were curious what the Chief wanted to ask but looking at Roland's serious attitude, they chose to wait patiently. Lowen had no clue what Roland wanted to ask him but sensing he was in no immediate danger, he nodded in affirmation.
"What do you want to ask me?"
Roland's expression didn't change but his gaze looked for any flaw in Lowen's expression as he began to speak.
"You survived bandits and you survived the harsh mountains. You found this village and just now you almost killed Greg with a single strike to his throat."
Roland paused for a moment and looked at Lowen's expression, trying to spot the tiniest change but found no fluctuations whatsoever.
Lowen couldn't help but think.
(Where is he going with this?)
Roland continued.
"When I first met you, you showed no emotion over your parent's death and at that time, originally I thought you were simply traumatized but something kept nagging me. At the time I only had the tiniest suspicion. When it comes to you miraculously surviving, at your age by yourself, well I for one have never put any merit into any so-called miracles."
Roland once more searched for something on Lowen's face and once more he found nothing.
"The way you leaped over the crowd of villagers to confront Greg and then when you fought him, that's when I felt it."
Suddenly the three elders ears perked up.
(The chief felt something?)
Lowen looked at Roland in curiosity.
(He felt something, from me?)
"When I was a young man, I traveled all across the Qiyuan continent. I've seen many mysterious things and met many odd people. A long time ago when I traveled past the great Gan desert I met a certain man from a small village. That man could do many incredible things that I could not and each time he did those things, he used a powerful force, a certain energy, and although it's not the same, I can definitely feel that it is quite similar to yours."
The three elders were shocked, this boy who they thought was all but simple, turned out to have a hidden power within. The three elders didn't doubt Roland in the slightest. Being with him for so many years they truly believed Roland without a second thought.
This time Lowen's face twitched ever so slightly, not even for a second before it quickly returned to normal but that was more than enough time for Roland to catch it.
"With his energy, he could enhance every aspect of his body, his strength, his agility, and even his mind, improving his comprehension to an entirely different realm. His body became a nearly perfect weapon in almost every way. Capable of crushing rocks with his bare hands or cleaving a tree in half with a kick but the thing I noticed more than anything else, was the incredible regeneration his body could produce. I saw him take a blade through in through, in his stomach and out the back but this man didn't die. In merely a few breaths of time, his body healed this fatal wound completely."
One of the elders interrupted, shouting out.
"How is that possible?"
Roland looked at the elder with an annoyed look and the elder quickly shut his mouth and gave an apologetic look before Roland continued.
"When it comes to Mages, we use the magic within our bodies and force it out through a tool to control the elements."
As Roland said this he tapped his cane gently on the ground and a small ball of flame, no bigger then a fist floated out.
Seeing this right in front of his eyes had once more shocked Lowen.
(Again, he did it in an instant, how?)
"With my magic, I can easily manipulate fire depending on its size and energy."
As Roland continued to talk, the flame floated into his hand and quickly changed shape many times. First, it was a ball, then it vaguely took the shape of a horse and after that, a small blade followed by a few other simple shapes before once more returning to the shape of a ball.
"However, that man, no matter how hard he tried and no matter how much time he had, he could never use magic the way that I do and I could never enhance my body the way he did. That man and I were separated by an invisible barrier that comes about at birth. I was born with a mage core and had the potential to become a Mage and after many years I became one. He, on the other hand, was born with something incredibly rare, he was born with a mage body, one of the rarest physiques known to man. Normally there's no way I would connect the two together but so many things about you lead me to believe you have this unique and rare physique. When you leaped over the crowd I felt that energy. When you struck with your fist I felt it and when you kicked, again I felt it. But above it all, even at this very moment, I can feel it once more, that energy flowing to your broken rib healing it."
Roland's thoughts kept leading him to believe that Lowen had this rare physique and after seeing so many clues, he started putting the pieces together to fit his own narrative. He looked at Lowen and finally said.
"Tell me, Lowen, do you have this body?"