A man stood high in the air of an outdated and crumbling building built into a mountain. None of the people inside noticed he was there, and with a smile, he teleported in before landing right in front of Luz.

Luz got lectured by Jodoc on some magic-related issue which is why he didn't notice Brina's existence in the room, and neither did the latter since the two were too focused on magic. The latter who hid his presence just grinned as he listened to Jodoc's explanation, holding himself back as much as possible not to comment on the issue.

After listening silently for a minute, he cleared his throat to make his presence known. Next to the door stood a man with his arms crossed, listening with his eyes closed.

"Master Brian!" Luz called out loudly, and the parrot jumped in fright from Sarah's shoulder, which rested against the metal door.

"Pssht," Brian whispered with a finger in front of his lips, not wanting to wake the little girl.

Nodding, Luz fell silent, and Brian telepathically commented to him with an amused tone, "I'm glad you're okay. So what's your plan, my dear kidnapped prince? We've been looking everywhere for you, but we wouldn't think that you would be enjoying your time with an underaged girl that is still a minor instead of fighting for your life."

Luz immediately threw back to him: "I haven't been enjoying my time rather. On the contrary, I've been wasting my time, trying to restrain myself from all the memories I've got."

"I'm just joking with you, and Simon already told me what was happening here," revealed Brian nonchalantly.

Luz, hearing his words, immediately moved in front of Sarah, not wanting to risk her life for the action Brian may take.

Seeing the sight of a boy in chains moving in front of a sleeping child, two-thirds of the age of the former one made Brian's headshake. He stated proudly: "I'm kind of proud of you, of your stupidity to fight for some people who barely know, just to prevent Simon from taking them away as guineapigs immediately."

Brian patted Luz's shoulder before continuing with: "But it still a gamble you took, and we both damn well know that any other mage in his shoes would have ended your life without even batting an eye, so how do you think I should act?"

'I'm unsure if he expects me to represent my own opinion or the opinion Francis or Brian would have in my shoes?' asked Luz himself since he was unsure what kind of answer he expected from him.

Sighing, Luz shared his position even though it was troubling him.

"I... I want to deliver them neither to you nor to the local magical institute of medicine. Right now, I may only know two of them since the rest wasn't so keen on meeting me for the time being. But most of them deserve a chance at a normal life, just like me," Luz told me as he slowly stood in front of Sarah.

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"I see," muttered Brian, stroking his beard before continuing with: "Don't worry, I won't kill them, but actions will have consequences."

And so Brian disappeared before reappearing near a girl that stood guard.

"So, you are the one who was responsible for killing two of my former servants," commented Brian, standing behind her as he inspected Liv.

Shrieking, Liv jumped away before she tried to attack Brian while a black shroud was wrapping around her body. But unfortunally, Brian was a monster on a different level which is why her attack stopped midway through.

Seeing how she couldn't even move an inch, fear began growing on her face as she watched him standing calmly in front of her.

"You won't be dying, but you will pay a huge sum for killing two of my servants," muttered Brian to himself as he ripped down her clothes from behind.

At this point, Liv expected the worst, thinking Brian would rape her or something the equivalent. However, Brian merely cut his index finger with only a stare before slowly pressing the finger against her shoulder blade.

His corrosive blood filled with energy bored immediately into her skin with a hissing sound.

Liv's eyes were wide open, and her face was filled with pain as she tried to scream. But no sound left her mouth as her face turned ugly out of pain.

Brian ignored her silent screams as he slowly drew some runes into her skin while ensuring that she didn't fall unconscious of all the pain.

"You killed two people that were once dear to me, for that I'll mark you so, I always know where you are. As for your sins, you'll follow these commands from now on:

1. Your group will move to the east after Luz finishes his initial mission.

2. For the next five years, you are forbidden from entering any village or city with a population higher than 100 people.

3. Also, killing any innocent or not giving your best to save them will result in your immediate death.

4. Last, if you ever come anywhere near me within a radius of 50 kilometers again, I'll be judging you, and if it isn't to my satisfaction, you'll be losing your head."

As he finished his talk, he removed his fingers from her skin. One could see blood-red runes glowing from her left shoulder blade. But if one were to touch it, one would feel that the skin under the runes was scarred, and a mixture of Brian's and Liv's blood was flowing through the scar.

"Remember, you can't remove this scar since it will regrow somewhere else," muttered Brian, and Liv was finally allowed to move, resulting in her collapse.

"Yeah, that's the least I can do. If Liv, or whatever her name is, follows the first two commands, it'll be unlikely that she'll ever get caught," muttered Brian before reappearing back at Luz.

"Jodoc, continue teaching Luz. I'm expecting from you and Master Simon that he'll be at the levels of his peer in a year. Remember Luz will still be working under me after you two come back home. If he reaches the level earlier, I'll gift you something, so give your best," stated Brian as he threw a compass to Luz.

"Thanks," muttered Luz looking at it, not knowing what to do with it. It's been a while since he saw one of these. The village elder and some of the hunters owned such a thing. But they never told any of the younger generations what they used them.

Seein Luz puzzled look, he stated with a sigh: "Jodoc will explain it to you. By the way, the guard collapsed earlier. Maybe you should take her back in."

After telling them that, he disappeared from their vision before reappearing in his office, humming a melody.

"The world needs high-ranking mages, who still have their humanity and the goal of helping as many people as possible," muttered Brian to himself.