I left the shop with my new babysitters. The Knights were stoic and seemed in pain whenever they were forced to talk. After introducing themselves, they hadn't spoken once since.

Kai was tall and powerfully built; every movement put the slightest bit of pressure on you.

Ralph was almost as wide as he was tall. He was a moving mound of muscle. Each step felt like he was shaking the world.

I knew their strength would also be great. Knights were the level above Warriors in the body refining ranks. A mighty Knight would be easily able to take on a Mage, with some of the best ones capable of dealing with High Mages.

They both seemed a little useless tagging along compared to my other babysitter.

If I couldn't sense the immense power lingering beneath her body, I would have thought Ayda would have been a simple housewife.

Her demeanor also seemed very similar. Her kind eyes revealed nothing as she was continually fussing over me as we returned to the Outer Ring.

"Remind me again, Ganley, why did you have to be caught up in all this madness of gang warfare. Such a young and talented man like you. You have so much potential. Why would you throw it away?"

That would make it the third time she had asked me the same question ever since we left the shop. She knew I was aware that everything I said to her was being reported to the Cilka's. While I believed in the family and knew the goodness they were capable of. I also didn't want to reveal too much too soon.

I would have to make myself indispensable before I attempted anything like that. Until then, I wasn't going to reveal anything of too much worth.

It would make my life for the next few days difficult. I could only hope it would be worth it.

At the very least, for the next two weeks, we would be safe from any retaliation. That alone would make any losses over the coming days okay. That time would be essential for Sammy and his gang's growth. I still doubted they would stand against a powerhouse like Orots, but I had two weeks to figure out the long term solution for that.

Ayda continued her questioning as we went out of the Inner Ring, towards the Orcs Nostril.

Of course, there wasn't much I could do to stop her. She was a peak Mage, on the cusp of breaking through to High Mage. The knights, I could understand. But having some of her caliber act as a babysitter seemed rather strange. I could only assume that the Grandmaster had other plans for me that I was not yet privy to.

The Orc's Nostril atmosphere was considerably different from when I had arrived only a few hours before. Now it was reminiscent of its empty past. None of the people had decided to continue to hang around the second the news of who we were going up against went public.

That didn't surprise me at all as it would be a great way to ferret out or just trying to hang onto what seemed like a rising power in the area. It would also reveal the truly loyal people to build around in the future.

While it certainly wasn't ideal, it may be a great boon to Sammy in the long run.

For now, I would have to see if he had returned with any useful information.

Nostrils was still behind the bar, barely nodding as we entered. The two Knights tensed slightly upon seeing him. Maybe old Nostrils was a little more powerful than I had realized. I had little skill in gauging the depth of body refiners. But having someone who could make seasoned knights a little worried was undoubtedly a good sign.

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Nostrils nodded to the stairs, answering my unasked question. It seemed Sammy had returned.

I left the Knights behind as I went up the stairs. I wasn't sure if the old building would be able to accommodate their size and weight.

Neither seemed to mind as Ayda followed me up, making only even more clear who was in charge of this operation overseeing me.

The room had changed little since I had left it. The destroyed room did manage to elicit a tut from Ayda.

Sammy was staring out into the streets once again, not even responding to us opening the door.

"Sammy, you figured anything out while I was gone?"

"Gan, no one out there is willing to tell me shit. My entire life, I grew up around here. I thought I had good relationships with the people around me. Yet, not one of them is willing to tell me anything. What went wrong, man. How did it come to this."

He didn't even turn around to look at me. All sense of the fun-loving Sammy, who was willing to take the world on with a smile, was gone.

"Well, Sammy, there is no need to worry much longer. I have ensured a path for us to beat the Orots."

Saying that, he turned to me with the slightest bit of zeal in his eyes. That softened slightly as he saw Ayda beside me.

"Who is that? What path?"

"This, my friend, is Mage Ayda. She will be working with us for the next few weeks before I attend the academy. With her here, we can survive the next two weeks at least."

His eyes finally returned to the light I knew was inside Sammy, even if it did come with equal darkness.

"How the hell did you get a Mage on our side. You know what, it doesn't matter. Okay, the fight is in a few hours. I will need to prepare some things. In the meantime, you guys wait here."

Like that, with a renewed sense of life, Sammy ran out of the room.

"Oh my, he is boisterous. A good friend you have there, Gan."

"Thank you, Ayda, now. Will you be leaving while I meditate, or will you be staying beside me at all times?"

"I have my orders, dear. Don't worry. Many initiates would pay to have a Mage overseeing their meditation."

That was what I was worried about. She would be able to see through me instantly. No matter what, someone who does not cultivate elements would not be worth the risk of a long term investment.

Of course, the Alchemists were keeping an eye on me for different reasons. Yet, it would still be a black mark on my record.

Nevertheless, I had to gain strength of my own. Otherwise, I would just be put into more situations like this. I could not allow that.

She was kind enough not to interrupt me even though I could sense her disapproval of my methods.

Minutes turned to hours, and before long, I was being roused by Ayda. The fight would be in half an hour. Yet Ayda seemed perfectly calm. Her calm eyes stared into my soul as I got off the destroyed bed.

"You do realize that you will never be able to fight a Mage as an equal if you continue down this path.

"Of course, despite what anyone may say, I am not an idiot. Plus, as you might have heard from your master. My source of knowledge is not limited to the Capital alone. You can trust I know what I am doing."

"Okay then, don't say I didn't warn you."

It was weird; she seemed to care. It could easily be faked, of course. But still, even that little bit of care and attention felt nice.

For now, I should focus on the Orots. We still had no idea why they were targeting us in the first place. It would hopefully become more apparent after they face us.

Even the rewards for winning this battle wouldn't be great. We didn't have many bargaining chips in the first place. They only needed to put forth some weak assets to equal any bet we made.

We joined Sammy downstairs. Who was in the middle of gaping at my two new Knights. He must have ignored them the first time he left the pub.

It would be his first time seeing body refiners of such power up close. Any average person would be able to sense the strength that rolled off the two giants.

That left Sammy in even more amazement. He had long since discounted any possibility of becoming a mage.

A Knight, however, was feasible given enough time and resources. Both of which he would have had plenty of if we hadn't had to face off against the Orots sometime soon.

For now, he seemed satisfied trying to pick their brains about all things body refinement. I had planned to get him a proper technique once the expansion had died down. But it seemed I would have to accelerate that as well.

"Gan, these guys are Knights. Full-blown Knights. I can't believe it. The assholes also won't tell me anything about body refiners the pricks."

It looked like Sammy was going to be killed a lot sooner than I thought. Luckily this time around, I had an excuse to drag him away.

"Come on, Sammy, let's go out and see what we are facing. Lead us to the fight."

With a nod, we left the pub—Ready for the upcoming troubles.