[ Hindsight Reflex Skill Activated 1/1 ]

My head lunged backwards awkwardly on its own upon the skill's activation. It damn near sprained my neck from the whiplash.

Shit. Just what dangerous situation did I avoid by having the skill activate?

"SHH!" Micah grabbed my shoulders and pulled me out of view.

[ Warning. You have brought additional attention to yourself. ]

[ Cursed Wool Cap's Effectiveness down from 65% to 40% ]

Damn it. We aren't out of the woods just yet.

"SCAWWW!"

I hoped the seaweed-bird-child's cries helped cover for my error.

I would sooner die than be interrogated by The Alchemist, and that was even if there was no Round Reset.

"We need to go. NOW," Micah hushed.

He didn't even bother waiting for me to get up and instead picked me up, tossed me over one shoulder like a ragdoll, and ran. It was embarrassing with what ease he did so. It wasn't like he had the build of The Ogre, yet he carried me down the broken path without losing his breath.

Heck, I feel out of breath, and I'm the one being carried.

I felt a trickle of sweat roll down my face that I wiped away. I strained my eyes to keep watch behind us, afraid of seeing The Alchemist or one of her mages or guards catching up to us. However, I didn't hear any footsteps, not even Micah's, who moved in complete silence.

The shrieks faded once we returned to the street, but I felt phantom shrieks continue in my memory.

First, a close call with The Farmer, and now The Alchemist?

"You can put me down now," I muttered.

Micah had run a whole block from the gate with me slung over his shoulder. Luckily there wasn't anyone on the street to witness this ridiculous image. Still, if anyone looked out the windows of the nearby estates or towers, they'd have been privy to this odd sight.

"Are you alright?" Micah asked and set me down.

"Yes, I'm fine." I adjusted my clothing.

Being this weak had always been annoying in each of the past couple of rounds, but today made me feel especially useless.

Moreover, we had such a close call because of me. I glanced up at Micah, but he didn't appear to have any residual feelings regarding my screw-up. He was too busy talking into his looking glass.

I stared back toward the white tower.

With the immediate danger gone, I could recollect my thoughts.

Just what was that snake? And what was that weird description exactly? I'll have to ask the System when I get the chance to be alone.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Tch. I shouldn't have been so hasty. What if my rashness to gain intel on the buyers had gotten Luca hurt, killed, or worse?

Micah clicked open his looking glass.

"Ridley, we had a misstep. Are we being followed by any mages?"

"No, I don't sense any mana presence moving after you," Ridley replied.

"Good." Micah clasped the looking glass closed.

Looking over at his brother, Micah noted that Luca still appeared distraught over the close encounter.

"We should be safe now. Ridley didn't sense any high-mana presence coming after us," Micah relayed. "We must return to the carriage soon, but we should walk. Running will only call unnecessary attention to us."

Luca nodded. However, he was still deep in thought.

As they rounded a corner and were a comfortable distance from the white tower, Micah reopened his looking glass.

"Ridley, be ready to move the children," he spoke into it. "Julius, blow them up."

With the commands given, two explosions sounded behind them, one right after the other.

BOOM! BOOM!

Miach held out his arm, catching Luca stumbling from the impact.

Julius is as trigger happy and overdoing it as always.

Gazing back, two clouds of dark smoke emanated from where the white tower and the other building had stood.

"Hopefully, that ended the suffering of some of her victims," Luca offered.

"Unlikely," Micah said. "If The Alchemist is as good as I'd heard, she protected her cargo in time from the explosion. At the very least, it'll provide the right distraction."

The original goal of the explosions was to guide troublesome eyes away from Krok Tomfrees's estate and the escaping children. It was a way to avoid unnecessary combat. This was but a last-minute diversion.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Albeit one that I wished had resulted in a more fruitful outcome.

"Young master Micah and Luca." Selena held open the door to the nondescript oversized wooden carriage. Unlike the Frey's black and gold carriages, this appeared like the paid ones ordinary folk used to get around the city. In addition to being very common, it was large enough to carry a dozen people; it was ideal for transporting the seized children from Krok Tomfrees' orphanage.

Micah nodded toward Selena and hopped inside, along with Luca.

"Tsk." Micah leaned into his palm and gazed out the carriage window at the dissipating smoke across the blue sky. "When I obtain enough power, I'm going to erase trash like The Alchemist—especially the trash that pays for such creations."

Adovoria, while full of wonderful opportunities that had allowed the Frey Merchant Guild to flourish, was also full of vile trash; the capital city stank especially.

Countless corrupt nobles believed themselves above all others, kicking down the less fortunate while parading and lecturing others about noblesse oblige. Krok Tomfrees was a single pulled thread in the blanket of hidden hypocritic atrocities. Such trash hid so well that identifying them was impossible, much less taking care of them using proper channels.

However, syndicates like the Red Lanterns and Silver Eels were quite cozy with such vile beings and knew their identities.

If I could just get my hands on their ledgers, I could twist a few arms and have the trash taken out.

That was the true loss of not arriving at the white tower in time. It was a rare and unexpected opportunity to potentially gain information on the buyers, something that Micah had been struggling to obtain these past couple of years, even with all the connections and resources at his disposal.

Micah sighed.

But then again, it would have been a long shot nonetheless. The ledgers would have likely been encrypted or not even stored there.

Micah glanced at Luca. His brother had a concerned expression.

"What is it?" he asked Luca.

"It's just… I've never seen you so agitated before," Luca replied.

Micah relaxed his expression after catching its reflection in the carriage window. It was not one he wished his brother to see.

"I'm just disappointed we didn't arrive earlier." He gave a reassuring smile to Luca. "No use worrying about it now. I'll eventually find out who the purchasers of the creations made by The Alchemist are."

Luca nodded.

Yes, it really is not worth worrying over, especially when I have Luca.

Micah frowned, seeing Luca rub and stretch out his neck. He realized once again just how close to danger he had inadvertently brought his brother to. The Alchemist was no joking matter; she wasn't someone that even Ridley could handle.

Luca may have knowledge of the future, but he's not all-seeing—at least not yet. He is still fragile and naive, and if he falls into the wrong hands, he might very well be driven mad. I'll be damned if I let that wretched misfortune unfold because of my own overreaching ambition.

"I'm sorry," Micah said. "I didn't intend to ever bring you that close to harm."

Luca blinked his wide golden eyes. "It's alright."

"No, it's not," Micah said. "Promise me to make sure you never allow yourself to get this close to danger again. Even if it's something I request, fight back. Refuse to allow yourself to be put this close to a hazardous situation again."

"It's fine, really—"

"Promise me."

"Fine, I promise," Luca replied.

Micah intended to say more, but the carriage door opened just then, and seven children, aged six to fourteen, climbed in. Although they had officially been kidnapped by The Spiders, they didn't appear to have been mistreated. On the contrary, they were clean and well-dressed.

Of course, the best way to keep someone locked up is by not having the victim even realize they're in a cage.

Fin, the one that Luca was concerned with saving, was the eldest. Albeit Micah wouldn't have guessed it; the boy had a very small build. Three other children in the carriage younger than him were taller and broader.

"Quickly, in you go." Ridley ushered the children to sit down and planted himself beside Micah, with two of the youngest children, a boy and a girl, atop his own lap. The children complied and looked wide-eyed at their surroundings as the carriage moved forward.

Micah scoffed at the bizarre visual of Ridley bouncing the two pudgy-faced six-year-olds on his knee.

Ridley had one of the eeriest auras that Micah knew, with a look that could give his enemies endless nightmares. Still, he had a way with children that defied all reason and logic.

But then again, how else would he have been able to nurture so many talented young mages? Or get these seven to trust him enough to follow him out? Perhaps children see him differently than do adults?

It was a gift that mystified Micah.

"I know you. You're Micah Frey," Fin spoke up, gazing directly at him. He had enormous gray eyes encircled by long eyelashes.

"My sister works at the Frey manor," he added softly.

Something about him reminded Micah of a tiny baby rabbit. It was a stark contrast to Denise, who had a sharp, no-nonsense air.

"She does indeed," Micah said.

"Where are you taking us?" Fin asked.

"Somewhere safe," Luca jumped in to reply.

From his brother's expression, it was apparent that Luca was eager to make a good impression on Fin. Based on Fin's expression, it was obvious the boy had never even met Luca before.

Interesting. What is Luca's connection to him, then?

Fin squinted his eyes at Luca before some realization came over him.

"You're Luca! My sister mentioned you. She began working for you not long ago," he said.

Micah tilted his head toward Ridley, ignoring the rest of the conversation between his brother and the young boy. He had more urgent matters to address.

"Did your crew capture the children's caretakers?" Micah whispered.

Ridley nodded.

"I got word that the last one was taken in just as we made our way through the tunnel," he replied. "The tattoos should have all been removed by now."

"Good," Micah said.

The Spiders' signature exploding tattoo was a death sentence to most. However, Ridley had found a method of erasing it. He utilized this technique in recent years to steal a few young mages from under their control.

Micah gazed with satisfaction across the other six children packed inside the carriage.

He couldn't very well have these children's guardians drop dead on him now, not after all the work and resources he put into rescuing them from Krok Tomfrees's orphanage.

The Spiders might be trash, but they certainly know how to pick them.

The six children were related to servants and attendants with access to strategically important figures. Micah's green eyes twinkled at the value he would reap from utilizing those connections for himself.

He had no intention of doing things like The Spiders, but he did plan to make their guardians a proposal they were certain to accept.

Micah's smile dwindled as the carriage rounded a corner and rolled over cracks in the road.

Except him.

He looked at Fin and Luca conversing.

Why did The Spiders target my brother using Denise? Why did they try to poison him? Just what did they find of interest or threat about Luca?

Micah had gone to painful lengths to prevent anyone else from learning of Luca's potential and deter anyone else from getting too cozy with his brother. There were far too many pieces of scum with unworthy agendas, and Luca was too naive to recognize such menaces.

"Say," Ridley piped in, breaking Micah's thoughts. "That young boy, Fin, I sense a strong amount of mana from him. He has the potential to be a powerful mage if nurtured correctly; I'm surprised those pests haven't started the mana-enhancing treatment on him yet."

Micah raised a brow.

Ridley had a peculiar ability to gauge someone's mana on sight. Like with The Alchemist, he could even sense especially powerful presences nearby. However, for him to comment on someone's mana was rare.

"Do you wish to take him under your wing?" Micah asked.

Ridley nodded.

"Is he really that good?" Micah asked.

"He is," Ridley said. "And as his mana core has been untouched, I can pull out his full potential. It would be an honor to nurture such raw talent."

Maybe Luca knew of Fin's potential, and that's why he was so keen on saving him.

"Very well, I have no objections to you training him." Micah smiled.

He gazed at Luca and Fin conversing.

And if Luca has a powerful mage as his guard, perhaps he'll avoid dying too often.