Just a tiny little bit harsher? Yet all the students asked to be transferred to another instructor in less than a month? Who was she kidding? Thoughts like these kept swirling around Liza’s and Ben’s minds.

Fang Chu harrumphed and continued. “Anyway, sometime after this failure I began noticing a change on the atmosphere in the sect. Whenever I went people would gossip. Every time I crossed paths with an elder, they gave me disapproving looks. I knew my time was running out. So, I set out in search of people I could teach. I figured if I could train one of the people the sect would never accept at its entrance exam into someone strong enough to trash our own so-called geniuses, there would be nothing they could say.”

[So, she’s running away. I wonder if she realised it herself,] thought Ben.

“Ok, I think I get it. Why me though? I’m well aware of my ineptness, but I’m certainly not the only weakling out there,” he said.

“You’re certainly not the first I tried to recruit, but no matter who I selected there were always factors I was dissatisfied with. In the end, none of them were worthy. However, you surprised me. When we met in Kalafrana I instantly noticed your strange condition. You have less mana on your body than an infant. I was shocked. How could you have lived like that for this long? If I could turn you into someone strong there would be nothing left to say. All that remained was to see if your heart was in the right place. After traveling together for these past few weeks and seeing how you treat the people around you and react to dangerous situations, I’m satisfied.”

“What? You could tell I have almost no mana in my body?”

“Yes. I can vaguely sense the mana of my surroundings and even conjure a more vivid image if I concentrate. Your lack of mana is really eye-catching.”

[She can sense mana to this extent… Just like it said in the book, there really are virtuosos out there. She would probably be a great mage if she wanted to,] thought Ben.

“I see,” he said.

“I’ve answered all your questions. How about it, Ben? Aren’t you tired of being the group’s servant? Of being unable to protect yourself and have to watch the combat from afar? You do realise that your mere presence increases the danger factor for everyone involved in your party, right?” asked Fang Chu.

Her speech was harsh, and Ben found it hard to stomach it. Nevertheless, he couldn’t find fault with it, as it was all true. Whenever they were traveling, he was the weak point. He was the one pulling everyone down. That’s why he began practicing with throwing knives again, a hobby he dropped long ago. It was all in the hope he could alleviate some of the burden he imposed on Liza, Eliot and Boro.

Liza wanted to say something, but she wasn’t sure it was right for her to poke her nose in this instance. She could see Ben was hurt by what Fang Chu said, but this was part of a proposal of guidance and apprenticeship. She knew how important that was. The whole reason she could fight and take care of herself was because she’d a senior teach her the ropes. Perhaps this was exactly what Ben needed. Eliot however, had no such calms.

“Ben’s not a servant! He’s our friend! It doesn’t matter that he’s weak as a goblin!” exclaimed Eliot.

“Shh, be quiet Eliot. Let them talk,” said Liza. Although she was scolding him, her tone was bright and she’d a smile on her face. Eliot’s actions were perfect to show Ben they didn’t care about his weakness, but simple enough that didn’t nudge him in any particular direction.

Fang Chu only smiled lightly at this show of support. Ben was both part happy and part sad by what Eliot said. They didn’t care that he couldn’t fight, but he was as weak as a goblin in the end, huh? He took a deep breath and looked at Fang Chu in the eye.

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He felt a bit conflicted about the whole situation. Fang Chu did approach them with second intentions, but he couldn’t fault her in the end. The mission was real, and they would be paid at completion.

She also never forced the issue. They were the ones that took the bait of their own accord. It was like she paid a hundred gold coins just to travel with them for a while. Not only that, but she even helped them out during a dangerous situation at the expense of injuries to her own body.

“I’m sorry. Due to certain circumstances I cannot accept your proposal.”

Fang Chu closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Honestly, she wasn’t confident in her chances from the beginning. If possible, she wanted to travel along with them for longer and get to know them better before delivering her proposal. Unfortunately, outside factors forced her hand earlier than she’d have liked.

Although she was rejected, there was another alternative. She could easily see Ben was infatuated with her. If she played her cards right, she could probably convince him to accept. But that was not the kind of woman she was. She’d too much self-respect to stoop this low and Ben wasn’t a horrible person that she would have no calms to trick or toy with.

“Ah~, what can you do. I guess I’ll need to keep on searching,” she said with a sigh.

“I’m sorry,” Ben said weakly. He was completely in his right to refuse, yet he couldn’t help but feel bad about it. Especially thinking his refusal might force her into an unwanted marriage.

[Well, that was surprising. I assumed he would accept it. If not because of the opportunity to grow stronger and learn to protect himself, at least to increase his chances, given how smitten he is by her. People are known to lose their reasoning when it comes to matters of the heart,] thought Liza.

“Hahahaha.”

The somewhat heavy atmosphere was broken by the clear laughter of Eliot. He was squatting by the broken pot of the Dancing Sage sapling, watching the plant with keen interest. The herb was wriggling lightly, from its leaves to its roots, and this motion was making it move ever so slightly.

“Look guys, the plant is moving! It’s like a little snake!”

Everyone was surprised by this statement and glad they could change the subject for the moment. Fang Chu got up slowly and joined everyone as they formed a circle around the broken pot.

“How could this be? We weren’t thrown that far away. How come we’re suddenly in a zone with higher mana density?” asked Liza.

“Look, they are all wriggling in a certain direction,” said Ben.

“Oh, you’re right. Doesn’t that mean there’s a zone even richer in mana nearby?” asked Fang Chu.

“Definitely! We might have stumbled upon something super valuable! Let’s hurry and fix the pot to go looking for it,” said Liza with excitement.

The earthen pot was mostly broken in huge chunks, so it was still salvageable. While Liza was busying herself with collecting the pieces and searching for a binding agent on her pouches, Fang Chu interrupted.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to use another pot?” she asked.

“Yeah, but we don’t ha–”

A small pot appeared on Fang Chu’s hand before Liza could finish her sentence. It was a cooking pot made of pottery, but it would do just nicely. Fang Chu just shrugged her shoulders. “I keep a lot of things around. Just in case,” she said.

They transplanted the sapling to the cooking pot and resumed their travel, using the swaying motion of the Dancing Sage to find the zone with higher mana. At this point they’d no idea if they were going deeper into the forest or not. They’d lost all their sense of direction after being thrown in the air by that ogre’s attack.

After walking for fifteen minutes they came across a clearing. In the middle of the open space was something one wouldn’t normally see inside a forest. It was a mausoleum. Its stone walls were covered with moss and ivy, making it look old and abandoned. The rays of sunlight shined on its surface, giving it a golden hue, and the chirping of the nearby birds gave the place a peaceful and harmonious feeling.

The group advanced together at the same time, almost like they were mesmerized by that strange sight. They weren’t paying attention to where they were stepping and soon a crunching sound broke the spell.

Everyone looked around and focused at Ben’s foot which was lifted from the ground. Beneath it was a piece of broken bone that was previously hidden by the foliage. Suddenly, that small clearing didn’t seem as peaceful and inviting like it was before.

“That’s strange. Why build a mausoleum here? Who would come visit or pay their respects?” asked Fang Chu.

“I don’t know. Maybe it was part of a town or something that stood here long ago? But if that was the case, we would’ve found other traces of ruins on the way,” said Ben.

Liza kept quiet and continued walking until she was in front of the building. The mausoleum was small, and its doors were wide open. The only thing that could be seen were stone steps leading down.

On the stone doors that opened towards the inside she could see a carved symbol behind some of the moss. It was an inverted triangle with a stylized eye in the center.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” she said.