The sun rose. The morning light fell on the city. Sounds of birds chirping sounded throughout the area.

This was it. Leo guessed as long as he did not run into Aldous or the armored man he would be okay. That has to be towards the center of the city. Since he was now in the outskirts of the city, he could be fine for now, but he would need to move to the center if he wants to gain more information about the power Aldous used. At least that is what Leo thought.

He moved out of the shed with his new clothes. He wore a brown top and his pants were light brown. It was torn at the edge. Leo kept his head low as he walked. When he got out, he made sure no one saw him.

Even though the sun had just come there were many people who were awake. Some still lingered around their bed on the floor while others moved to places Leo did not know of.

As he made his way Leo got stopped by an old man. “Boy, you look new around here. Why don’t you help with carrying the weapons?”

Leo did not know how to respond. He did not want to do that, but if he refused and the old man called guards, then that would make it a problem.

Leo was about to reply when the old man looked closely at him. “Ah, I see must be hungry, eh? Well, go have food, then do your work. The young need to be quick unlike old me. Hehe.”

Leo nodded and moved. He did not know where to get food, so he kept walking. After following some people Leo found the place where food was being served.

The line was big. Leo stood in the line. There was a big wooden table in which they kept the food. Even though the table was big, there were only two dishes. Rice and curry. Vegetable curry. It took Leo, fifteen minutes to get his food.

With food in hand, he now needed a place to sit and eat. Many people sat on the floors as there were no chairs. Some sat in the shades while others in the open. The cold morning breeze blew over his food. That would change nothing as the food was not hot.

There were two possibilities either the people here woke up early and made the food because of that, the food got cold while waiting or this was yesterday’s food.

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Leo found a tree. The old man who talked to him was there. Along with the old man, there were two others. Both in their 30s. Leo sat opposite to them as three of them sat together with the old man in the middle. The tree was big enough so that Leo had to learn to see them.

The food was not tasty, but he still ate it. After eating it, he washed the plates using a nearby pipe.

As soon as he placed the plate on the table where others could use it the old man appeared in front of him. “Boy, follow me.”

Leo followed.

They made their way to a shed. A different one from the shed Leo had used. When they arrived there were three others waiting. Two were of Leo's age, while the last looked around 10 “Take the weapons inside the shed to the training camps. Better be quick, eh?”

As soon as the old man gave the command, the three did as the old man said. Leo with no other option also did the same.

This would be troublesome. The army camp where they were transporting this was near the center. He had to make sure both Aldous and the armored man did not see him. Leo kept his head lower than before as he transported the weapons.

On the way, Leo saw a peculiar building. It was made of dark wood while the others were made with normal wood. It was big compared to the surrounding buildings. Since this was the inner part of the city it had buildings rather than tents.

He recognized one figure. It was Aldous. Aldous was talking to two people. Leo did not recognize them. Also, he did not see the armored man anywhere.

He kept his head low as he passed the area. Is that the building?

It looked different from the other, but will they keep a big secret such as this in a place like that? Also, do the people that live in the city know about the power Aldous used? Do more people have that power? Too many questions.

That building was a target, but he could not confirm it as this was a big secret. And could alert magic users. So they would try to do everything to prevent the secret from leaking.

He needs to do more research.

Leo was near the youngest boy to which the old man had assigned the task. “This Aldous, how is he?”

The boy looked towards Leo. His eyes sparkled. “Big brother Aldous? He is great! I want to be like him one day. Strong enough, so I can fight those them!”

The sparkle in his eyes turned to rage as he finished speaking. Leo had seen this rage before.

Leo pulled the bag on his shoulder to make it proper. “Why do you hate people who can use magic?”

The boy looked at Leo as if he was a fool. “What are you saying? They are bad. That is what grandpa says. When I grow up I have to fight them."

Now, Leo turned curious. “Where is your family?”

The boy turned his gaze in front of him. “Don’t know. Grandpa said they left to visit, a place to get goods,” Sadness flashed in his eyes

I see. So they are dead.

“But grandpa said they will return soon!” The sadness turned into joy.

A joy that would never be fulfilled. It made sense for the old man to not tell a boy of this age about the death of his own parents. This was the price people had to pay when they stood up for what they believe in.