“Ha-ha, this is awesome!”

Currently Elijah was running through the forest on his way back to the village. Occasionally, he would swing from a few vines and branches when he saw them in reach. They reminded Elijah of the time he spent on the playground as a kid.

As he soared through the air, Elijah smiled as he enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness. It reminded him of a certain character that liked to roar at the sky and bang on his chest. Now that he wasn’t traveling in a group he could go all out and travel as fast or as slow as he wanted to. What he was currently experiencing was the feeling of freedom.

Unfortunately, Elijah wasn’t able to truly immerse himself in the feeling of freedom. Part of his mind was still with his men. They separated after they cleared out the astral mine and he was worried about whether or not all of them would make it back in one piece.

Naturally Elijah knew it was pointless to worry. After all, the warriors obtained plenty of experience traveling through the forest long before Elijah came to the village. However, traveling through the forest to hunt for food was different from entering the forest to pick a fight with large beast groups.

Going for a run was a great way to clear the mind. As Elijah swung through the forest, he gradually gained clarity about the situation. No matter what he did or thought, what was meant to happen would happen. He couldn’t control the life and death of everyone, nor did he have the desire to do so.

Freedom was necessary for people to experience true growth. Otherwise, everyone would simply be puppets dancing to his tune and their paths would be limited. At least, that’s what Elijah thought.

Since he already parted with his warriors, Elijah decided to patiently wait and accept whatever outcome he was given. With that thought, Elijah’s trip through the forest was a lot more enjoyable. After approximately twenty-five minutes of running through the forest, Elijah arrived at the village. This was a lot faster than the hour and thirty minutes it took him to get to the astral stone mine.

Of course, this wasn’t a total surprise. After all, in addition to traveling on his own, he was prodigiously using his energy to repeatedly activate his Mirage Step skill. In fact, Elijah used the skill so much, he managed to improve its stage.

Congratulations! Your Mirage Step skill has reached the next stage.

Skill: Mirage Step

Tier: 0

Stage: Late

Effect: One step, four mirages. Increases dexterity by 40% for forty seconds. Can create four mirages of yourself that can receive an attack for you upon initial activation of the skill.

Cost: 80 stamina

After he exited the forest, Elijah didn’t immediately run toward the village. For a few seconds, he stopped and silently admired the village walls standing tall over the grassy field in the distance. This was his village.

From where he stood, Elijah could resume the connection he had with the astral vein lying beneath his territory. Also, it was easier to sense his village core now that he wasn’t in the forest. Elijah was home.

With a smile on his face, Elijah continued running toward his village. Although he enjoyed admiring his village from a far, as a ruler he couldn’t afford to stand around doing nothing for too long. After all, he didn’t separate from his warrior’s so he could return to the village and relax.

Within the village and the rest of Elijah’s territory there were several tasks that needed to be completed. For each task, there were one or more villagers working towards completing it and all of them could benefit from the support Elijah’s skill. If Elijah only focused on using his skills to support his warriors or one group of people, he would be a bad leader.

However, before Elijah began supporting his people, he needed to have a conversation with Kento. He told Cole and a few others that he would come and visit them around noon for a discussion. Originally, he wanted to discuss how they could work and contribute to the village, but now he had a second topic to discuss after Cole told him about Bart.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“Although it doesn’t look like there were any members of the clan that were influenced by Bart, no one can predict what will happen in the future,” Elijah thought to himself. “It’s best to squash this conflict while it’s still in the cradle.”

…

Walking toward the area where Kento’s clan resided, Elijah could see that they had finished building six large houses. It wasn’t a five-star establishment, but it did provide everyone in the clan a place to rest. Also, the completion of the buildings meant they could now direct their time, attention, and energy to other tasks.

“Chief!” Cole exclaimed.

Cole quickly stood and approached Elijah. Behind him was a group of seven men and three women. All of them stood as well and looked at Elijah with worried expressions.

“Hey, Cole,” Elijah responded with a warm smile. “How’s it going?”

“I’m doing well,” Cole replied with a bit of anxiety in his voice. “You’re early.”

“Yup. Things went well, so I was able to return to the village earlier than I thought I would. I hope it’s not a problem?”

“No, not at all,” Cole hastily replied. “Give me a moment to let the acting clan leader know that you arrived.”

“No need.”

Turning his head Elijah saw Kento walking out of one of the buildings with several people behind them. Looking at Kento, Elijah saw that his pale skin had a slight glow to it, his dark hair was shining, and his dark eyes were full of energy. Clearly, he was in a much better condition than when he arrived at the village.

Using his Supreme Eyes talent, Elijah saw that the appearance Kento presented was a lie. Well, not a complete lie. Kento was doing better, but he wasn’t as healthy as his appearance suggested. At least, to Elijah, it didn’t look like he regained his full strength.

“Hello Kento, how are you doing?”

“I’m doing well,” Kento replied. He placed his right hand over his chest and gave Elijah a slight bow. Elijah mimicked the hand movement, but he didn’t bow.

“We are happy to have you visit us.” Kento continued. “Is there anything you need our help with?”

“Yes, I actually did come here today to request your help, but first there is something else I would like to discuss. Is your son Bart around?”

The moment Elijah asked about Bart he saw everyone tense up. For a second, Elijah squinted is eyes, but he quickly returned to his calm and pleasant expression. Elijah didn’t know if Kento’s clan were ready for conflict, but they were clearly on guard.

Other than their obvious nervousness, Elijah didn’t see any other behavior or physical actions that would let him know their mental state. Therefore, he decided to act as if everything was fine until he was given a reason to do otherwise. Worst case scenario he could always rely on his Mirage Steps.

“My son?” Kento asked in a guarded tone. “Why do you need to speak with my son?”

“I heard he had some problems with the way things were in the village and wanted to make some changes. I hoped that we could have a peaceful conversation now to avoid things turning violent in the future.”

Kento frowned and silently stared at Elijah for a few seconds. Elijah calmly held his gaze with a relaxed smile on his face. Eventually, Kento decided to break the silence.

“I don’t know who told you those lies about my son, but I can assure you that they are not true.” Kento was unable to hide the annoyance he felt, but he quickly took a deep breath to calm down before he continued speaking. “Neither my son or anyone else in our clan has thought about acting against you or anyone else in the village. Besides, we all swore a heavenly oath, and we have no intentions of breaking it.”

Elijah’s smile didn’t falter, and he continued to stand in place as Kento repeatedly lied directly to his face. This wasn’t a guess or a suspicion on Elijah’s part. He knew that Kento was lying the same way he knew fire was hot.

Obviously the first sentence was a lie. The second sentence was a lie as well, but there was little Elijah could do with this information. Thinking about acting against him didn’t mean that Kento and the members of his clan were actively planning to attack him.

As for the final sentence it was a lie as well. Kento or someone in his clan definitely had the desire to break free from the heavenly oath. Perhaps, all of them had already got together to discuss the numerous ways they could do so. After all, the heavenly oath Elijah had them swear wasn’t very binding.

“Relax, I’m not here to start a fight. Like I said before I’m trying to stop a fight before it begins. None of us will be able to enjoy the meal in front of us if we’re worried about the person next to us spitting in our food. Only by settling the conflict between us can we effectively work together and more importantly, grow together.”

Cole and the other clan members standing behind Kento relaxed after they heard Elijah’s response. Naturally, Elijah picked up on this. Clearly Kento’s people didn’t want a conflict. Armed with that knowledge, Elijah’s confidence increased, and his smile became slightly arrogant.

“That’s good to hear,” there was a hint of relief in Kento’s voice when he responded. “Our clan wish to peacefully work together as well. My son has the same thoughts as the rest of my clan,” Kento lied. “Right now, my son is in the middle of cultivation. Since were all on the same page, I don’t think there is a need to interrupt him.”

“I’m sure you remember the contents of the heavenly oath you swore. Are you going to invite your son out or do I have to command you to do it?” Once again, all the clan members became tense.