7 years ago, a few months after my fateful meeting with Anastacia.

It happened as I was returning from an errand.

But first things first, let's summarize the time I stayed at the inn.

I had worked at the inn for around eight months. I was comfortably settled in this peaceful town. I had also completely mastered their language. All things considered, it hadn't been that hard to learn. The most challenging element was to focus on the papers handed to me instead of staring into her deep blue eyes.

But now that my studies were over, I had nothing in my way.

Or so I thought.

Indeed, there was a reason why such a fine-looking woman was still unmarried.

Her dad. Intimidating and overprotective.

Every time I tried to get close to her, he would stare down at me with this terrifying glare. He was at the top of the food chain, and I was but a minuscule, negligible shrimp in a vast, vast world.

And so, my progress was slow. In fact, I felt that I needed to buy him off first before I could land this big catch, Anastacia.

Now let's get back on track.

It happened as I was returning from an errand.

In my bag, I had a few spices for tonight's meal and a brand new butcher knife I bought with my saved-up pocket money.

Yes, I was going to buy off Ana's dad. Well, ultimately, I bought the knife with the money he gave me, but hey, that's not the point.

When I got close to the inn, I noticed a soldier in uniform on our front porch.

He spoke to Ana's dad, "Under orders of King Arkosh, every man of this household between the age of 15 and 50 is compelled to enroll into the military and contribute to the war efforts. Effective immediately. Please pack your things and come with me at once."

**Bad news. I am a man of this household, and so is Ana's dad. If I remember correctly, he isn't fifty years old yet. This leaves Ana alone to take care of the inn, and also take care of herself...**

I obeyed and packed the essentials quickly. Well, I say that but what is essential, anyway?

Ana's dad did the same. I took a peek at his luggage. Only clothes and some kind of doll with a red beard. Probably Ana's attempt at making a doll of her dad when she was young. The beard looked like it was made of actual hair. Pretty creepy.

Now that I think about it, the guy could have easily lied and passed for over fifty... Was he ready to abandon his daughter for that fragile pride of his?

He tried to look strong as he crossed the dining room, but it was obvious he was about to crack. He hugged his daughter one last time. Anastacia was sobbing a little, and that was enough to trigger the collapse of the once daunting man. He shattered in tears.

To think I was intimidated by that pathetic excuse of a man.

I left the bag with the brand-new knife and the spices near the doorway and followed the soldier.

Flash forward a few days.

I was standing awkwardly in a military encampment on the front lines. The resistance had captured Ozen, and King Arkosh obviously wanted his city back.

The city was under siege by our forces. While we were waiting for the final assault, the rookies, including me, and Ana's dad, were receiving some basic sword training.

**For real, this king is pretty lame for relying on conscripts to stop a rebellion. Obviously, this will only add fuel to the fire.**

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I was on edge. At the dawn of a battle, I didn't want to be part of. Furthermore, the constant headache was scratching at what was left of my sanity.

While practicing swordplay, I would sneak a peek at a group of cool-looking cloaked wizards a fair distance away. Sure, that could be considered as slacking off during training but, to be honest, this was obviously a waste of time because there was no way I was going to get better with a sword in such a short time.

The wizards were separated into different groups according to their respective elements. I was particularly captivated by the fire wizards.

"Prometheus, of fire and hatred, ignite this blighted land so it can rise anew! Sea of flame!"

In front of each wizard, a small pond of fire appeared on the ground. The flames didn't reach very high, but they were certainly high enough to burn a few legs and incapacitate the intended targets.

**Holy shit, that's fucking awesome!**

And, as the dumb motherfucker I was, an idea blossomed in my mind.

**I wanna try it too!**

I pointed my sword in an attempt to aim at an empty spot not too far from my practice partner.

I was clueless about how to use magic, so I simply repeated the incantation I had just heard.

"Prometheus, of fire and hatred, ignite this blighted land so it can rise anew! Sea of flame!"

A tragedy occurred.

It was said that, for an entire week, the birds stopped singing, the wolves whimpered to the moon, and even the goblins, these twisted, mischievous souls, held a minute of silence for the departed.

For the first time in my life, I did magic.

A sea of flame did indeed appear at the intended location. The problem was, it was not limited to a meager pond of fire like these wizards summoned earlier.

It was an actual sea of flames.

Before I could realize what was happening, the fire had spread to the entire camp. The inferno was reaching all the way up to my eyes, so I could not see what was happening around me, but I could infer the situation rather accurately judging from the screams of pain emanating from my surroundings.

I fucked up.

I ran.

I could not feel any pain. In fact, it looked like the fire was not burning me at all.

But still, I ran. Not from the fire but from my responsibilities.

The worst part was that it felt good. My headache vanished, and I entered an odd state of mind. I felt reborn. Lucid and unleashed. For a few seconds, I was freed from that damned migraine.

And, let's be honest, there wasn't really a point in just standing there. In any case, I didn’t know how to undo the spell, so the best I could do was run around mindlessly and hope to find a survivor I could help. I was resistant to these flames, so the least I could do was drag the injured out of the fire.

My survey of the area turned out to be meaningless since the only things I managed to find were charred corpses. They were unrecognizable, already turned into charcoal, or even scattered to the wind as ashes.

When I escaped the hellhole, I found myself constrained by a few fellow soldiers. Apparently, a bystander witnessed the scene and denounced me. After a quick inspection, I discovered that the snitch was, in fact, Ana's dad. That son of a bitch ratted me out.

Still, I was glad that he survived the catastrophe. And without a scratch as well. He looked traumatized, however, and in this world where healing magic was omnipresent that kind of wound was the hardest to heal.

Besides, I realized at this moment that the reason he followed the soldier back then wasn’t because of his pride as a patriot but because he feared the military. He was so terrified that he preferred denouncing his soon-to-be son-in-law instead of lying to the soldiers.

Or maybe he was scared of me?

All things considered, it wasn't all that bad. I mean, to be honest, most of the casualties probably would have died in the siege anyway.

But the kingdom thought differently.

The siege of Ozen was categorized as a failure, and I was to blame. That was fair. I did burn down the entire advance camp.

I was escorted back to the Capital and into the Royal Castle.

I stood in the audience chamber, kneeled and chained in front of the king, Arkosh.

The king's right-hand man stepped forth, "You are accused of high treason, multiple homicides, destruction of state property, and illegal use of magic. Do you have anything to say in your defense, Lynch?”

"I'm sorry?"

"You are therefore sentenced to immediate execution. Take him away at once!"

**I realize this is a military tribunal but isn't that trial a bit too executive? They could have listened to the testimony of that pathetic witness at least...**

Just before the guards could grab me, they were interrupted.

"Wait!"

I looked up to find the visage of my savior and found the source of that honeylike voice. It belonged to a gorgeous black-haired woman with dark eyes.

**Goddamn, she's hot! I can feel her sex appeal from all the way down here.**

"Rise, Lynch."

It was already up, but I obeyed anyway and got back on my hind legs.

"Your Excellency, I think we can make use of him. His innate potential in the magical arts is immense. I will train him personally."

"Very well, but if you happen to be wrong, kill him on the spot, Lilliana."

"I am never wrong."

**Well well well, personal training by this lovely lady, I'm looking forward to it.**

Being single and horny, I couldn't be blamed for wishing something fleshly would happen between this gorgeous, experienced woman and myself.

At the time, I had no idea the gap in our experience was so gigantic. Even back then, Lilliana was old. Very old.

And so, my training with Lilliana began.