Immediately, Rebecca and Artiel listened. "Does he want to send us on an undercover mission?" thought the young woman, looking at Isaac with a calm and cold face.

He often tried not to show any emotion when he was serious and maintained a serene and calm face. Although sometimes he had to force himself, most of the time he didn't need to.

With a little time, he had developed a certain inability to be able to expose his superficial feelings without having to force himself. Smiling, laughing or crying were reflexes for the most part, but for him to do so required a dose of extra effort.

Only a few rare events provoked this kind of unvoluntary reaction in him. This had caused him many misunderstandings in his social life. After all, a calm, emotionless person often looked egotistical, selfish, and unattractive.

But when he did manage to find friends, most understood and often could read his emotions behind his calm face. A slight movement of the lips, a tilt of the head or of the hand. Mat had once described to him the few movements he had managed to decipher.

For example, when Isaac sits up straight and rests his chin on his fist with his elbow on the table, it meant he was interested in the conversation.

But as someone who wanted to stay out of discussions, debates and politics, he spoke very little if ever. We could then believe that he was not interested but on the contrary.

Mat had also found him a very difficult reaction to perceive and identify. Rather, a non-reaction. When Isaac was intrigued by one person's behavior towards another, he stopped all movement.

So when he saw Rebecca's puzzled and surprised looks, Isaac stood there without any reaction, keeping his gaze cold and calm.

- "Yes, we inherited the gift" suddenly announced Artiel.

Two arcana suddenly appeared in the air before two pebbles formed before settling in the palms of the two teenagers.

- "Infiltrate the city and try to gather information on the Governor, their military forces. Anything you think is useful," Isaac said. "When you think something weird is going on, inject some mana into the stone," he said, pointing at the stone.

The famous pebble carried a rune hidden inside having the same behavior as the one on the Geloms. Once activated, it will retrieve any surrounding sensory data that Isaac could read later.

- "Go unnoticed" finished Isaac.

- "Very well, Monsignor" said the two teenagers in unison, bowing forward.

Suddenly Isaac turned and raised his hands. The spellbook floating beside him suddenly opened and turned the pages before stopping on a page filled with gleaming with copper-colored inscriptions.

- "Crystallization" chanted Isaac.

Immediately, an enormous arcane appeared in the air five meters in height and extended for about fifteen meters. The arcane began to spin before the air around it suddenly stiffened before emitting a white glow.

In the center, a white sphere suddenly began to appear, concentrating and pulsing steadily.

Around, the mana was totally unstable and began to concentrate forming a vortex before being ejected upwards. In an instant, powerful gusts arose before suddenly disappearing as quickly as when they had appeared.

The arcanum finally dissipated and the sphere of light disappeared, leaving behind a red stone that fell into Isaac's palm.

It was a modification of the arcanum of rock creation. Instead of just concentrating the elemental earth particles and condensing them, this rune also refined them and thus forming a version purer than a rock.

The initial objective was to obtain harder rocks and the result had indeed been achieved and created quite beautiful stones, shining with a glow similar to that of a gemstone.

However, Isaac could not create stones larger than two inches in size. This is because the mana usage is so high that holding the arcane too long could create a concentration of mana, make it unstable, and recreate the golden ray incident.

But an extremely hard two-inch gemstone must have come at a pretty high price in a medieval world.

He looked at his hand, curious to know what he had gotten this time around. He had noticed that the type of stone obtained was random. So far he had only gotten red and blue stones that he thought were rubies and sapphires, but he wasn't very good at geology and had no idea if he was right.

The stone was red and slightly transparent, revealing a very fearful and limpid interior. The surface was smooth, almost as if a jeweler had cut it.

Once his analysis was complete, Isaac turned to Rebecca and handed it to her.

- "Exchange this for money if you need it" he announced with a smile.

The two teenagers were speechless. They thought they had seen everything from their master, but obviously he could still surprise them. Rebecca then took the stone and was surprised at its clarity. She had never seen a gemstone before, she had only heard rumors of it.

Also, when she received it, she wanted to return it immediately.

- "It's too much Monsignor!"

- "Hm?" Isaac pushed in surprise.

- "If we show up with a gem, people will most likely find us suspicious" Artiel announced after coming out of his trance.

He was telling the truth. Although a merchant was more than happy to serve customers with gems, after a purchase they were sure to have the town's bandits, guilds, and gangs on their backs.

- "I understand, keep it anyway. Use it if you really need it" he said at last. "Leave tomorrow and stay here to prepare and rest"

- "It's better if we leave immediately. We can catch up with the riders and spy on them. Artiel already has some dried meats so we can manage without too much trouble" Rebecca resumed quickly.

Isaac nodded positively.

- "Good. Be careful" he said with a smile.

The two teenagers bowed again. They went to grab a few bags with quick rations and then left the shrine by taking the elevator.

From the top of the cliffs, Isaac watched them run off, Rebecca injecting mana into their bodies to boost them and run much faster.

This was a buff technique that was based on the same principle as healing. By infusing mana into the body's circuit, the latter's activity would be drastically increased.

Initially, Rebecca did it unconsciously, like any Promising One for whom magic was instinctive. But after Isaac's lessons on mana circulation, circuits and manicles, she was able to quickly clarify her vision of what she wanted and the results obtained were increased tenfold.

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She could now increase her speed and that of other people. Although she can only do it for one person at the moment since this technique was mana expensive and used constantly. More people were asking for a lot more focus and mana than her body could handle yet.

With the two figures gone, Isaac turned back to the center of the high plains, his gaze serious.

He had an experiment to do.

Betrayal, turnaround, abandonment and conspiracy. The kind of event that often happened in a city, even moreso when money is involved as in Erivia. After all, as a border town, it had an ideal commercial location and a prime location for itinerant merchants.

The smallest piece of land, a place for a shop. Everything was a good reason to attract pride, greed and envy of many.

In recent years, the city had received a rebound in its business. Indeed, with the political instability created in the principality of Durvador, agriculture had taken a hit.

The relentless rebellions causing great shortages in the big cities forced the authorities to import the foodstuffs in large quantities.

The Governor of Erivia, Yves Leatrix, understood this well and took advantage of it. After all, they were the closest Kilguana town to the principality and therefore enjoyed a direct and fast route.

With the resurgence of merchants and transport of goods in the vicinity, the city had managed to make huge profits.

No one knew why the principality was bringing the goods from Kilguana rather than the Draconic Empire and no one wanted to know. After all, who would want to ignore such an easy opportunity of making money.

The man in his forties was currently at the window of his castle in the center of Erivia. The walled city was large enough for a medieval world, comparable to a modern small town.

It was divided into three main areas with the castle, the city and the suburbs beyond the ramparts. Everywhere, various carts were visible and passers-by were not scarce in the streets. The activity was in full swing when the main street suddenly emptied before a fortnight of horsemen passed, rushing directly towards the center of town.

- "Ah… finally back" he said softly.

He had heard about the rumors about the shrine. With his new finances, if the rumors were true, then he could order an expedition and reap all the treasures inside.

Although the Viscount of the region, Marc Kastofilaiss, had ordered him to investigate and nothing more, he still had the right to go and loot the ruins, recover the artefacts they contained and send them while claiming some financial compensation.

In a border town, the governor was doomed to occupy functions similar to those of either a general or a merchant in order to establish either defense or establishment, transit or housing taxes without excess and to scare away potential 'clients'. Over time, the man had become more and more stingy and greedy. He focused on money, financing and the development of the city. So much so that he often forgot about his wife and two sons.

Yves turned and grabbed a bell before ringing it. Moments later, the office door opened and a butler bowed in.

- "You called me, sir?"

- "The Cortez are back, bring Raphael here so he can report back to me directly"

The butler was surprised. It was the first time that the governor had taken an interest in military affairs. Usually, this sort of thing was handled by his son, Franck Leatrix, the Town Commander.

But the man added nothing more. He tilted his head again and left, silently closing the door. About ten minutes later, someone knocked on the office door.

- "Come in" announced the governor, sitting down in his seat.

The room was very spacious with a desk at the back in front of a huge window overlooking the city. Around were libraries filled with books of all kinds.

The butler suddenly entered the room as he opened the door and bowed forward.

- "The cavalry captain has arrived, sir" he said.

Raphael immediately entered before leaning forward in his turn.

- "Monsignor" he began.

- "Your report, Captain" continued the governor.

The captain had already prepared to report on their journey home. But he did not expect to be summoned immediately to the governor of the city as soon as they arrived. He inhaled lightly before speaking.

- "The barrier indeed seems to have been broken" he said, causing the appearance of a smile on the governor's face, visibly happy.

- "Perfect !"

- "But…" suddenly added the captain.

- "But ?" the governor asked, curious.

- "An Archmage seems to have invested the place and built a fort at the base of the sanctuary as a stronghold with a means to climb the cliffs" said Raphael to finish.

The governor stood up suddenly, his gaze surprised but above all outraged. An Archmage? Who was the captain kidding? What was an Archmage doing in the middle of nowhere?

Nevertheless, after a little thought, the governor calmed down. After all, it was a thousand-year-old shrine guarded by even older magic.

Of course an Archmage was going to be interested, but he didn't expect one of them would arrive so quickly. He wasn't sure what to do.

He had originally planned to storm and loot it along with the city garrison, but against an Archmage they had no chance of victory.

The city had no mage in its military strength, although they could probably hire adventurers to boost their numbers, it was more than rare to find a mage among them.

After all, the gift of magic was a scarce commodity, and people with it were often hired by the King in the capital's magical academy. They had a bright future when they became Apprentice Mage. Who would need to be an adventurer when the King has your needs covered?

Without a mage, they would be totally at the mercy of the Archmage's spells. They would be reduced to ashes before they even got to the cliff.

The governor's plans had been dashed to nothing with the snap of a finger. Now he had to wait for royal troops in order to at least have a chance of success. He did not want to risk anything, after all if they sent men to try to capture the place and they were killed, the governor would have to compensate the families and hire new soldiers.

Unnecessary expenses that could be easily avoided. He came and took a sheet and a quill, dipped the latter in an inkwell, and began to write. Moments later, he stamped the sheet with a green mark, folded it, then sealed it with red wax and handed it to the butler.

- "Get this to the Viscount as soon as possible. It's a high priority message," he said.

The butler then grabbed the letter and wasted no second. He left the room and ran towards the stable. Raphael meanwhile was in heaven. He knew full well what that red wax seal meant. Soon, the royal army will be at the Archmage's gates.

- "Dispose" suddenly announced the governor.

Immediately, the captain bowed forward then left the room, closing the door behind him. The governor, for his part, got up and turned to his window, looking beyond the city's dead, intrigued and worried.

An Archmage had taken up residence not far from their city. This did not bode well, neither for him, nor for their city, nor for the kingdom. He had to prepare defenses for Erivia.

After all, all Archmages were employed by some realm. Wealth, authority, title of nobility and privileges were the rewards that everyone could give them just so as not to alienate them.

Against an Archmage, a large enough army could hope to win but with huge losses. He had to plan carefully what he was going to do in the future. If this Archmage were to turn against them, he had to leave the city and take the most wealth with him.

As he looked out the window at the sun setting in the distance, a shadow suddenly moved in the corner of the window. Discreet and invisible, it quickly disappeared.

At the entrance to the castle, Iracuz was waiting for his brother who had gone up to the governor's apartments. He wasn't sure his brother's reaction was the best. Especially in view of the character they had met.

As he was thinking, a worried expression in his eyes, Raphael finally stepped out and approached.

- "You make a face of it" he said with a smile, slapping brutally on the back of his brother to wake him up.

Immediately, Iracuz jumped and came over to smile slightly.

- "How did it go?" he asked with a small voice.

- "The governor sent a letter to the Viscount, probably to ask for reinforcements" he replied, laughing. "This mage will taste Kilguana power"

Iracuz sighed. That was what he regretted the most, things would probably get out of hand shortly. If what the man they met told them was true, then he probably had another realm supporting him. And the only kingdom he could think of other than Kilguana was the Principality or the Empire.

Just thinking about it, Iracuz shivered slightly. He came to rest his gaze on his ignorant brother and put his hand on his shoulder.

- "You should go see your wife" he finally told him. He didn't need to explain what Raphael's actions implied, he wasn't sure his brother would understand.

After all, unlike him, Iracuz had received a certain level of education during his training to become an Apprentice Mage and had therefore been able to assimilate notions of nobility and politics.

Although his vision was limited, it was not as limited as Raphael who had no idea. All he saw was what meal he would have that evening and what he was going to eat the next day. He didn't really need to think about it anymore, the most complicated and important things were handled by the governor and the aristocracy after all.

- "You're right. Hey! You don't want to come? Grabielle told me she was going to make me a quiche when I got back. You know how good her quiches are" Raphael said to Iracuz with a smile.

It had been a long time since his wife and brother had seen each other and he often seemed very happy in her company. After such an expedition, Raphael wanted to relax his brother a bit, maybe even visit a house of joy at night after a few mugs of beer.

As a big brother, all he wanted was the well-being of his brother. After all, he was young but he was an adult nonetheless, he still hadn't found a wife and still lived in a room at the local inn.

It wasn't a life Raphael wanted him to have, that's why he had taken him into the cavalry. But despite this, nothing had changed. He was still reclusive in his accommodation most of the time, he didn't go out and did nothing but train.

It was a life Iracuz had decided to take and he wasn't complaining about it. He had a place to stay, food and drink every night.

- "I have something to do, maybe tomorrow!" Iracuz replied.

Before Raphael could even retort, the young man was already walking away to head for the city below.