By the time the fireball exploded, Foster had already dispatched the two non-mage assassins, and now he was charging toward the downed third circle mage.

Foster expertly swung down with his sword once he reached him, but the third circle mage quickly rolled to the side to avoid it. The third circle mage tried to raise his body, but Foster's oncoming boot collided with his face and sent him tumbling backward.

Arthur watched as Foster prepared another spell and felt confident about his victory, so he changed his focus toward Jeren's battle. On the other side of the alleyway, The fifth circle mage appeared bloody, burnt, and ragged while two fresh bodies lay motionless between him and Jeren.

Arthur felt a surge of greed well up from within him. He was curious about what would happen if he used his mana soul spell on a living target, but he quickly pushed his greed back down. A fifth circle mage was too dangerous of a test subject, and crippling him would defeat the purpose of the experiment. Not to mention, they'd have to drain all his mana first.

Thoran impatiently peeked over Arthur's shoulder as Foster rushed to Jeren's side, having already dispatched the third circle mage. Arthur couldn't help them anymore now that both his guards were fighting on one side of the cramped alleyway.

It would be too risky to try firing off magic with the corpse, considering he wasn't proficient with it yet. With that in mind, Arthur willed his blade from his sleeve and sent it to follow in Foster's shadow in case they needed help. However, before Foster could join the battle, a spinning ball of icy water appeared before Jeren's hand.

As it grew in size, it seemed to freeze with each revolution before returning to a liquid state and emitting a fog in the way of dry ice or liquid nitrogen. As the spell was fired, a burst of cool air filled the alleyway, and raindrops turned to hale as it passed them by.

It was a frostbolt, and it was similar to an ice version of a fireball, or at least that's what Arthur knew it as. He was well aware of it from Earth since it was often a staple spell of mages in fantasy works, but he wasn't sure if it existed on Nithe until now.

The fifth circle mage panicked and tried to dodge, but his legs refused to move, no matter how desperately he struggled. Only now did Arthur notice the transparent tendrils of ice wrapped around the mage's legs, locking him in place to the frozen ground beneath him.

"Wait! I—" The fifth circle mage called out in a last-ditch attempt to save himself, but it was too late.

The frostbolt hit him with such force that the ice binding his legs shattered as the frostbolt transferred its forward momentum to his body. The fifth circle mage flew back a couple of feet before the frosty liquid of the frostbolt wrapped around him and froze, locking him into a falling motion like an ice sculpture.

Arthur felt like he worried for nothing and recalled his hidden blade. Jeren was also a fifth circle mage, and he came from a noble background, meaning he had access to more advanced spells than some rabble hired by Elyria to murder a child.

It might've been a different story had Kyren not noticed them, but in a fair fight, even the bottom-of-the-barrel Revan house guards were still a step above most, it would seem.

"Are you guys alright?" Arthur asked, having to shout to be heard over the rain.

"We're fine, lord." Jeren replied as he and Foster walked toward the smithy.

"Wait!" Arthur shouted. "Get that guy down from there and bring his body. Foster, you get the third circle's body, too."

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"Young master, you promised!" Foster cried out as if he'd been wronged.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I didn't say I'd make you do it. I just said to bring the bodies to me. Grab the blonde one, too, once you're done."

Arthur turned toward Thoran with an innocent smile. "Now about your forge..."

"You're young, so ya might not know, but bones don't burn. Even my forge wouldn't be able to turn them to ash."

"Can't we just crush the bones after?" Arthur asked as he glanced around the smithy for something more efficient than a hammer.

"Corpses don't burn quickly. Ya said so yourself. The city guard might try and blame you for killing them. What are we gonna do if they show up at my door with my forge full of bodies?"

Arthur glanced outside and didn't see anyone passing the alleyway on the main avenue, but Thoran's reminder had merit. Arthur felt a bit frustrated since he had wanted to see what would happen if he used the mana soul spell after burning away all the flesh, but it looked like he'd have to try another time.

"We can't just leave the bodies out there. That'd cause trouble for you once the guards find them."

"There's a side alley that leads to a dead end about fifty feet down the alleyway. Toss 'em in there. I know some people that can get rid of 'em, and if the city guard comes snooping around before then, I can play innocent."

Arthur stared at Thoran with a complex expression. "I didn't realize you had friends in high and low places."

"Aye." Thoran laughed. "Ya spend enough time running a smithy in an alleyway ya bound to meet folks who call the alleyways their home."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Arthur asked, regardless of Thoran's bravado.

If the assassins belonged to a greater organization or were in cahoots with the city guard, then they might not give up searching the area simply because there were no bodies. Foster and Jeren could remove the traces of battle, but if other people knew of the plan to ambush Arthur here, it wouldn't be effective no matter what they did to hide it.

"Aye, don't worry about it." Thoran proudly slapped his chest. "Ya don't get to my old age without learning a thing or two to keep out of trouble. I'll be alright. You three should get going before more trouble finds ya."

Arthur thanked him, and by that point, Foster and Jeren entered carrying the mages' bodies. He ordered the two guards to move the rest of the bodies to the side alley Thoran mentioned while Arthur added two new undead puppets to his collection. Of course, he had the door closed and had Thoran face away while he cast the spell.

Curiously, he didn't notice an increased mana requirement to turn the fifth circle into a puppet like he thought there would be. It was a simple deduction that made him believe it would cost more mana. A mana core was like a cup of water. The larger the cup, the more water it can hold.

So, it stood to reason that creating a larger mana core would require more mana from the caster to create a larger vessel. Arthur wasn't sure why it was different than he predicted, but it was likely due to some effect of the spell he hadn't considered, or his understanding of souls was still lacking in some way.

Once Foster and Jeren had finished moving the bodies outside, Arthur had them move the bodies within the smithy while he used some simple water magic to wash away the blood. He couldn't keep his undead yet, no matter how greedy he was.

There were too many eyes within the military camp, and Arthur was too weak to attract the sort of attention walking corpses would bring. So, his experiments would have to wait until he arrived at his new home in Helagaust.

Arthur pointed to an old hammer sticking out of a bucket near the forge. "Can I borrow that for a bit?"

Thoran squinted his eyes. "...Why?"

Arthur laughed. "I don't think you really want to know the answer to that question. But even if you did, I can't tell you."

Thoran rolled his eyes. "Ya don't need to be any more mysterious. Creating puppets out of the dead at age thirteen and seeing the future is already mysterious enough to wrack my old brain over."

Thoran seemed to be under the mistaken belief that he could see the future due to Kyren, but Arthur had no intention of correcting him.

"Make sure ya keep those things secret in the future. Plenty of greedy folks out there who'd kill to get ahold of a kid who could do all that. Ya status won't mean a thing to 'em. So be careful." Thoran said as he picked up the old hammer and handed it to Arthur.

"Thanks." Arthur took the hammer and bowed his head to show his sincerity. "And thanks again for my armor and for taking care of this mess. My repayment in the future, you better not refuse it."

"Aye. I look forward to it. Now get outta here before ya get into more trouble." Thoran shooed him away with his hands. "And don't forget to write."

Arthur smiled and said goodbye. He had every intention of writing Thoran and inviting him to stay in Helagaust once the war had concluded. Of course, Thoran's family was welcome, too. It was only a question of whether they would accept it.