Krys POV

As the pillar of fire faded in the distance, Krys couldn't help but feel an involuntary shudder travel down his spine and through his tail. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he could tell that his new boss, Vito, was likely the source of all that fire.

Cecil piped up, still staring at the distant horizon as the black smoke slowly gathered back into a billowing pillar that filled the sky. "Well, it looks like the situation, whatever it was, has likely been resolved." He mused, seemingly relaxed with a small smile as he leaned back up against the interior of the cart from where he sat.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Sera challenged, quirking a brow at the young mage as she laid on her side, all the while rather casually using Krys' fluffy tail as a sort of pillow.

This did earn curious looks from the other adventurers as they also looked at Cecil, expectantly waiting for his response.

Krys had a decent understanding of just how strong Vito was due to the bond he formed with him, but how did Cecil know anything about Vito? Had the boss told Cecil something, or did he know something Krys didn't because he was also a mage?

Cecil looked rather smug at the attention, smiling as he looked among the others. "He's got a lot going for him after all... He told me how he was trained by elves for the last several decades in the ways of magic."

"Like actual elves? Not some kind of half-elves or something?" Rantz asked curiously, looking rather surprised by the revelation.

Cecil nodded intently. "Yeah, and you've heard the stories, how they weave their hidden cities in deep and uncharted lands using the very nature around them. Following their mysterious methods, he's already managed to form his third mana ring around his heart."

"Wait, what? Is that true?" Ren piped up suddenly, looking up from her chess game with Lily.

Krys was mildly surprised by Ren's outburst, looking over at his little sister as he tilted his head curiously. "What's got you all riled up?" He could see the excitement plain on her face, along with a hint of confusion as if she didn't believe what she just heard. It's strange though, it was almost like he could sense her surprise before she said anything.

As everyone turned to look at Ren, she suddenly seemed rather sheepish under all the attention, though she soon managed to steel her nerves as she focused on Krys and decided to just explain what was on her mind to him. "If what Cecil is saying is right, then Vito is at the pinnacle of what only a few short-lived mages can reach. I wonder if that's what he meant when he said that..." She considered before trailing off, Krys recalling the conversation they had last night with Vito, saying something about how he used to be human.

Cecil looked pleasantly surprised and almost delighted to Krys' eyes as the mage regarded Ren. "You're rather knowledgeable about magic, are you perhaps studying to become a mage?"

Now it was Krys' turn to be surprised; sure, Ren had a manaheart now, but was that really enough to just become a mage?

He looked over to Ren who had an equally surprised if not confused expression on her face as she looked between him and Cecil, stammering for more than a few moments as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the sudden attention that was back on her again. "W-well... No? I just don't have a lot to do all day, so I just read a lot to pass the time. I came across that info some time ago, but I suppose I never thought I could actually apply it... Until now at least."

"Oh? Did you develop a manaheart recently? How'd you do it?" Rantz asked, looking intrigued by the line of conversation.

At that, Ren shot Krys a glance and he could almost feel her uncertainty; like she wasn't sure what to say, which was reasonable enough. While Vito didn't explicitly say to not talk about what happened last night; given the secretive nature of whatever he did to give both of them manahearts, he was likely using a technique that wasn't widely known, so she didn't know how to explain herself.

Krys decided to take the attention from her as he spoke up. "I helped her do it." He said simply at first, this did earn him some slight side eye from both Sera and Zax, but they kept their mouths shut and their thoughts to themselves.

"Really? Does that mean you also have a manaheart? Well of course you do, if you helped her do it, though was she able to develop it naturally through simple meditation or was it some other method?" Rantz considered before flashing a bit of a smile. "Are you trying to get her to follow your line of work?"

Krys could tell that Rantz was just being curious and making casual conversation, though he couldn't help but react a little too sharply at the idea of Ren becoming a thief like him, not to mention all the questions. "No, of course not." He replied harshly, narrowing his gaze, drawing his ears back, and glaring at the adventurer despite already rationalizing that Rantz meant no offense. "She'll never do the work that I do, I won't let her." He said firmly while straightening his back and sitting a little taller.

Rantz simply held his hands up in a rather placating way, and Krys could see the confusion on his face as Rantz glanced at the others. "Whoa guy, I didn't mean anything by it, but she's got a manaheart now; that alone opens up a lot of doors that aren't available to the average person. It would be a shame to not capitalize on it."

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Krys couldn't argue with that, it was true after all, and Vito did say she should be able to live like others her age now that she does have a manaheart. Krys also couldn't help but be a little overprotective of her, as he practically raised her himself for most of her life, especially after their dad up and disappeared on them.

Glancing over at Ren, she flashed a little smile as she scratched her cheek and decided to voice her own opinion. "I actually have some potential work lined up working at one of the guilds as either a receptionist or scribe of some kind thanks to one of my tutors. Though... That was before I developed a manaheart, so I'm not really sure how that changes things."

Cecil pitched in at that. "While those are both certainly respectable trades, you could do so much more, especially if you have an aptitude for magic." He said as he leaned back against the carriage wall. "You could become a healer, or maybe an artificer, or even some kind of researcher or scholar in various branches of magic." He explained rather excitedly as he glanced between Krys and Ren. "There's a lot of paths for her to take where she doesn't have to put her life at risk if that's what you're worried about; being a wandering adventurer like myself was pretty close to the bottom of the list for a majority of the mages that I knew back at the academy."

Looking at Ren, Krys could tell she was more than a little overwhelmed at the possibilities, glancing between him and Cecil but unsure of what to say. Krys decided to speak up as he regarded Cecil this time. "If that's what she wants for her future and if it's even available to her, then I'll do all that I can to make sure she gets that chance. In the meantime, I have no plans or intentions to pressure her into anything. She's gone through a lot of changes recently and needs time to figure herself out, so if you don't mind, just drop this subject." He said, doing his best to be firm without sounding overly sensitive or upset.

It seemed to do the trick as Cecil just nodded in response. "Of course, there's no rush after all, you have your whole life ahead of you in the end." He mused kindly as he looked over to Ren while flashing a kind smile.

Krys couldn't help but find that comment at least a little odd, coming from someone who was both younger than him and only a few years older than Ren herself.

Regardless, the topic was dropped and without the distant threat seemingly having been handled, the group went back to their games and pastimes for the next hour; that was until Riley spoke up. "Eyes up everybody, we have somebody riding towards us." The rabbitkin woman said, shifting around up front and squinting as she looked ahead of them.

At that, everyone started getting to their feet where they could, checking their weapons and armor. Though while they did that, the dogkin archer, Lily, made her way up front and looked ahead where Riley had spotted the rider. After a moment, she seemingly relaxed before looking at Rantz. "Wolf." She stated simply as she shrugged off her quiver and went back to sitting where she had been earlier.

"Oh? It's just Vito's wolf?" Rantz clarified, taking a moment to look out the front and peek for himself before just nodding intently. "You're right... But that isn't Vito riding him, I wonder what happened..." He said while trailing off, relaxing as well as he set aside his sword and shield.

"How can you even see that far? I can barely make out the shape." Riley said with mild disbelief, glancing back at the adventurers before looking ahead again and squinting some more.

"Just a lot of practice and training." Rantz mused as he settled down again, shoulder to shoulder with Lily, and got comfortable once more.

Despite everyone else mostly relaxing, Krys decided to remain particularly vigilant, climbing up front and keeping Riley company as he watched Legosi make their way toward them at a rather steady pace. Much to his surprise, he came to realize that his own vision had significantly improved, being able to make out the wolf and the rider with relative ease the more he intentionally focused on them; or maybe it was because they were getting closer outright. Well, either way, he would need to practice and see just what he could do now that he had a manaheart of his own.

The next ten minutes came and went rather quickly as a bloodied catkin girl who had been riding Legosi came up beside the caravan; Riley brought the caravan to a stop as she looked over the teenage girl; though before she could say anything, the girl spoke up. "Do you have any food and water you can spare? Legosi said I could have some once we got to this caravan." She said rather bluntly, a clear and distinct tiredness to her voice and in the way she carried herself.

Riley went to speak, sounding rather official at first as she looked the catkin in her eyes. "You are riding Mister Vito's familiar, and have approached his caravan; who are you and... And... Did you say the wolf talked?" She asked, sounding sincerely confused by what she just heard.

Krys had to agree, not sure if he heard the girl properly as he looked to Legosi curiously, the wolf meeting his gaze with a surprising amount of intelligence behind their eyes and offering a small and almost charming-looking smile.

"Did I fucking stutter?" The catkin bit back harshly and irritably, sitting taller on Legosi's back despite the clear exhaustion in her voice. "I've fought for my life, lost a lot of blood, and thankfully had my wounds magically treated. I'm exhausted, thirsty, and fucking starving. Do you have food and water to spare or are you making a liar out of Legosi?" She stated, sliding off the wolf's back and standing firmly on her own two feet as her tail lashed behind her.

Riley was suitably taken aback as far as Krys could tell, opening and closing her mouth a few times as she tried to put together a response. However, she didn't answer quickly enough as the catkin took two steps forward, pulled a palm-sized badge from a pouch on her hip, and held it out for Riley and Krys to see.

Clear as day were the markings of a rank 3 elite, this badge in particular was a version for family members in an elite household, not necessarily the head of the household or the elite who earned the status for their family. "I am Puh'ma Swiftstrike, only daughter to Tul'mi Swiftstrike of the retired Silver Ranked adventuring party Swift Strikers. Using the authority and influence granted to me by my mother's blood and contributions to society, I am commandeering your caravan due to the dire circumstances I find myself in." She ordered with a surprising amount of authority. "Now then, if you don't mind... Get me some fucking food." She said with distinct venom in her voice before dialing it back and relaxing a bit. "Please, I'll pay you back once we return to my home."

Riley stiffened with surprise before lowering her head out of the respect that is due to someone of Puh'ma's standing. "O-of course ma'am, please, if you'll follow me." She said, hopping down from the cart before leading Puh'ma to the rear carriage.

Krys watched as his team and the adventurers climbed out from the carriage to stretch their legs and gawk at the young elite they just encountered, leaving him alone with Legosi who was now lying in the grass while panting softly. "So... Can you talk?" He asked after a couple of quiet minutes.

Legosi stopped panting, looking over at Krys before smiling again. "Well of course I can, why shouldn't I?" He mused in a distinctly masculine voice before going back to panting.

Krys blinked with surprise but played it cool as he simply shrugged a bit. "Well I don't know, because you're a wolf?"

Legosi just smiled some more. "Ah, but I'm not just a wolf. I'm bonded to boss Vitm... Vito, just like you." He said, seemingly stumbling on his words for a moment.

So, Vito is likely an alias that his new boss is using. Krys wasn't really all too surprised by the idea but he was curious as to why someone as strong as he was would hide his identity. Of course, there were likely all sorts of reasons, but it didn't matter to Krys in the here and now. "Well Legosi, it's good to finally speak to you properly. I hope we get along." Krys said kindly as he even offered a small smile.

Legosi just bobbed his head, smiling still as his tail began to slowly wag. "It's good to speak to you too Krys, now then, can you get me some water too? I've been running quite a lot you know." Legosi mentioned cheerfully enough before getting comfortable as he laid his head along his forelegs.

"Ah, sure. Be right back." Krys replied dutifully as he hopped down from the front of the carriage and made his way towards the others.