Thinking he should change things up a bit, Soral made sure to go the opposite direction he had the day before. The problem was, he had avoided going this direction on purpose because the very first thing in sight was a rather large library. Since his purpose was information gathering, the library might be the place to look, though.

He entered the doors and was immediately overwhelmed by the hundreds of volumes filling the shelves. As for the shelves, he didn’t want to think about how many of those there were. Instead, he decided to focus on the people in the library. Since it was still early morning, there was only one.

A young man was relaxing in a cozy armchair near the window, slowly turning pages in a large volume titled “The Riddle War”. Whatever that was. Soral instead looked at his wrist and saw a blue bracelet. It was just a single color, but Soral didn’t know what blue meant. He still did not want to give in and contact Oasis, so he decided to ask him instead.

“What does blue mean?” he asked, causing the man to look up from his book. His eyes also strayed to Soral’s bracelet.

“You must be new,” he decided, “Blue is the color chosen to represent geniuses and intellectuals.”

“Oh,” Soral replied. That made sense. He was hanging out in a library first thing in the morning reading about riddles and war or something like that.

“Are you Soral?” the man asked.

Soral suddenly grew suspicious. “How do you know my name?” he demanded.

“Right, I guess you wouldn’t know with me like this. My name is Nicholas. I am the Black Wolf’s third apprentice,” he introduced.

Now that he looked, Soral realized Nicholas did not have a collar on like most of the residents did. That gave him a sudden idea. Nicholas didn’t seem nearly as annoying as Oasis or their master.

“You support collar removal, right?” he asked.

“Definitely,” Nicholas confirmed, “Were you planning something specific?”

“I have an idea to remove all of them at once, but I don’t know how to gather everyone without asking… You know.”

Nicholas thought about it. “We don’t have to set anything in particular up,” he revealed, “Do you just need people to gather? How close together do they need to be?”

“It would be great if they were all in one room, but I don’t know how many there are,” Soral admitted.

“Would it work if they are outside?” Nicholas asked, “The Festival of the Two Lovers is coming up. Everyone gathers around the lake for those two nights.”

It was kind of weird for Nicholas to use its full title, but Soral recalled the holiday. He was pretty sure most people just called it Love Fest or Festival of Love. Something about a romantic tale of ancient lovers.

The lake was good, though. Even if everyone wasn’t in range when he did the mass collar release, it would still pull quite the spectacle. It was another one of Soral’s minor revenges. He wanted to see how Oasis was able to deal with everyone being released all at once.

One problem did come up. Soral’s special collar. He still hadn’t been able to get the thing off even when normal collars popped off with ease. Nicholas was a genius, right? He decided to have him help with the problem.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Your collar is meant for powerful magical creatures?” Nicholas asked, “In that case, the solution might be the opposite as all the others. Instead of overloading it, you could try to drain it instead.”

That was a good idea, except that Soral didn’t have the first clue how to do that. Nicholas wasn’t too much help. Just because he was smart didn’t mean he knew everything.

“How did you even end up as that guy’s apprentice?” Soral asked.

Nicholas had a complicated expression on his face as he thought of how to explain. “I am from a forbidden plan- place. When I ended up here, I needed protection, and he was the one who offered it to me, on contract. I think I was twelve back then, so I didn’t realize what I was getting into.”

That sounded awful. No wonder he was easier to get along with. “I will definitely save you one day,” Soral promised. He didn’t know how, but he was supposed to end up being a hero at some point, so he could do it.

“Thanks,” Nicholas told him with a smile, “Though I am not sure you should say that just hearing a vague sob story. True or not.”

Soral shrugged. “You helped me out,” he said, “and I’m saving everyone else anyway.”

Nicholas reached out and patted his head, a seemingly natural reaction. It made Soral feel oddly comforted, despite the fact he hadn’t felt bad to begin with. “In that case, I’ll be waiting.”

They spent some more time discussing plans for the mass collar destruction during the festival. Nicholas recommended that they do it during the Melody of Light, a typical ending to the festival nights where hundreds of multi-colored tiny lights were released like fireflies. The surge of magic would help disguise his own.

Soral agreed, since it sounded like a fun idea, but then decided he should probably explore some more. Nicholas was still holding a finger in his book to mark his place, and his hand looked tired. He would definitely visit him again.

Beyond the library were several more buildings meant for more commercial purposes rather than just housing. Clothing stores, carpentry, glassmaking, and even potions. It was just like he would expect to see in a normal city. Soral poked around each of the buildings, trying to decide if any in particular sparked his interest.

After just a little bit of investigation, Soral discovered a major problem. Everything looked interesting. Ruena had told him to take advantage of everything Oasis had, but if he really went that far, he would never be able to leave. Maybe if he just learned a few basics of his favorites? If he was choosing favorites, this cupcakes were definitely at the top.

As he wandered back towards the center, Soral approached the main building, and caught sight of an oddly familiar guest. He quickly ducked behind the building, out of sight. It was an automatic reaction, but his mind was buzzing.

What was Sibel Toll doing there?

No, instead of wondering, he should find out. Soral crept closer so he could listen, and heard Oasis first.

“-cannot sell him to you. My master has tasked me with bringing out his potential.”

“A task the Belleas Company is also well suited for,” Sibel argued, “I cannot agree with you purchasing such a bright talent as a slave. Let me take him back home and I will pay all of his debt to you.”

Was Sibel trying to save him? For a moment, Soral had thought he was trying to buy him for himself, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“I am sure you can understand why my master would not leave someone with such importance to the Toll family,” Oasis refuted.

Sibel let out a scornful laugh. “Because we do not live under the Black Wolf’s thumb like the rest of Althaedor? We do not believe in prophecies. Only in talent, and the joy of gaining riches.”

“My point exactly,” Oasis scoffed, “Soral is meant to be a hero with noble intentions, not greed.”

Soral suddenly realized this was the first time they actually mentioned who they were taling about. Luckily they had been talking about him, so he only felt a bit embarrassed about jumping to conclusions. Either way, he had never seen either of them act so rude.

“Are you holding a grudge against us for leaving your home?” Sibel asked, “You should know that protecting our own comes first when a major threat like that appears. We are not soldiers, heroes, or politicians. We are merchants.”

“It was a perfectly understandable action,” Oasis assured, “And you have assisted me in selling my goods to the outside. That is the only reason I have even allowed you in to discuss your ludicrous proposition.”

Sibel suddenly seemed to realize something. “A hero… You intend to make him save your home.”

Oasis fell silent.

“You can’t be serious. He’s just a boy. Now who is being irresponsible?!” Sibel seemed genuinely furious.

Things only seemed to be getting worse, so Soral stepped out. “Hey,” he greeted with a smile, causing both men to freeze on the spot, though Sibel’s eyes immediately landed on the collar.

Right, that thing. First, he wanted things to calm down so he decided to put on a show. Nicholas had said something about draining it, right? Might as well give it a go. Soral did something, and the heaviness of the collar vanished. He raised a hand to his neck and casually pulled it off.

“He can’t make me do anything,” he told Sibel, throwing the collar at his feet, “but while I’m here, I am going to take everything he has.”

Sibel’s anger turned to momentary disbelief, and then he started laughing. “Good job,” he told him, “When you come home, be sure to drop by. I’ll treat you to something special.”

“It better be good,” Soral told him, “I’m gonna be tired after all this.”

Sibel left in a much better mood than he had arrived in. Once he was gone, Oasis bowed his head slightly.

“Thank you,” he told Soral, “I lost my head for a moment and almost burned one of my most important connections.”

“No big deal. You just owe me. A lot,” Soral told him with a grin, “And I am going to make sure you owe me even more.”