Awakening in his tent, ?elare sits up immediately. He groans and rubs a sore spot on the back of his neck, then thinks aloud to himself.

  “The Elder has been hiding this from me. From everyone. He's been feeding the Worldgorger with people, and hasn't told us. But, if I believe what he said, is there another option? No, there's always a way. Perhaps he doesn't believe so, but I know I can find a way. If I leave, apparently it will know…”

  A plan begins formulating in his mind as he paces the tent.

  “I managed to hide myself from even the Elder. I can fool some slumbering monster.”

  A confident smile appears on his face. He grabs his satchel, putting in most of his important possessions like his ornate dagger, some rations and a waterskin, then attaches the satchel to his belt.

  ?elare speaks one more time to solidify his goal.

  “I swear on my own life that no matter what happens, I will have the Worldgorger slain, so that this evil will have to occur no more. Although, considering its alleged power, I will have to find people of great power.”

  Then, he disappears into thin air. More accurately, he bends the light around him with enough precision as to appear invisible.

  “But that isn't enough to be certain of my safety,” he mutters before enacting the next part of his plan. Focusing, he coats his body in a wall of sound, excluding his ears. He clicks his fingers. Nothing can be heard. He takes a step. Nothing can be heard. Even his cheer of excitement is silenced.

  With this, he starts running. He passes familiar buildings and tents, until he reaches the edge of the forest. He's never been beyond this point, and he doesn't truly know what he will find. After taking several moments to psyche himself up, he enters the forest.

  An extremely plain-looking man with short, brown hair stands in the doorway of the Elder's residence, smiling in an almost clinical way.

  “Fior. I thank you deeply for assisting me with this. It would have been much harder without your help.”

  The Elder leans back in his chair and sighs.

  “We both know I didn't have a choice. You could erase me with a single action. You have no idea how hard it was for me to do this. I think of ?elare like the son I've never permitted myself to have, you know?”

  The man’s smile remains unwavering as the Elder continues.

  “I don't even know who you are or where you came from, but you've been right about so many things I can't help but trust you. Nobody should be able to predict the birth of a dual mage in such a fashion. Now, be off, and I don't want anything to do with you anymore. I don't imagine you can bring anything except trouble.”

  After the Elder finishes his rant, the man bows before simply turning around and walking out, closing the door behind him.

  “I just hope ?elare can find the people he'll be looking for,” the Elder mutters, staring at the door.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  ?elare falls to his knees, exhausted, as his hands materialise in front of him. He hears the quiet rustle of landing on soil for the first time in a while. He had never before spent so long in his silent and invisible state, but he did not have a choice. If he had allowed the Unique Monster to detect his departure, huge problems would have arisen.

  Fortunately, after twelve hours of careful, exhausting travel, he has just reached the edge of the forest expanse. Forcing himself back to his feet with a groan, he stumbles toward the town he can now see. In front of him, four middle-aged people, two men and two women, stand chatting around an unlit campfire. Approaching them, he calls out, “Hello! I am in need of your help.”

  Two of them turn their heads to look at him, while the others draw their swords and step in front of the group. ?elare raises his hands with a surprised look on his face, mirroring the people across from him, and speaks again.

  “I am not a threat!”

  One of the armed pair, the man, narrows his eyes. He moves slowly toward ?elare, questioning him heavily.

  “A kid? From Periculand Forest? How do we know you aren't a Simulacro? You aren't injured…”

  ?elare frowns.

  “I suppose you don't, but I don't need to come close to you or anything. I simply need you to tell me where I can find powerful people to vanquish a Unique Monster.”

  “You can't be telling me there’s a Unique Monster in the forest. I don't think anyone here is capable or willing to fight such a thing.”

  ?elare sighs, replying, “You might be right. Where can I go to find such powerful people?”

  The man looks to his company, and a woman who is unarmed speaks up.

  “By the sound of it, your best bet is requesting an audience with the Emperor. He would probably be more than willing to set up a task force for this.”

  ?elare’s eyes widen and he looks at the woman.

  “Where is he? That sounds perfect.”

  She walks out from behind the other two, causing the armed woman to block her path and raise her sword towards ?elare, who hears her whisper, “We can't be sure he isn't a monster. It's not worth it.”

  She replies, at full volume, “It's fine, don't worry. Look at him, he looks exhausted.” After a moment, she is allowed to pass, and she walks up to ?elare.

  “I am Hanan, and you are…?”

  “?elare,” he replies, sticking out his hand.

  Hanan reciprocates the gesture, giving a delicate handshake.

  “Well, ?elare, you’re in luck. Alpha is only a day's journey from here by carriage. I will take you to the station, come on. My friends, I shall return shortly. You all wait here.”

  ?elare smiles gratefully at her. The other three look significantly calmer, and he can make out one of their voices as he moves away.

  “She really is too kind.”

  As Hanan leads ?elare through Periculand Town, he sees an immense number of people, more than he ever has before. Blacksmiths forging, merchants trading, and even children playing in the street. He has a smile on his face as he compares it to the village he came from, before reminding himself of his oath, and his expression darkens. Hanan glances back and notices this, but decides against bringing it up. Eventually, she stops at a large building at the edge of the town. There are carriages parked outside, and it is directly next to a long road.

  “Here we are. Go inside and ask for a carriage to Alpha.”

  ?elare nods and is about to leave, before she says, “Oh! You'll need some money. I think I have enough here…”

  She reaches into her pouch and extracts a silver coin, handing it to him.

  “Here. Now, off you go. Take care!”

  As he leaves and enters the building, he shouts back, “Thank you!”

  Hanan waves as she turns to leave.

  He walks through the front door of the building. On the far side is a stout man behind a counter. There is a glass panel from the table to the ceiling, with a little rectangular hole in front of him. To either side, a crowd of people sit on wooden benches, presumably waiting for a carriage. ?elare approaches the man across from him.

  “Hello. I need a carriage to Alpha.”

  “You're very fortunate,” he replies. “It is leaving in five minutes. That will be one silver, please.”

  ?elare places the coin on the counter. The man takes it, opening a box to his left and placing it into a section with other silver coins.

  “Thank you. Go and take a seat, you will be called when it is time.”

  ?elare does this, sitting on one of the benches next to a man, who he greets with a simple hello. After the five minutes pass, a woman enters and relays an announcement.

  “The carriage to Alpha is ready to leave. Please board now.”