Legend of the arch magus

News spread like wildfire. The citizens of Blackstone Town learned that Lark was leaving for the Capital. When Mikael heard this, he immediately made preparations to come with him. He left his work at the mines and applied as a coachman. Unfortunately, this was rejected by the butler. It seemed that the Young Master's entourage had been decided already several days ago. I cannot fail His Majesty.

Mikael decided to continue monitoring this candidate no matter what. If he was unable to come with them, then he just needed to follow their group from a safe distance. It will be hard, but the retired knight was resolute on doing at least this much. The day of departure finally came. Lark's entourage consisted of Austen, George, Anandra, four servants, and six guards. Lark knew that they had to keep up with appearances, that's why he did not reject Gaston's offer of renovating the carriages and bringing several servants and guards with him.

The three carriages going to the Capital all had the symbol of the Marcus Family engraved on it: a golden rose and a silver shield. After giving his instructions to the officials of Blackstone Town for one last time, their group moved out of the town. Mikael, riding a horse he rented using an extravagant amount from one of the visiting merchants, quickly followed from a safe distance. Lark's group stayed in Lion City for only a day. After getting out of the City, they passed by the Lake of the Full Moon. A large building, which somehow resembled a castle, was being built a good distance away from the Lake. Hundreds of soldiers armed to the teeth were garrisoned there. "Is that a castle?" George asked his older brother, Austen. The two of them, along with Anandra, was inside the carriage of Lark. "Obviously." Austen stared out the window. He gazed at the soldiers stationed there. "But why are they building something like that here? In the wilderness?"

Lark did not bother to explain despite knowing the reason. He simply sat there, gazing at the scenery outside. He heard of the incident from Big Mona: the night when tens of thousands of monsters emerged from the lake and killed the soldiers nearby. Even from this place, he could feel the absurdly large amount of mana from the center of the lake. The amount of mana was so humungous that Lark was unable to estimate how many monsters were residing in the lake. Let's just hope that the mana belongs to several monsters. Otherwise… Lark looked at the castle being built. It would not protect them if by any godforsaken chance that mana actually belonged to a single entity. Even Lark was not confident on winning against such a monster. Well, there was also the option of running away.. Several days passed and they arrived at another city, a very small one that was around five times the size of Blackstone Town. This place looked mediocre compared to Lion City – one of the major cities of the Kingdom.

Lark's group stayed there for a night, restocked their rations, then resumed their journey to the Capital. The journey thus far had been uneventful – until they arrived at a village next to a small river. Lark actually had no intention of stopping by this place, but his curiosity was piqued when he saw the tower at the center of the village. "We're staying here for the night," said Lark. "Stop the carts."

The servants and the soldiers looked at him quizzically. There was still a couple of hours before dusk, after all. There was no need to camp in this village. Lark, followed by his men, entered the village. The residents curiously went out of their houses to peek at Lark's group. "Welcome." An old man holding a walking stick stepped forward. "What can I do for you, sirs?"

Since Lark was going to meet His Majesty at the Capital, his clothes were more gaudy than usual. There was no way for the residents of this village to mistake him for something other than a noble. "A place to stay for the night." Lark looked around. He saw several children flinch and scurry away upon making eye contact. "The best inn in the village, of course." The old man nodded his head. "If you would let this old man lead you there."

With the old man taking the lead, they entered a rundown inn. There were cobwebs on the walls, the tables were filled with dust, and the owner sitting at the counter was passed out drunk. The old man scratched his cheeks in embarrassment. He faked a cough then shook the shoulder of the drunkard. When the man showed no signs of waking up, the old man started slapping his face. "Oww!" The owner groaned, "What the hell's your problem, old man?!"

"Stupid son!" The old man clicked his tongue. "We finally have customers, idiot!"

That statement broke the drunkard from stupor. He immediately stood up straight, coughed twice, and said, "Ah, dear customers! Welcome! Ninety coppers a night per person. If with dinner, it'll be a silver and twenty coppers each!"

A total rip off. Lark and everyone else knew this. Seeing their expressions, the drunkard played his trump card. "We're the only inn in this village, honorable sirs."

"Young Master," said one of the guards. "We still have a few hours before dusk. If we speed up a little, maybe we can reach the plains next to the hills.

Camping there is a lot better than staying in this place."

The others agreed with this. They were infuriated that the villagers were outright scamming them. On the contrary, Lark remained calm. He did not come here for the inn or the village anyway. He came here for that: the thing standing at the center of this village. "We're staying here for the night." Lark placed several silver coins on the countertop. "Prepare the dinner. Immediately."

The owner of the inn gulped after seeing the silver coins. He immediately scooped it up, as though afraid the noble would take it back. "Of course!

Right away!" His breath still reeked of alcohol. After dinner, Lark donned his cloak and stealthily moved out of the inn. It was late in the evening and everything was pitch black in this village, unlike in Blackstone Town where kalrane stones illuminated the night. All of the villagers here were already inside their houses. Lark walked towards the center of the village, towards the towering structure he saw from the outside.

As I thought.

The towering structure made entirely of stone had numerous symbols engraved on its body. It reminded Lark of the healing pillars he created in the Arena. Lark tried touching it, but a force blocked his fingers. A barrier was protecting this tower. Who made this tower? Why was this inside the village? There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask. And though answering one of his questions, a ball of lightning formed on top of the tower, before shooting towards the direction of the forest. Lark heard a faint yelp afterwards. Lark amplified his body with mana and ran towards the direction of the sound. He skidded to a halt and stared at a scorched corpse. It was a familiar monster. Despite its scorched body, Lark was sure of it. "A goblin."

Lark heard rustling sounds, and soon, three goblins came out. They shrieked upon seeing their dead comrade. Their eyes murderously glared at Lark. Lark was about to pull out his short sword when three streaks of light flew by and struck the goblins. It all happened in an instant. Three scorched bodies fell down limp and lifeless on the ground. Lark looked at the dead bodies, then at the tower at the center of the village. This was an incredibly advanced form of defensive magic. Something Lark was unable to create in Blackstone Town due to the lack of materials. When the morning came, Lark asked the inn owner about the tower at the center of the village. "The Wizzert Tower!" The drunkard was really proud. "That tower protects us from the monsters of the forest, you see. It could kill even a dire wolf in a single hit."

Austen, George, and Anandra silently listened to the conversation. They did not expect the tower at the center of the village to hold such power. "Wizzert Tower," repeated Lark. He did not expect a tower which resembled those used in the Magic Empire to be in a small village like this one. "It's been five years, huh?" The inn owner reminisced, "Five years ago, the Wizzert City expanded its domain. It offered protection to the villages and towns near its perimeter in exchange of taxes. Although we're required to give a large portion of our hunt and harvest to the City, it's nothing compared to the safety offered to us by the Tower."

The inn owner added a useless story, "I used to be a guard in this village, you see. But after the Tower was built here, monsters no longer were a threat. That's why I used what little money I have left to establish this inn."

You're going to have to close the inn soon, at this rate. Lark controlled the urge to tell him this outright. Demanding an exorbitant amount for a night was bad business sense on his part. Other visitors would definitely rather camp outside than pay such ridiculous amount. Lark and his group were an exemption, since Lark wanted to look at the tower up close. While the inn owner was busy telling his life's story, Lark looked at the map of the Kingdom in his hand. They were supposed to pass through the City of Norfolk on their way to the Capital instead of Wizzert City, but after hearing of the origin of this tower, Lark decided to take the latter route. It would take them an additional half a day by taking this detour, but Lark wanted to see this so-called City of Magic no matter what. In a way, paying this exorbitant amount for the inn was worth the while.

Lark had come to learn a few things about the tower at the center of this village. One thing was for sure – whoever created it was no simple magician. Lark decided to pass by the City of Magicians. *** At the same time, Mikael attentively watched over Lark and his group from a distance. He camped outside, away from the range of the tower. "Another one?" he sighed. From the shrubberies, a goblin leapt towards him, shrieking, its hands holding a wooden club. Mikael sidestepped and swiftly cut the head of the goblin. Its shrieking sound died in an instant. The retired knight swung his sword in the air, removing the blood clinging to it, before sheathing it back into the scabbard. Around him, several dead bodies of goblins were scattered on the ground. "I guess I have to sleep on the trees again, huh?" It was the best place to monitor Lark's group and at the same time, it conferred a certain degree of protection from the monsters on the ground. If only the forests of the Kingdom were as peaceful as the Endless Forest, he would not be struggling this much. Mikael climbed the highest tree nearby and sat on a thick branch. He grabbed a meat jerky from his bag and opened his water flask. After eating his ration, he amplified his eyes with mana. Lark and his men were currently outside the inn, preparing for their departure for the next city. While monitoring the candidate, Mikael froze. Did he… It was for a short moment, but it felt like Mikael and the throne candidate locked eyes with each other.

Mikael shook his head. Impossible. He was currently far away enough that it would be impossible to detect his presence. After that brief eye contact, the candidate continued with his conversation with his men like usual. It seemed that it was a mere coincidence, after all. "They're moving out, huh?"

After seeing Lark and his men boarding the carriages, Mikael jumped down the tree and untethered his horse.