"Circe, I can feel it. It is calling me. A beacon. Khaos' beacon!"
His low tone as he spoke out revealed his turbulent emotions. All this time, he had known that Khaos would call upon him, but right at this moment, he didn't know what to feel…...how to feel.
After having enriched himself with abundant magic knowledge, Reve was well aware that Khaos was not a gracious entity. His only goal was to raise an heir. He had no care for those who didn't succeed!
So, what would happen to Reve if he didn't succeed? Would he be struck down by the chaos god? Or better yet, would he die in the selection process?
"So, it is happening....." responded Circe.
She stared at Reve, "What time will you be going?"
"Tomorrow."
".....Tomorrow, huh?"
The pair of Circe and Reve was like a mother and child. More accurately, an elder sister and younger brother. After close to two years, they had bonded far more than she had expected.
She mouthed softly, "Another one is leaving me, huh?"
"Circe,..." interrupted Reve, but he couldn't find the right words to say.
"Don't worry about me. You might die tomorrow," sighed Circe.
"I know that…..."
"Ah, what is with me? It is not like me to get emotional. Come on, let's go cook a meal. Oh, I know! We shall do cat soup," joked Circe.
She earned the full-on glare of Reve, "I shall not partake in this cannibalism!"
"Why tho? It is quite sweet," chided Circe, but Reve only increased the intensity of his stares.
After quite a while, Circe reluctantly switched the meal. She cooked a luxurious meal as a send-off for Reve. Moments later, the duo went to sleep.
They were too uncomfortable to converse with each other.
...…..
The moon slumbered and the sun rose. It was a new day.
Something was quite special about this new day. When Reve woke up, he kept staring at the sun despite it burning his sight.
He found himself with no thoughts. One thing was for sure, he wasn't at peace, but he also didn't possess chaotic thoughts.
"This might be the day I die," mouthed Reve.
He quickly dragged his body to prepare for the occasion.
Minutes later, he appeared in the lounge and spotted Circe in a casual one-piece dress. He had to say not waking up to instant training was quite liberating.
Noticing him, Circe smiled, "It seems you are ready."
"Yes."
She walked him out the door and informed him, "You might know it but Khaos' palace is at the edge of the island. Follow the snake river north, the same path you took to this location. Then again, I'm sure Khaos has provided the means to locate him."
"Yes."
"Remember my teachings. Also, pay attention to your thoughts. Never overthink or forget things like you normally do. Treasure your mana reserve; use mana-efficient spells to finish your battle. Finally, based on his activities, Khaos loves the unexpected. I'm sure you would grab his attention."
"Yes."
He could only say so much to an unusually nagging Circe.
"Lastly," Circe picked up Reve and hugged him, breathing his flora scent, "Please, don't die."
"Yes," sniffled Reve.
A tear streamed down his cat's face. He rarely cried but at this moment, he couldn't stop the barrage of tears that rolled down his cheeks.
He separated himself from Circe and looked at her one last time before going his way.
It was not time to be emotional. It was time to be sharp, as sharp as the bright sun.
As he spotted the flowing snake river, he felt a wave of nostalgia hit him.
Was it not a year ago that he fought for his life at the west of snake river? It was not wrong to say that the battle left him at death's door.
Yes, it was around that time that he got to meet Circe.
Reve maintained a conscious state with all his sensory skills. Normally, they would be in a passive state that he would ignore unconsciously but he had found a way to manipulate that.
By raising his body awareness to the maximum, Reve would gain rudimental control of all his passive skills. Of course, this was not without its demerit.
This state called Battle State would mercilessly drain his Psi-Force, his mental energy. However, being a practitioner of the path of secrets. He had a lot of mental energy which would negate the side effects of [Battle State] for quite a while.
Reve followed his subconscious mind as he trailed along the snake river. Just like Circe said, the beacon in his head pointed northwards.
He wasn't worried about being attacked by magical beasts. He had already reached the level limit of the forest so his magical aura would scare away any potential attacker.
A magician needed to be confident. They needed to possess a thick mind as magic spells could be influenced by the state of the mind.
They might------
*Roar!*
Reve sighed in exasperation, "Bloody hell."
The source of the sound was getting closer to him. He could hear the hurried footsteps of the beast.
Reve flared up his magical aura to intimidate the beast, but the sound kept getting closer.
"It's fast," Reve noticed.
A red blur blitzed around heading for him. Reve calmed his mind and dodged at the last second, but he felt something inching toward his back to which he responded by blocking the attack.
*Bang!*
The force of the attack blasted him deep into the snake river.
'What was that?'
Reve came out of the water and erected a [Force Barrier] instantly. He looked around to see two figures.
The first one was a lizard with hot red scales and a vengeful set of eyes. The second one was, well…...the same!
Looking at this, Reve's first thought was, 'Cloning magic or an innate skill? Since the first one was a decoy, there's a high possibility that the second one is the real body. Hmmmm….what?'
His second move refreshed some memory in his head which would explain the terrific anger boiling deep in the lizard.
'He looks just like…..Wait, let me check!'
He activated his [Appraisal] and spied on the lizard
[Terror Lizard(Lv.60)]
'Oh, damnation!' cursed Reve.