Originally in my novel, Virion was supposed to recognize the traitor wizard at a glance while he was here in the town of Gobble.
Virion would've noticed the man due to his features—the wizard had blonde hair and blue eyes, similar to the people of the Northern Kingdoms.
It was drastically different from the people of the Great Plains, with their black hair and brown eyes. Or the people of the Golden Deserts, with their bronze-coloured skin, blue hair, and obsidian-black eyes.
Virion would have then followed the wizard through the town and engaged in a fierce battle with him. Virion would procure more wounds for himself, but the wizard would be destroyed. He would've been torn apart by Virion's battleaxe after running out of mana.
All because he didn't bother to hide first and instead, rejoiced in his victory by drinking his ass off.
Such a careless wizard was fun to write. After all, characters with an intellect of 0 can easily be made to suffer.
I was, in fact, tempted to make Virion the dumb type, but alas the story did not allow for that. There were things that I could no longer explain if I had a dumb main character.
Tonight, though, it would be me who would exploit this wizard's stupidity.
"A tavern?" The child from earlier stood beside me. Questioning me with a puzzled look.
I glanced down at him and regarded his features. Long black hair, big brown eyes, and thin lips. He almost looked like a girl. At his waist were his dagger and some paper balls.
Smoke bombs?
I wasn't sure.
Anyways, I nodded to answer his question. "This is where we'll find the traitor. Did you call Aunt May?"
The boy also nodded to my question, mimicking my rhythm. "Yup. I called her."
As if on cue, a lady walked out of the crowd and into my vision. Instantly, my eyes lit up. Not because of her beauty—although she was a beauty—but because she was a character I created. I was right in following my instincts. Aunt May was indeed a familiar alias.
Her real name was Miana Alasant Yytrius. 'May' clearly came from her initials.
I smiled at Miana and marvelled at how interesting it was to see how her backstory came into play in reality. I didn't put too many details into her backstory, after all.
"Hello," I extended a hand, "Nice to meet you. My name is—"
"Caelum, yes?" Miana didn't bother shaking my hand as she walked past me. Leaving me hanging. "Don't waste my time, child, and show me who nearly eradicated the Luster Mountain Bandits."
I laughed silently as she walked into the tavern, aloof and indifferent. This was the personality I created for her. She would not bow down even to the gods, so why would she bother with formalities with a teenager like Caelum?
I ran after her, leaving the boy—who was the start of all this—behind.
...
Knowing that I was going to kill someone tonight, I was fully decked out in all my gear. Leather bracers and chainmail armour, a rusted dagger, and a brand new cloak and mask that cost me 3G.
I walked behind Miana as she swaggered into the establishment with her enchanting looks and slender curves. She wore no mask, save for the poker face that she never took off.
"Where is the man you speak of?" Miana asked me, "If you give me some random drunkard, know that you will not have a good end."
"Don't worry, don't worry," I spoke with a laugh, "The man you're looking for has blonde hair and blue eyes. His hands are full of scars, and he has a well-trimmed beard reminiscent of a noble's."
My eyes scanned the room. I witnessed the unique flow of mana that moved between each drinker. It flowed erratically as if the spirits and booze made the mana itself drunk.
I found the person I was looking for. He was drinking at a round table, all alone. A pile of steel mugs were stacked up beside him. His face was red from all that he drank, and his eyes were anything but lucid.
"There," I pointed, and Miana's eyes flickered. I watched as mana flowed from her body and into the air before her. It rushed out and formed a small set of mana programs in front of her eyes.
I could not directly identify which spell this was, but I had a good guess. It was the only part of Miana's arsenal that fit the current situation.
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Spell: Aura Tracing
Mana Consumption: Moderate
Number of Mana Programs: 1-7
Description: Aura Tracing is a tracking skill that is used to detect remnant auras on people or places. At low proficiency, Aura Tracing only allows one to see two types of aura. One's own, and foreign auras. At higher proficiencies, one can trace a long line of auras that connect different people together and view all unique auras present in one's field of vision.
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From what I could see, Miana still wasn't at the level she was at when I introduced her in [ Evergreen Passage ]. Her Aura Tracing was still at 4 mana programs—which was a lot compared to my single mana program Mana Vision.
It seemed like Miana still had a long way to go, as expected.
I then watched as Miana's eyes dilated for a moment. It seemed like she found what I wanted her to find.
"So you were speaking the truth," She gave me a side glance. "Good. This saves me time."
"I don't dare lie about things like these," I chuckled.
Miana turned to me, "Then since it is true, do what you promised."
I tilted my head.
"Kill him."
Ah.
That's what she meant.
"Right," I gulped, feeling a little jittery, "I'll do that."
The world seemed to slow down at this moment. The cacophony of cheers and yells that occurred around me quieted down to a mute silence. My vision zeroed in on my target. I could see every part of him vividly: The small glimmer of intelligence in his eyes, the slouch of his back, the bubbles of froth still lingering at the corner of his lips.
Everything.
I saw everything with deadly detail. I never knew that such a thing was even possible. My thoughts ran on overdrive as I entered a state of hyperfocus.
In this state, I felt nothing but sensed everything. I only saw my goal as I walked forward and unsheathed my dagger.
And then...
I lunged forward and went straight for the heart.