On a clear day when the wind was flowing mildly, the sky was blue, two prestigious carriages were traveling northeast of the territory of the Zarx Family.
Three warriors and a mage each we're riding with the two carriages on both sides. Five warriors rode in front and the back creating a protective formation.
The warriors and the mages rode on war horses which were fast, somewhat intelligent, and strong. They had great stamina and could run for 3 days without any nourishment. The Warriors were 3rd Mid-Ranked. They wore the typical Ascar empire's armor, they had swords hung on their waists and shields on their backs. This created an oppressive atmosphere around the caravan. But the thing that announced the identity of this caravan was the insignia of the Zarx Family, A red lotus on a sword.
As for the mages, they wore their magician robes which were also their pride. They were all at least 3rd Ranked mages. One of them was 'Oliver' who seemed to be the leader of the mages present. He was a 30-Year-old man who always had a solemn expression on his face no matter what.
Wherever the caravan traveled, the pedestrians would begin to murmur. The news would spread to the nearby taverns and drunkards would gossip.
The caravan's destination was Marquis Miller's 'Blue Isle City' which was on the coast of the sea and was a great harbor. But they had to go through some County and Baronies first to reach there.
- In a tavern somewhere,
"Ya hear? I heard the 'Zarx' are going somewhere. Hehe, I even got a glimpse of the Young Master of The Zarx family." drunkard1 said with a flushed face while weaving around the liquor jug.
"Who? That Ru-Rura guy?" drunkard2 said with a shocked expression.
"Idiot! It's Rudra, R.U.D.R.A! Whahaha." drunkard3 butted in.
Drunkard2 got angry, he rolled up his sleeves ready to fight. That's when the tavern owner yelled in a practiced manner as if he had done this a hundred times,
"No fighting here! Otherwise, get the hell out!"
Drunkard2 calmed down, although he was a bit angry but who can afford to give up on liquor just for some bickering?
"I heard they are also going to Marquis Miller's City. There's some kind of gathering of nobles or something." A man who was sitting at the table beside his lonesome said while scratching his head like a monkey.
"Damned nobles! they only know how to party and dance in there... what do they call it..? boll? Ah! Ballroom! yeah!" drunkard1 said dumbly.
Everyone looked at each other and burst out into laughter.
Meanwhile,
A red-haired boy was sitting in one of the white carriages that were adorned with golden lines towards the edges intertwined together, which created an intricate design.
Although the carriage was specious and seemingly heavy, the two black, robust, tall, and sturdy horses did not seem to be exhausted at all. The reason was the Magic Runes which were located on the carriage on all sides.
This boy was Karna in the body of Rudra Zarx. Karna now could easily move the Mana in his body. he did not even need any focus to do so. but he had yet to figure out the way to move Mana outside of his body.
Five days ago the caravan had left the Zarx Territory. This was the first time when Karna left the comfort of the mansion and went outside. But this time he was going to a social gathering of nobles. Fortunately, he did not need to worry about how to communicate during the function because Rudra was socially terrible anyways. He barely went to any social events. He thought they were a waste of time. But he still thought that he needed to know more about the noble society and such.
Karna knocked on the carriage and shortly after Lara entered,
"Young Lord, is there anything you need?" Lara asked.
"Yes, well. Tell me more about some noble etiquette and social circle. I don't wish to make a fool out of myself there."
Lara wasn't much surprised, it was commonly known in the Zarx mansion that Rudra was not really the person who cared about noble etiquette. He was more like a hooligan sometime, but a Noble and Handsome hooligan that is.
Lara began explaining to Karna about different noble families,
"Young Lord, there are 4 Dukes, 20 Marquis, 50 Earls. There are many Count, Viscount, and barons but they are not worthy of your attention. You can just know about them briefly from some books. First of all, The Duke of Danbo - Rega Carlstine of the East, The Duke of Frostov - Cian Frost of the North, The Duke of Tiara - Noah Tiara of the West, And The Duke of Rainer - Arden Rainer of the South. Then there's marquis Miller who has hosted the gathering for some kind announcement" Lara lowered her head seemingly afraid to have spoken something that should not be spoken. She continued,
".....He is The Lord of The Blue Isle City. Then Marquis...."
After long two hours, Lara finally stopped. Karna felt like his head was spinning with all the information. He drank some water and sighed full of relief.
"Alright, teach me how to behave until we reach there. is that fine?" Karna said.
"As you wish...." Lara said as her voice got lower at the end.
"What is it?"
"You should learn how to dance," Lara said.
"Huh? why?" Karna spurted out.
"It will not look good on the house Zarx if you do not dance with anyone in the ballroom. And naturally, you will have to learn properly in order to not make fool of yourself." Lara said with guilty conscience.
"Hm, Fine then." Karna did not want to disappoint The Zarx name so he readily agreed.
And so, Lara began teaching Karna some social etiquette and dance inside the carriage.
Even while traveling, Karna did not miss his training. Karna understood that Magic Spells had their circuit which mages have to understand to cast a spell, there are complex calculations of Mana quantity and whatnot, and everything needs to be perfect for a successful casting.
In two more days, Karna finally managed to get inspiration for bringing the mana out of the body by asking for pointers from Mage Oliver. Now he just had to learn the circuits of the Apprentice-level spells and try casting those spells. Then he will truly be called an Apprentice Mage.