Tamara beamed for the first time in a while. Her smile was as divine as before. It swept away the gloom that had been lingering in the cave. "My dear, Tyrak! Let me ask you this. Who are the strongest individuals you know of?"
"Legend Rangers and Warriors," Tyrak replied. "From what I have heard, legends have unmatched powers in the world. They can defeat armies of a thousand men singlehandedly."
"What you have said is not entirely correct," Tamara enunciated. "It's true that legend rangers and warriors can take down armies singlehandedly. But that doesn't imply that they are the powerhouses standing at the top of Othea."
"They are not! Who could be stronger than them?" Tyrak couldn't mask his astonishment.
Tyrak's father had been a ranger with a distinguished standing in the Albrorian Empire. Through him, he learned a lot of information regarding the powerhouses of Othea at an early age.
From what he had learned, there were four ranks of rangers and warriors. The least powerful of the bunch were ordinary rank rangers, who could effortlessly match against five adult men singlehandedly.
Above them were the ranks of master and grandmaster rangers and warriors. Combatants in those grades had the capability to overwhelm gangs of twenty to a hundred bandits with cold weapons.
But even then, the masters and grandmasters were still not the mightiest powerhouses walking the land. Above them were the elusive legend-rank rangers and warriors. Tyrak had learned from his father that those legend-rank powerhouses were mighty beyond measure. They could decimate hordes of enemies with bare fists, and because of that, they had a very eminent standing wherever they went. So, considering all that, you could imagine his surprise when he heard that they weren't the strongest individuals in Othea.
"My dear, Tyrak!" Tamara said after taking in Tyrak's amazed expression. "Let me educate you. Above the legends are a group of powerful spell casters known as warlocks. A single official warlock can decimate hundreds of rangers and warriors at the legend rank with a single outburst of simple spells. The Oracle Temple (from where I hail) is also a warlock organization. Even though it's a non-combatant organization that mainly focuses on divination and studying the mysteries of fate, it still has many capable warlocks in its ranks who can lay waste to flocks of legend-rank rangers and warriors. Once upon a time, I got an opportunity to witness a senior going against a horde of savage beasts. With just a single wave of his arm, he unleashed a rain of fire that burnt more than a thousand beasts into oblivion. And all that happened within a very short span few seconds."
"This..." Tyrak felt like his worldview had been overturned again. He thought he had grown powerful after obtaining a blessing from the mysterious entity. But after hearing about the powers of the warlocks from Tamara, he cast that notion away. If he could fail to hunt down a few rabbits, then how could he face off against a warlock who could burn down a thousand beasts with a simple gesture? By the look of things, he was still a humble nobody on the larger scale of things.
"Phew..." Tyrak exhaled a lungful to calm himself down. Staring at Tamara intently, he asked, "I saw you extracting those bolts with a wave of your hand. Are you also a warlock?"
"No! I'm an apprentice oracle. I'm yet to cross the threshold and become an official warlock."
"Is there a difference between oracles and warlocks?"
"Oracles are warlocks specializing in divination spells, curses, and rituals. As I already said, they usually have limited or no combat power. They mainly rely on their fate slaves for protection during active battles. At the moment, I'm an apprentice oracle and can still cast rank-0 earth spells to protect myself. I can even hold my own against a legend-rank ranger or warrior. But after I break through the bottleneck and become an official oracle, I might lose that limited combat power and become weak as a mortal. Then, I'll have to rely on a fate slave to be my sword while I focus on unraveling the mysteries of fate."
"Oh, I see," Tyrak said, creasing his brows. "But there's still something I don't understand. How come I have never heard anything about warlocks?"
Tamara smiled knowingly. "We're currently on a small barren island just beyond the coast of the Northern Continent. On this land, there are only a few primitive empires that have no warlock heritage. It's natural that you have never heard anything about warlocks and the powers they command."
"Primitive empires!" A strange expression manifested on Tyrak's face. Even though he wasn't very knowledgeable regarding geography, he was still aware that the land he was on was massive.
There were three large empires occupying the land. The Albrorian Empire, his motherland, was in the northeast, the Lympshile Theocracy in the northwest, and the Grand Duchy of Framland in the south.
At a young age, Tyrak had learned from his mother that the three empires were enormous beyond measure. They each spanned more than ten thousand miles and housed populations of people in the trillions. They had also stood for close to a millennium while forming a balanced power triangle on the land. At times, they would, of course, go to war while contesting for resources. But they would never take things far since each possessed robust military might. Considering all that, Tyrak was perplexed when he heard Tamara call such mighty nations some primitive empires.
"Do you not believe that the empires on this land are primitive?" Tamara asked after taking in Tyrak's expression.
"That's not it," Tyrak said, shaking his head. "I'm just surprised. According to you, these are some backward and primitive lands. So, why are you here? Why is a person from a place as grand and mysterious as the Oracle Temple here on this land? Aren't you just wasting your valuable time with us, primitives?"
"Tee-hee..." Tamara tittered. "I didn't take you for one who likes to make fun of others. But it seems like I was terribly wrong. To answer your question, of course, there's a reason why I'm here. In fact, it's not just me alone. But many other young men and women from various warlock organizations have made long journeys and descended upon this land for one sole reason..." She paused and glanced at Tyrak with a mysterious smile.
"Stop keeping me in suspense..." Tyrak urged impatiently. "What is the reason?"
"You're really impatient," said Tamara, voice bright and cheerful. "But no matter. I'll answer your question. We're here to explore a magical ruin that will soon appear within the boundaries of this small state you call the Albrorian Empire. If my estimations are not wrong, the ruin should reveal itself within twenty to thirty days."
"A magical ruin!" Tyrak mumbled the words, and a shudder went through his entire body. Something seemed to resonate within his mind, and at that moment, he immediately comprehended that the ruin was the very same one that the mysterious entity had talked about. Glancing at Tamara, he asked, "Can you tell me more about this magical ruin?"
Tamara did not answer but regarded him for a moment. "Why are you asking?" She questioned. "Do you wish to enter the ruin?"
"Yes," Tyrak answered readily.
"You better not."
"Why?"
"As I already stated, many prodigies from top warlock institutions will be entering the ruin to contest for its resources. These are young men and women who can effortlessly end your life. Should you get into a conflict with them, you won't even know how you died."
"I understand the danger," Tyrak said, "But I still wish to explore the ruin." He had already promised the mysterious entity to pick a statue from the ruin. Thus, even though the place was dangerous, he still had to venture inside and fulfill his promise to the mysterious entity. There was no way around that.
"You're serious?" Tamara asked as she continued to regard Tyrak with a calm expression. "You understand that you will likely lose your life when you venture into the ruin. Don't you?"
"Yes, I understand. But I still wish to explore the ruin. Didn't you say something about teaching me to utilize my powerful physique for combat? More than twenty days still remain before the appearance of the ruin. That's more than enough time to help me refine my combat ability to an acceptable level. Isn't that right?"
"I have no answer to that," Tamara said calmly. "The rate at which you can master combat sense and matching abilities depends on your talent and comprehension for battle. If you're a genius, you can master unparalleled combat techniques within a day. But if your innate comprehension abilities are lacking, not even ten years will be enough to improve your combat ability even by a slight margin."
"I see." Tyrak's eyes lit up. "Didn't you just say my potential is boundless according to your divination? If that's the case, then I should have no problem mastering the art of combat within a few days. Don't you think so?"
"This..." Tamara narrowed her eyes and gave Tyrak a once-over. "I guess you're right about your potential. But for now, let's eat something before taking some time to rest. I'll begin instructing you tomorrow morning. Hope you can improve before the ruin appears."
"Thanks a lot," Tyrak said with a smile. "I'll do my utmost to master your teachings in the shortest time possible. As for the food, let's just forget about it."
Of course, Tyrak was still guarded against the girl who had almost enslaved him. He just couldn't bring himself to trust her fully. But even then, he was still willing to learn from her since he wished to improve his combat abilities before the ruin appeared.