Mages lived long lives, much longer than Commoners or Knights, so they had many friends and even more acquaintances. Even if Halvor preferred a hermit life in the snowy forest, he had met a lot of people in his 55 years and obviously had friends too.
Everyone looked at Halvor puzzled, waiting for him to answer. They had been together in the same house for almost two weeks, but they had heard nothing about the man in front of them.
However, it was as if Halvor didn't realize it, Evan's and Klaus's insistent stares didn't bother him in any way.
"Halvor... I think you need to introduce us, this pause has gone on too long." Angus uttered, scratching his cheek.
"Right, yeah, you're absolutely right!" Halvor nodded vigorously, standing up and pointing at Angus, "This is Angus, an old friend of mine. He's a Creator and an Alchemist! He was the one who taught me how to make the simplest of potions!"
Angus nodded.
"Mr. Angus... You can sit next to me..." Ruby timidly offered, moving aside.
Angus may have been ready to accept her offer, but as soon as he looked at Klaus his eyes flashed.
Angus shook his head, "I think it's better if I sit next to the other guys. 4 on 4 is better than 5 on 3, isn't it?"
Ruby didn't answer anything, she just nodded shyly.
"Help yourself! Damn, Angus, how did you even get here?" Halvor said cheerfully.
Angus filled the glass, shook it slightly from side to side, and replied, "Well, I'd like to say it's just a lucky coincidence, but it's not."
"Hmm?" Halvor gave him a questioning look.
Angus smirked, "I've been doing some work for Azure Cross recently, so I've made some acquaintances there. Anyway, I know about the dark mage and that Alf Lovaas invited you to his place."
Halvor's eyes went wide, "Oh, so you want to come with us then?"
Angus shook his head, "I have quite a bit of work to do these days, so this night is the most I can spare for you. By the way, there's something I've been meaning to ask you about."
"Sure. I'll answer any question you have!"
"Fine." Angus nodded, then glanced around at everyone, not stopping at anyone in particular, "You weren't the one who killed the dark mage, right?"
"Eik!"
Halvor was caught off guard, Angus realized it easily, but not because he could read his mind, but because Angus knew Halvor very well.
"You are a rather humble man, but you like to talk about your battles in all colors. However, despite such a resounding victory you haven't said anything yet, so it wasn't you who did it, but... Who?" Angus uttered, looking intently at everyone.
Even though Lana, Reine, and Ruby were mages, Angus only looked at them for a few seconds, his gaze lingered longer on Hana but passed on as well.
In the end, there were only two candidates left, Klaus and Evan.
"Hah, since you're so smart, can you guess? Your chances are 50/50!" Klaus leaned on the back of his chair, clearly attracting attention.
"50/50? Nice try, but I don't need to guess, because I have one theory and I can test it right now." Angus said, pulling a small pouch out from under his robe, and taking out a bundle of white herbs.
He shook it slightly, sending forth tiny white pieces that covered their table.
"To defeat a strong opponent, you have to be either stronger or smarter, but there is another way." Angus said before taking a deep breath, the smell from the white pieces headed towards him, and his face changed slightly.
"One must defeat an opponent at his own game... A dark mage and demonologist can be defeated by another demonic art user." Angus muttered before looking at Evan with an unhidden smile.
Evan raised an eyebrow, "Should I applaud?"
Angus shrugged, "Nah, it was just a little game. In fact, I sensed the demonic energy from you right away. However, I just had to make sure of it."
"So... What do we do next?" Klaus asked, looking at Angus with interest.
Mages were rare compared to Commoners and Knights, but Alchemists were even rarer. Alchemists were also Mages, but only some of the Mages became Alchemists. It required patience, time, and true interest as well as talent.
"Well, we can just keep chatting about various topics, or we can quickly head to my house, or rather the nearest one." Angus suggested with a sly smile.
Then, he looked at Halvor, "That dark mage created a lot of monsters, so... You must have collected a significant amount of the Cores, right?"
Halvor nodded, "Yeah, there are 37 in total, all First Rank."
Angus crossed his arms over his chest and nodded, "Good, very good. Anyway, as an introduction and as a thank you for the food and drink, I invite you to my home, and I want to make you potions from these Cores. Halvor is my friend, so I won't charge you, but just this once."
Evan and Klaus looked at each other. Unlike Lana, Reine, and Ruby whose eyes shone brightly with admiration, they realized that this was only a convenient excuse and that Angus's true purpose was something else.
Seeing their reactions Angus inwardly smirked.
'Hah, these two are Commoners, but each is hiding some terrible secret capable of changing not only theirs but the lives of others as well. Good thing these two have met, they'll be interesting to watch.'
Halvor waved his hand, catching the waitress's attention, "We're leaving! Bring me two more bottles! Hahahahahaha! What a lovely day it is!"
...
Angus's house, or rather workshop was not far from Firnorm, only an hour's journey, and they found themselves near the entrance to the swamps that were half covered with snow, constantly coming from the mountain range.
However, the other part of the swamps seemed to be in another world, as there was no snow, and it was wet and damp.
The reason for this was the special plants that absorbed mana and produced heat. Angus chose this place mainly because of this, as it showed there was a large concentration of mana, which helped him in his work.
The workshop was next to the swamp, covered by a transparent protective dome that only Angus could disable.
"Well, welcome to my home. I haven't cleaned this place recently, so don't swear too much." Angus said with a smile, holding a stone with a blue rune.
He walked effortlessly through the dome, inviting the others to enter.
Evan looked around with interest at the unusual plants.
'Curious... Does he really use all of these for his potions? But more importantly, what exactly is he going to make out of Cores?'