But Zack was pretty sure it wasn't the child's condition alone that had the caravan folks watching in disgust. It was the hair. He knew it was cliché, but it made sense. Most dark wizards who dabbled in dark mana had black hair, tainted by their practice. And those dark wizards nearly obliterated the continent a thousand years ago.
Thankfully, the people of that time managed to put a stop to them. But the scars remained, like the abyss in the Forest of Death, a lingering reminder of that dark era. So, anyone with black hair was shunned by society. It wasn't just condemnation; it was total rejection. People didn't even want to touch someone with black hair. Their status was lower than that of dogs.
That's why, despite the coachman's increasingly harsh insults and the onlookers' urging, he refused to drag the child away.
However, Zack watched the child with conflicted eyes. In his past life, he'd had black hair too. Yeah, you guessed it - he was Asian. Not that he was going to tell you which part of Asia, though. If the child hadn't had black hair, he might've just ignored the whole situation.
He knew he was being a hypocrite. He could feel the guilt gnawing at him for the child's plight, but deep down, he knew he'd still ignore the kid easily if it wasn't for the kid's hair because saving the child wouldn't give him any benefits. Heck, he even felt guilty for killing his enemy's but he still did it anyway for resources.
As the whispers from the onlookers grew louder, openly pointing at the child, and the coaches began ordering the knights to rough the kid up to clear the way, Zack's complicated eyes hardened with a bit of determination. He unleashed his mana with a powerful command.
"SILENCE!"
A wave of mana rippled out from him, pressing down on everyone in the caravan. He ramped up the pressure, even targeting the level 1 guardian wizard when the guy tried to cast a spell, forcing him to his knees.
"I'll take the child with me," Zack declared as he levitated the kid using his mana. Without a second thought, he whisked the child away into the forest. There was no way he could stay in the caravan after this.
Once he was gone, the pressure lifted, and the wizard let out a breath, panting heavily. "Heugh hah hah." A 5000 MP pressure was no joke.
The knights were able to move again, but since the pressure on everyone else besides the wizards had been lighter, they dared to ask the wizard if it was okay to go after Zack.
The wizard shook his head with an ugly face. "If you want to die, go after him yourself. Don't drag others into it! He's an esteemed level 2 wizard. There's nothing we can do."
With that, the knights widened their eyes in shock. The wizard just stood up and waved his hand, "Let's just start the caravan."
…
Meanwhile, Zack's dashing through the forest. Once he figured he was far enough from the road, he paused, the kid still floating on beside him. Somewhere along the way, the kid had passed out.
He busted out the [Clean] spell and zapped the kid's body clean. All the gunk, dirt, and dried blood disappeared in a flash. The kid's hair puffed up from being all greasy and tangled. Gotta hand it to this spell, it's pretty darn handy.
Next up, he hit the kid with a basic healing spell he knew, fixing up all the cuts and bruises on the kid's arms and legs. The scars stuck around though; he'd need some fancier healing magic to deal with those. Meh, no biggie. At least now, even though the kid still looked like a skeleton, they were a clean skeleton.
He whipped out his spare magic robe and draped it over the rags on the kid's body. He didn't feel like stripping the kid's clothes off. Figured the kid could handle that themselves later. With the magic robe on, the kid looked halfway decent.
Then, he ditched his mask and changed his appearance. Quick side note, even when he wore his mask, he'd still change up his body shape, hair, and face just in case his mask got wrecked in a fight. Didn't want his cover as a magic tower apprentice blowing up in his face.
But now, he had to change his look again, since he'd been spotted by that last caravan. He also slapped an illusion spell on the kid's hair to make it look brown.
Once Zack had everything sorted out, he hit the road again. But this time, he made sure to backtrack from the direction of Mossley to steer clear of his previous caravan. Yep, he planned to hitch a ride with a passing caravan. Do you really think he's gonna find a cave and hole up there with the kid?
First off, all Zack's got in his storage ring are beef jerkies. He polished off the good stuff like tender steaks and cakes from the tower ages ago. In this world, time in the storage ring keeps ticking, so the food spoils just as fast as it would outside the ring.
But even if he still had the good stuff in there, could he really feed someone with an empty stomach for that long? He wasn't sure if the kid's belly could handle it. He reckoned the kid needed something more soothing, like porridge, but that's not exactly his specialty.
And secondly, and maybe more importantly, remember he's all about kicking back and chilling? Yep, he's still set on that. He's not up for sprinting through the forest all the way to Mossley. So, he just hangs out on the side of the road, kid in his arms.
Carrying the kid's a breeze. Plus, the kid's as light as a feather, and even if they were heavier, he could handle it no problem thanks to his always-on [Lightning Flesh]. With that going, his physical strength is up there with those level 7 magic knights, which are like level 1 wizards for magic knights.
When he spots a caravan passing by, he asks if he can tag along. Throws out some random story about being ditched by his old caravan. Obviously, the other folks don't trust him one bit. Just as the caravan leader's about to shut him down, Zack tosses a handful of cash their way.
Instantly changes the game. The leader's all smiles, even clears out a carriage for him. Heh, money talks, right? And if it doesn't, you just need more money. Just like that, he's back in with a caravan. Sets the kid up on one side of the bed, plops down on the other, and activates his warning and defense arrays before he hits the hay.
Oh, and quick side note, an array's like a formation but portable, though it's not as potent as a formation with the same amount of mana stones.
…
A few hours later, Zack woke up feeling all refreshed, and he noticed some movement beside him. The kid had woken up and was watching him with a mix of fear, nervousness, and gratitude.
The kid thanked him like crazy, voice trembling with gratitude. But then, right in the middle of it all, the kid's stomach let out a rumble loud enough to wake up the whole camp. The kid's face, previously tense with nerves, turned as red as a tomato from embarrassment.
Zack couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Dang, he thought stuff like this only happened in novels or something. But wait, wasn't he (supposedly) inside a novel too? Meh, whatever.
Lucky for them, the caravan had stopped to camp for the night, as per usual. Like in all those stories, this caravan didn't mess around with traveling after dark to avoid getting attacked by magic beasts or bandits.
So, Zack dragged the kid out to the middle of the camp. The kid put up a bit of a fight at first, but then Zack remembered something. He'd mentioned being a wizard and changing the kid's hair temporarily.
That got the kid's attention real quick. The kid looked surprised and even tugged on his hair to check it out. Only then did the kid agree to step outside.
Once they were out there, the caravan leader welcomed Zack with a big smile and mentioned they were just about to send someone to let him know about dinner.
The leader asked Zack if he wanted to eat with everyone else or have the meal brought to his carriage. Zack decided to join the gang around the campfire. He also made sure to request some porridge, since he didn't spot any on the menu.
The leader wasted no time in getting the chefs to whip up some porridge. After grabbing their grub, Zack and the kid settled down by the bonfire. The rest of the caravan folks were chowing down and chatting away, just like one big happy family.
Surrounded by the lively chatter of folks and soaking in the warmth from the bonfire, Zack felt himself unwind. The kid seemed to be easing up too. Once he noticed the kid's relaxing, he struck up a conversation.
Turns out, the kid's name was Fannie. When Zack asked about Fannie's background or why he ended up in such a sorry state, Fannie clammed up or just gave vague answers.
As Zack was chatting with Fannie, he suddenly sensed the auras of 30 people heading their way. Twenty-five of them had the vibe of level 6 magic knights, while the other five had a wizard-like aura.
But here's the kicker: there was something different about their auras. They had this vibe of "sacredness," especially the five of them. Their auras didn't match up with your typical magic knight or wizard—it was like a pure sense of holiness.
Hmm... They had to be knights and priests from the Holy Empire. Zack hadn't met them, but he'd read about them in one of the library books. The question was, what were they doing here?
This was Fulminar Empire territory, and whatever they were up to, it definitely wasn't good.
Zack had a hunch that the Holy Empire's forces were gunning for him and Fannie. Or maybe, since he had zero ties to the Holy Empire, they were actually after Fannie. But just in case he was off-base and the forces were after the caravan, he knew they had to split up with the caravan.
Sighing, he cursed under his breath. It seemed like after ages of peace in the tower, trouble just kept finding its way to him.
Out of kindness, Zack tipped off the caravan leader about the incoming Holy Empire forces. True to his word, the leader took Zack seriously, probably because everyone knew Zack was an esteemed level 1 wizard. Yep, using [Hidden Strength], Zack adjusted his mana level at a whopping 800 mp, and since he didn't hide it, other wizards, including the caravan leader's apprentice wizards, could sense his power.
However, even though the leader believed Zack, his eyes took on a strange look as he spoke in a roundabout way about thinking Zack's crew might be what the Holy Empire forces were after. So, the leader suggested splitting up.
Zack wasn't offended. This was actually what he wanted. Even though he enjoyed traveling with the caravan, this situation called for something different. He scooped up Fannie in a princess carry, and Fannie blushed like crazy. What the heck? Hmm… now that he thought about it, he'd feel pretty embarrassed too if he were carried by a guy. His ego wouldn't handle it.
Pushing that thought aside, he warned Fannie not to resist what he was about to do. He hit Fannie with some [Body Enhancement - Lightning] because he was about to haul ass at high speed, and Fannie's body wouldn't be able to handle it otherwise. Plus, he wanted to test out a theory.
He also let some of the lightning coursing through his veins, the [Lightning Flesh], to crackle above his skin too, just to look badass. Then, once they were both glowing with mild electric arcs, they vanished into thin air, speeding into the forest.
Sure enough, the Holy Empire forces, who had been heading straight for them, paused for a moment and then continued off toward their previous location, the caravan. Zack's theory was spot on!
Previously, after zapping Fannie with [Body Enhancement - Lightning], he also activated his [Stealth]. The [Hidden Strength] in [Stealth] extended to Fannie through his mana, hiding Fannie's presence just like it did for Zack. Damn! Long live his golden finger! long live his transmigrator privilege!
Though he couldn't pull off [Environment Mimicry] on Fannie since he couldn't control Fannie's mana to make the concealment perfect, it didn't matter. He wasn't planning on getting anywhere near those forces.
Off to Mossley they went!