The Underground Market
This place exists in the underground at the outskirts of the capital.
All the criminals and black magicians wanted by the Empire and Great noble families lives here . Only the top black magicians and criminals live here.
A shadowy figure emerged from a portal . His hairs were white and his skin was falling out . He was all skin and bones and was breathing and sweating profusely.
This was Thalnos, a powerful black magician, his body frail and gaunt from years of forbidden practices.
"If I had stayed for even one minute, that bastard Edgar would have killed me," he muttered, his voice raspy.
Shit now I am in even a bigger mess .
Before it was difficult to even collect resources for black magicians as the Empire has banned us .
But now both the church and the Verna family will follow my trail like crazy.
"Those church bastards never told me that both William and that bitch's student Jasmin were his adopted parents," Thalnos cursed.
This trip had been a total loss. He had even lost a skeleton warrior he had invested so much in.
But at least not many people knew about that boy Vedik. And even his parents would try to keep it a secret as long as possible.
"So I still have a chance to catch him," Thalnos thought. "I just want to slice him up and research his miraculous body, and then..."
The Tavern
Ray introduced his little sister, Rose, to Vedik and the others. Rose, with a shy smile, said, "Hello, my name is Rose."
Vedik introduced himself and asked what she would like to eat. Rose replied, "Ice cream," her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Vedik ordered ice cream for Rose, and they all sat together.
After dinner, Rose became sleepy, so Vedik showed Ray to his room. After putting Rose to bed, Vedik started talking to Ray.
While talking although Ray was trying to appear normal, Vedik could sense that something was wrong.
They sat back down at the table. Ray said, "I have something to tell you all." He then cast a sound barrier spell so nobody could hear their conversation.
Then Ray started telling that both he and his sister are orphans. Life here is tough and he wanted to let his sister eat and sleep under a roof.
So he had to resort to pickpocketing and gather information which could be sold for money .
Their is a large gang here known as Red Eagle where he used to work as they provided shelter for Rose.
Vedik listening to this felt sad and depressed . Without his parents and Raj , he would have been in the same situation .
Ray continued, "This time, I was given a mission to make your family stay in the city for a reason I don't know. But I had to do it as they were threatening me with my sister."
Listening to this, Vedik's smile vanished. He stared at everyone present.
There was no change in expression on the faces of Edgar, William, and Jasmin.
Vedik understood that they already knew. He stared at Ray, whose eyes were downcast with guilt.
He tried to process the situation. If he was in Ray's place , he would have done the same . But even if that is the case , he just couldn't forgive Ray.
If he was a regular person with a family they would surely have suffered from this and even more could have happened . There lives could have been in danger.
Seeing Vedik's expression, Ray felt even more guilty. He said, "The Red Eagle Gang usually only tries to loot a little money from noble families who pass through the city.
They're said to be connected to a great noble family, so many simply pay the money rather than fight."
Edgar , William and Jasmin listening to this showed no change in expression.
Vedik couldn't process it so he said , "I need some time alone . He then went to his room.
Ray slowly mumbled, "Please let my sister stay. I'll find somewhere else to sleep."
But Edgar booked a room for Ray and said, "Stay here. They'll soon know that your sister isn't in the orphanage, so they'll search for you."
With a guilty face, Ray walked towards the rooms. His room was beside Vedik's, and he wanted to talk and apologize , but he didn't have the courage.
After Ray had left, Jasmin and William talked with Edgar.
Edgar said, "That boy Ray is quite intelligent. After getting his sister safe, he asked me if he could get a job. He already understood that the situation of this city is going to worsen."
"Ray had told me that he's a warrior but till now I didn't knew that he can even use a tier 2 spell which even the warriors of great Nobel family could not and ," Edgar continued. "This shows he's very talented.
Let's give him a job of being Vedik's servant. They already know each other, and due to his guilt, Ray wouldn't betray Vedik."
His only condition is letting him live with his sister and providing them with basic needs. Which is easy.
William nodded and said it is a good idea. As he remembered how it was almost impossible for a warrior to learn a tier 1 spell.
Ray learning even one tier 2 spell showed that his potential was enormous.
"How can an orphan boy be this talented?" William wondered.
Jasmin smiled mysteriously. "You'll know very soon." Then she headed to Vedik's room.
In Vedik's Room
Vedik was sad that Ray had used him. He was also angry, but seeing little Rose sleeping, he couldn't bring himself to be angry.
He would have done the same in Ray's situation.
Suddenly , his mother, Jasmin entered his room, and saw Vedik's sad face.
"My son, don't feel sad. You didn't do anything wrong," she said.
"But Mom, your life could have been in danger," Vedik replied. "It would have been my fault if I had insisted on helping him. And if you all already knew, why didn't you stop me?"
Jasmin said calmly, "Vedik, we wanted to teach you that it's not always as it seems. You can't trust anyone without seeing the full picture."
"Also, what you did was right. If it wasn't, I would have stopped you and Mr. Edgar from helping," Jasmin continued.
"Soon, you'll become a part of a great noble family. So we wanted to teach you this lesson."
"What should I do about Ray? Although I sympathize with him, I just can't forgive him," Vedik asked.
Jasmin patted Vedik's head and said it may take some time but I know that with time you will forgive him.
"Also , the situation of this city will soon change for the worse. So we've decided that tomorrow you, me, and William will leave the city. Say your goodbyes to Ray and Rose."
With that, Jasmin left the room. And with a mysterious smile entered Ray's room.