When Arthur Hebrew returned to the Charity White House, his appearance was a mess.
His face was grimy, his clothes tattered, and he had even lost a sleeve. The knees of his pants were worn down. Now, Arthur looked like a miner who had just been through a collapse. His family had already fallen asleep, and he had only briefly mentioned to Mrs. Lily and Katerina that he would be coming back late. It had been a long time since he shared his actions with his family. Arthur quickly tidied himself up a bit and sat on the couch in the living room, softly repeating to himself:
"They weren't killed by me." These words were his self-reminder, a way to fill the emotional wounds in his heart with continuous self-deception. It wasn't the best method for dealing with psychological issues, but Arthur didn't want anyone to know about it, except for the one involved—Parish. After obtaining the Elikrom Fang, which could drag people into dreams, the voice that had been haunting him in his ears disappeared. Arthur had no intention of discussing this with Parish. What mattered more to him now was making himself forget about the bodies in the underground dungeon.
The next morning, Katerina, wearing a white dress, descended the stairs to prepare breakfast for Mrs. Lily, only to be startled by the sight of the disheveled boy sitting on the couch.
"Arthur? What are you doing here? Why are your eyes so red? What happened to you?" Katerina rushed to him and found his dirty and disheveled appearance, covering her mouth in shock. Ever since Arthur started going to the underground fighting arena, communication between him and Katerina had become less frequent. Every time Katerina invited him to go shopping or have fun, Arthur would come up with excuses to avoid it.
Having not slept for the entire night, Arthur's eyes were bloodshot, his mouth twitching as he muttered to himself. With dirt from the dungeon and his skin cracking from lack of water, he looked like a homeless man from Tapler Street. Katerina's voice roused him from his self-absorbed state. He looked outside at the sky, with the first rays of the morning sun casting their light—it was another hopeful golden moon day.
As usual, Arthur smiled apologetically at Katerina, stretched lazily, rubbed his reddened eyes, and quickly found an excuse to cover for himself: "Sorry, Katerina, I need to go out again. The volunteer organization is going to the East Gate today."
Katerina saw through his poorly crafted lie, and when she tried to ask him what he was really up to, she noticed the explosive muscles on his exposed arms, like that of a cheetah. She instinctively took a step back and placed her hands in a prayer-like position. Because of George, she had a deep respect for the gods. Arthur was no longer the seven-year-old child he once was. Just like George before him, they both had their own secrets.
Katerina believed that, between true family members, appropriate personal space was even more important. She was willing to give Arthur this space.
"Arthur, I just hope you promise me one thing: don't put yourself in danger, okay?"
Arthur turned back, somewhat surprised by the attitude Katerina showed. Only someone who truly cared for him would show concern without stopping him from doing what he wanted. Arthur stepped forward and hugged Katerina, showing his respect for her, who was much taller than him.
"Thank you, Katerina. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll be back for dinner tonight."
With that, Arthur opened the door and left the Charity White House.
"Has he returned?" Mrs. Lily, looking somewhat older, walked out of her room. She had spent the night worrying about Arthur's safety, unable to sleep. She didn't know exactly what Arthur was doing, but from the injuries he came home with time after time, she knew he was doing something dangerous. Mrs. Lily didn't know how to bring up the subject of stopping Arthur from doing that thing.
Katerina, gazing at the sunlight pouring in through the open door, felt a drop of crystal-clear tear fall, but she was in a good mood.
"He's left again, but this time he told me he'd be back for dinner. Mrs. Lily, how about we have beef for dinner tonight?"
Mrs. Lily, smiling, placed her hand on Katerina's shoulder. "Of course, my good daughter." Katerina leaned on Mrs. Lily's stooped shoulders, looking in the direction Arthur had gone.
At the underground fighting arena in Tapler Street 114, Arthur touched the closure notice posted on the iron door of the underground entrance, deep in thought.
A giant figure appeared at the top of the stairs, casting a shadow over Arthur. It was Cookie.
"The boss was injured," he said, "Mr. Elrandon is taking care of him."
Parish? Arthur asked Cookie to take him to see Night Eagle.
Night Eagle's healing area was on the upper floors of Building 114. No hospital would take in a non-naturalized beastman, except for that madman Jess. Night Eagle was lying on a large round red bed, his body covered in blood, and what was more surprising was that his left arm had been cleanly severed at the shoulder joint. At that moment, Night Eagle was enthusiastically discussing last night's battle with Parish, while a brown-skinned elven girl nestled in Night Eagle's fur, trembling gently.
"The monster who used wind, his strength is almost on par with you standing in the river, but what's even more terrifying is that he can create the environment for himself to fight in. Do you understand? He can whip up a strong wind right there!" Night Eagle was talking excitedly, showing no signs of pain despite the fact his left arm had been severed.
Parish, however, did not pay attention to Night Eagle and was focused on controlling the blood within Night Eagle's body. The brown elven girl had been crying for who knows how long, curled up in Night Eagle's fur.
Night Eagle noticed Arthur's arrival first. Cookie had led Arthur to the upper floor of 114. This area was originally a hotel, but due to the peculiarities of Tapler Street, the hotel had quickly gone out of business, and Night Eagle had taken over, turning it into his nest. The upper rooms were just a resting and activity space for Night Eagle and his employees.
"Kid, I heard you buried a bunch of patrol squad trash last night. Nice job!" Night Eagle laughed loudly, but when he inadvertently moved his left shoulder, the pain made him stifle the laughter.
Arthur, initially worried about how severe Night Eagle's injury was, was now unconcerned. After a night of self-reflection, Arthur attributed the events in the dungeon to Elikrom's Fang.
"Mr. Parish, was there nothing else that happened after last night?" he asked.
"Of course not," Parish smiled, "I think I look fine now, don't I?"
"Then what about Night Eagle?"
"A damn wind mage did this. We fought behind Rose Manor last night. I didn't feel good, and neither did he." Night Eagle spat on the ground, not wanting to talk more about it.
A wind mage? Arthur vaguely remembered the fence he had kicked over while escaping in the dark the previous night. He had initially thought it was his own doing. It seemed that it was the work of the wind mage.
"Arthur," Parish interrupted Arthur's thoughts, "have you considered the matter we discussed?"
Parish was referring to becoming a sorcerer, a decision Arthur had already made. Before going to the Rose Manor dungeon, he had already decided to become a sorcerer. Parish would call Arthur by his full name when others were present but would refer to him as Hebrew when they were alone.
"I've decided. I want to become a sorcerer. What should I do, Mr. Parish?"
Parish did not answer immediately. Instead, he snapped his fingers, and the mirrored world opened, letting only Arthur, Night Eagle, and Cookie enter.
"Becoming a sorcerer is actually quite simple. The essence of it is really about communicating with the elements, just like we're doing now."
Arthur nodded, but he thought to himself that he had tried this as a child, though it didn't work very well.
"The way to communicate is to speak directly with the essence of the elements. If you are chosen by nature, the elements will naturally respond to you."
Essence? Arthur focused on this word. It seemed different from the things he had done as a child when he just spoke to flowers and plants. Now, thinking back on it, he felt ashamed of his childish actions.
"You're not wrong. The key is the essence." Parish interrupted Arthur's thoughts. "Finding the essence of the element and absorbing it into your body to transform it is the necessary condition for becoming a sorcerer."