By the time they finished their duel, the afternoon had faded off into the setting of the evening, with sunset dipping low upon the horizon into orange and crimson colours.
Rodger turned to Aleck and stated, "Late in the afternoon. You have to go to Anna."
Aleck, amidst his conversation, looked up as he caught glimpses of dusk falling in through the window in the room of Perora.
"I think so too," Perora said brightly, but her voice betrayed a slight hesitation. "But don't worry, we can always talk more tomorrow."
Aleck nodded and started to get up, but before he could take one step forward, a familiar figure emerged from the darkness of the shed.
Dan, who had dressed up in full armor, approached Aleck with a very serious expression. His face, usually relaxed or teasing, was grim and uncharacteristic.
Stopping in front of Aleck, Dan hesitated for a moment before bowing his head slightly. "I don't know how to say this, but. I'm really sorry about today. I got carried away. I went overboard."
Without waiting for a reply, Dan turned and walked away, disappearing into the distance.
Perora moved closer to Aleck and put an apologetic smile on her face. "Even being a man, he behaves like a child at times," she whispered. "I am sorry, Aleck. He probably already has sentry duty for tonight—that's why he hurried off."
Dan performed nightly sentry duties that protected the son of Count Hamzel. His apology though quick still had the hallmarks of sincerety.
Aleck was silent for a moment. He let his eyes go over Dan's retreating figure before he turned back toward Perora. "It's fine," he said simply, then started walking towards Anna's.
Aleck walked by the same trail he and Brad had covered in the early morning hours. Endless space spread above him - a dark velvet with shining crystal pieces: still beautiful, and all at odds with the tension throbbing in him. Quiet leaves rustling, distant murmur of the river offered an uncanny feeling of peace.
As he came to the old bridge, movement near the riverbank caught his eye. Two figures were hunched over, tossing heavy bags into the water. Their actions were hurried, their movements sharp with desperation. Aleck's instincts flared. Something was wrong.
"What are you doing?" Aleck called out evenly from the slope above, his voice cutting through the ambient noise of the night.
The two men froze, their heads snapping toward him. One cursed under his breath.
"Damn it!" he hissed. "I told you we should've waited, but no—you had to do it now, didn't you?"
The other man, larger and more imposing, glanced up and spat into the dirt. "Relax. It's just a kid," he muttered. "We'll scare him off."
The first man smiled with teeth that almost gleamed pale in the moonlight. "Yeah, kid. Do yourself a favor and turn around, forget you've ever seen a thing. No harm, no foul."
Aleck's stare narrowed as he absorbed their sights. Their rags were dusty and stained industrial squalor and reeked of such mire. The sweat, desperation clung to them as if it clung to human skin.
Instead of retreating, Aleck slid down the slope, his movements deliberate and calm. Without a word, he crouched near one of the bags they had discarded, loosened its tie, and peered inside. A wave of noxious fumes hit him—chemical waste, vile and unmistakable.
"You're dumping this into the river," Aleck said, his voice low but steely.
One of them stepped forward, his grin faltering. "What if we are? Not your business, kid. Walk away before—"
Before he could finish Aleck vanished from sight, then reappeared directly behind him almost instantly, an insider knowledge kick powered by resonance striking him on the side with a resounding thud sending him sprawling into the dirt.
The second man's eyes widened in shock. His hand shot to his belt, yanking out a knife. "You little—"
He flung the blade with trembling hands, panic driving his aim. But Aleck sidestepped the attack effortlessly, his movements smooth and precise.
The running man ran desperately, his feet pounding the dirt in erratic strides. He glanced back over his shoulder, his mind reeling.
"They will call me crazy if I utter this out loud, but that boy… he just disappeared and reappeared like some ghost. Is that even possible? I have heard of people who had gained unimaginable powers, but never—never a kid. What the hell is he?"
His mind whirled as terror propelled him forward. But his escape was short-lived.
Thud!
A sword handle swept the back of his head with acuteness, throwing him forwards on the ground into the dirt face-first.
Aleck still stood calmly, his voice laced with a taunting tone, saying: "Hey, mister, you shouldn't run away like that. Scared or something? Never hit you properly.
He stepped out of the darkness, a tall figure wrapped in a dark robe, lugging a limp, groaning body over his shoulder. His voice was as familiar and laid-back as any Aleck ever heard.
"Brad? What are you doing here? Didn't you just go on some mission?" he called out below.
Aleck squinted for a second before his face lit up at the recognition.
Brad grinned as he dumped the unconscious man to the ground as if he were a sack of grain. "Nah, I quit. There were too darned many mercenaries guarding my Mervent work to really get it done alone. Not my style of working in a crowd." He puffed his chest slightly and stood proudly.
Aleck smiled but became composed again quickly. "Forget about that. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?
Brad's face relaxed. "Anna was worried about you, so she sent me to check up. You have everyone on edge, you know."
Aleck shrugged, eyes drifting to the riverbank. "I was heading home when I saw these guys dumping stuff into the water.
Brad followed Aleck's eyes and creased his face as he could see the sacks. He walked across and kicked at one with his boot. Smells of chemicals rose up in the air.
"I get it now," Brad said in a low voice. "But listen, Aleck, forget about this. These guys are from the Adin Industry. Messing with them will only bring trouble—trouble Anna can't afford. If you push this, they'll make sure she has to shut down the lodge."
Aleck's jaw set hard. He glanced back at the unconscious man, his hands curling into fists before he relaxed them.
"But they're poisoning the river," Aleck said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Brad put a hand on Aleck's shoulder. "I know, kid. But sometimes, fighting head-on isn't the answer. We'll handle this, just not tonight. Right now, let's get you back before Anna bursts a vein worrying."
Brad and Aleck left the two unconscious individuals behind, taking only the bags with them. As they walked, they talked about their day. Aleck paused for a moment, contemplating whether to mention his body, but eventually decided to share it with Brad. Brad felt a sense of pride seeing that Aleck trusted him with his secret and smiled warmly. Aleck, however, didn't understand the smile and felt uneasy, shivers running down his spine. Brad, sensing this, gently placed a hand on Aleck's head and said, "If you can keep up with Dan, you must be strong, haha."
"You know Dan?" Aleck asked, surprised.
"Of course," Brad replied proudly, puffing out his chest. "He is like my older brother."
Aleck nodded, interested in hearing more stories but said nothing. Soon, they arrived at Anna's lodge. As soon as they entered, Anna came to greet them. "Don't you think you're early, breaking the rules by coming ahead of time?" she remarked. But when she saw the bags labeled "ADIN," her tone shifted. She looked at Brad, who gave her a reassuring smile, indicating that nothing was wrong at least from his perspective.
She sighed and told them to wash up and get ready for dinner.
Aleck smiled and headed to wash up, his thoughts lingering on the events of the day, especially as he looked at his now functional arm. Once they were all seated at the dinner table, Aleck was about to start eating, but paused when he saw Brad and Anna's hands pressed together in prayer. It caught his attention, and after they finished, he asked, "What are you doing?"
Brad explained, "It's called prayer. We're thanking Goddess Mirae for the food she provided."
Aleck was intrigued but puzzled. "I know about the goddesses the Eastern Kingdom worships, but I never learned how to pray," he admitted.
Anna asked, "You're familiar with all the goddesses of the three kingdoms, right?"
"Yes," Aleck responded, "but no one ever taught me how to pray."
In the capital, Aleck had been educated about the goddesses and their roles, but not about the rituals of worship as it didn't served any purpose to teach test subjects about how to pray.
As they began eating, Aleck chatted with Anna about what had happened at school, much like a child recounting his day to his mother.
When Aleck spoke about his arm and the duel, Anna wasn't surprised. She already knew what kind of monsters the kingdom was creating in the capital, and Aleck and his group were just the first batch. There was more to come.
"So, can you use resonance?" Brad asked, shocked. He had learned it at 15.
"You truly are a talent of generations," Brad said with a laugh.
"But I never understood—why did you throw your sword when you fought Dan?" Brad asked, curious.
"I... I can't infuse resonance into objects," Aleck replied, his face hidden in embarrassment.
"Haha, are you serious? Hey, Anna, did you hear that? He's hilarious!" Brad laughed, poking fun at Aleck.
Aleck sat, feeling ashamed.
"I can teach you a few tricks if you want," Brad offered.
"He can learn as much as he wants, but he needs to have his schooling certificate by the time he's 12," Anna interjected, finally speaking up.
"You'll need that certificate to get a kingdom ID for commoners. After that, you can do whatever you want with your life," Anna said firmly.
Aleck and Brad nodded in agreement, but Brad couldn't help himself.
"So, you want to duel with me tomorrow?" Brad asked, jokingly.
Anna punched Brad on the head in response.