441 That Many Mages?
The Ouroboros school had a feast that night, with a lot of food and drinks.
Everyone loved it, especially the students who were often busy with learning magic, or out completing missions. It was rare for them to have a time to relax, and do other things not related to magic.
“Give me another drink!” a lady asked the bartender behind the counter.
Arthur also enjoyed the party. Not because he liked to eat and drink, but because Nefion was the one who organized everything, so there was no way Arthur would flee from such a party.
“What happened to Theo and Kai? Do you know something?” Arthur said.
Nefion chugged a cup of beer, and said, “they left his planet, I am sure of it. Also, I have a feeling they are up with something evil.”
It shocked Arthur, as he had never imagined they would do something like that. Was it his fault? He could not help but to think about that.
“No. I did everything I could.”
There was no reason for Arthur to put the blame on himself. Theo and Kai were the ones who chose that, not him.
“What are your next moves?” Nefion asked.
“Me? Leaving the planet is the only option. You know, someone from the Alliance is coming to get something from me, so I need to run.”
“Wait, what?”
The things were happening so fast that Arthur forgot to share about the two forces that were coming for him. After Nefion got to know about it, there was a clear path inside his mind.
“We need to help Eleonora reach rank-four, and we can all leave this planet. I don’t want her getting caught in this mess,” Nefion said.
“Alright. I know someone who can help us with that, but you will have to increase Eleonora’s power as fast as you can. Can you do that?”
“Yes. Give me one month at most,” Nefion said confidently.
Arthur believed him and was surprised to see Eleonora improving so fast. Her talent seemed to be bigger than his own, and maybe if Arthur did not have his system, then Eleonora would surpass him.
They talked in the corner, away from everyone else, and settled with their plans. After that, both Nefion and Arthur returned to the party, enjoying everything it offered!
Students made a huge campfire right outside of the main building. They sat around it, drinking their beer and wine, telling stories about their adventures.
“Once I fought against a horde of 15 Crystal Scorpions at the same time and won!”
No one knew if the stories told about the fireplace were real or not, but that did not change the fact everyone present loved to hear them.
Arthur was not different, sitting on a comfy couch, on a personal balcony inside his room in the main building, looking at all the youths from above, hearing to what they had to say.
“This wine is incredible! Did you taste it, darling?” Jane asked, sipping on a glass of wine.
“Darling?”
On that balcony, Arthur was lost in thoughts, not even hearing what Jane said. He did not know why, but he had a bad feeling within.
“Is my head playing tricks?” Arthur thought.
He only returned to his senses after Jane cuddled his hair. “I am sorry, love. I was overthinking things.”
“It’s alright.”
pAnDa (nov)e1
~~~~
It was past midnight. The number of mages enjoying the festivities diminished by the second.
Arthur was still on that balcony, but his wives were already in bed. That strange feeling had yet to vanish.
The only explanation he found was his Unseen Truth Eye, which was trying to warn him about something, but there was no vision, nothing.
“I should just go to bed.”
He got up from the balcony couch and went to his bed.
~~~~
When the next morning came, Arthur left Ouroboros, and his wives stayed there.
Jane wanted to spend more time with her sister, Eleonora. Wisa and Sybille also stayed to rest, and make sure nothing bad happened to the school.
They also wanted to help Eleonora reach rank-four.
As for Arthur? He had to free George, and he did not know how that would turn out, so bringing others with him might cause them trouble.
What did he need to free George? Official Mages, the stronger the better.
George had said he needed rank 1 mages, but the number was unknown, so it was better to look for more powerful ones to speed up the process.
But he could bring no one. Killing innocent people would ruin his reputation, and that was not something he wanted to do.
“I will soon leave this planet, so I want to leave with a sympathetic portrait.”
The area where George was locked was far away, near a town with an endless mist. Arthur took three days to reach there, even with his incredible speed and teleports.
Once Arthur got there, he looked for mages in the surrounding area. He had a black cloak and a mask covering his face so that no one knew his identity.
Of course, Arthur looked for mages who performed evil actions, like necromancers, killers, thieves, or anything of the like.
Those types of people were not that hard to find. Arthur had three rank 2 mages by the end of that day, leading them toward the place where George was.
“Why are you doing this to us? We might be awful people, but we don’t deserve death!”
They could only attribute their kidnapping to all the evils they had done throughout the Central Continent.
Arthur led them to the room where George was, wrapped with vines that were draining his vitality. He was not awake, but that would soon change.
“Don’t worry. I will do it quick.”
“W-“
With his spear, Arthur beheaded the three mages in less than one second. All of their blood, mana core, and anything that had vitality on it flew toward the vines.
The vines absorbed it, meaning they were no longer using George’s life force. In just a few seconds, he was awake once again.
“Arthur. Why did you stop contacting me? I was asleep, so I don’t know how much time it passed.”
Arthur could not tell he was worried if George would keep his word or act against him.
“Things happened. I need your help to leave this planet, and I hope you don’t try funny things, like going back on the deal. The Netherbeast is my friend,” Arthur said.
When George heard the same, his body shivered, and his eyes were wide open! He knew there was no way Arthur was lying because the Netherbeast did not share its name with anyone.
“I-I will not. After you free me, we can all leave this planet and go to the biggest planet where all the powerful mages are.”
“Good. How many mages do I have to kill?”
“Hum,” George stopped for a few moments, making some calculations, “around 200 mages if they are all rank 2, or 500 if they are rank 1.”
“…”