Chương 53: Manlin

Marcus hesitated for a moment as he looked at Zelier.

"Zelier… don't you have anything you want to say?"

"Say what?"

"About what happened yesterday…"

"Oh." Zelier nodded.

"I won't tell anyone. Just pretend it never happened." Marcus stared at him for a long while before slowly shaking his head.

"I really can't figure you out anymore…"

"Your breakfast is here. Enjoy." Auro placed the food in front of Marcus, then returned to the counter without interrupting their conversation. Zelier stirred his vegetable soup with a spoon.

"What's so hard to figure out?"

"You're much more mature than I expected… Not just in battle, but mentally as well." Marcus stared at his own reflection in the bowl of soup.

"When I became an adventurer, I was a little older than you are now… I still remember the first time I killed someone. It happened in the desert."

"It was supposed to be a normal mission, but we accidentally wandered into the territory of a Poison Sand Scorpion."

"Back then, we were all young and inexperienced. After watching one of our teammates get seriously injured, our morale collapsed instantly. Everyone started running for themselves." Marcus shook his head.

"Looking back now, if our leader had stayed calm and fought properly, we probably could have defeated that Poison Sand Scorpion. But he was simply too afraid…"

"Anyway, I ran with another teammate for a very long time before we finally escaped the danger."

"But we lost our supplies, and our weapons were gone too. The desert was enormous. Without enough provisions, surviving was almost impossible."

"We walked for four or five days like that. We were starving and dehydrated. We were already at our limit… We even drank our own urine twice."

"Late one night, I fell into a hazy sleep. Then I suddenly woke up."

"I turned my head and saw my teammate holding a rock above me, preparing to crush my skull."

"I dodged and asked him why he was doing this."

"He said, 'If I don't eat your flesh and drink your blood, I'll die. Only one of us can make it out.'""So… you killed him?" Zelier asked.

"Yes. I killed him." Marcus's gaze drifted somewhere far away.

"But I didn't touch his body. The next morning, a caravan of camel merchants happened to pass by. They rescued me."

"After returning to town, I searched for a long time, but I never found any trace of the other members of our party. Not even a single piece of news." The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Maybe they all died somewhere in that desert."

"After that, I dreamed about the person I killed almost every night. It took me a long time to recover…"

"I was worried you might end up the same way. But now it seems I was worrying for nothing." Marcus picked up a piece of bread and began eating. Zelier's heart stirred slightly. So Marcus had come here first thing in the morning just to tell him this… because he was worried about his mental state? And because of that experience, he had refused to retreat when they encountered the Mistwraiths, choosing instead to stand and fight? A life-and-death adventure really could change a person.

"Don't worry. I won't let something like this affect me."

"Mm." Soon, Marcus had cleared every bit of food in front of him. He wiped his mouth and stood up.

"Anyway, it's good that you're fine. Focus on recovering for now. We'll talk again later."

"Sure. See you later." Zelier nodded. … Mage Guild. The guild was unexpectedly lively today. There were clearly far more people around than usual. When Zelier entered the General Affairs Bureau, he was surprised to find more than a dozen mages lining up inside the normally quiet hall. They were all here to collect their monthly allowance and receive their mandatory assignments. Of course, not all of them were locals from Blackstone Town.

Several nearby towns didn't have Mage Guild branches, so their mages had no choice but to come here. Most of the people waiting in line looked older than Zelier, around their early twenties. Judging from the badges pinned to their chests, most of them were Mage Apprentices. There were even two Novice Mages among them. They stood with their heads held high, confidence written across their faces as they quietly chatted with the others. Zelier's arrival immediately drew the attention of most people present.

Well, it was hard not to notice someone walking around with a cane. Zelier ignored the curious gazes with a thick skin and silently moved to the end of the line. Marven was also in the General Affairs Bureau. When he saw Zelier's condition, his brows furrowed.

"Your leg…"

"I got injured during the mission." Zelier scratched his cheek awkwardly. Marven sighed, looking somewhat helpless.

"You…" He paused, then shook his head.

"Forget it. Come with me." Zelier was confused, but he still followed his mentor out of the General Affairs Bureau with the help of his cane. The two crossed the lawn and arrived at a secluded area away from the main paths. Rows of silver birch trees concealed a beautifully decorated small building behind them. The walls were built from pristine white stone, covered with creeping ivy.

Behind the fluttering sheer curtains were intricately carved window frames, and the air carried a faint scent of grass and flowers that instantly calmed the mind. They climbed the wooden stairs to the second floor. Marven stopped in front of the third room on the left side of the corridor and knocked.

"Manlin, are you there?" A woman's voice drifted from inside. It carried a slight huskiness, yet sounded warm and mellow.

"Come in." Marven pushed open the door. The room was completely different from what Zelier had imagined a mage's chamber would look like. There were no towering piles of ancient tomes, no strange magic circles covering the floor, and no bizarre arcane instruments scattered everywhere. Instead, the entire room felt warm and inviting. Sunlight poured through the enormous glass windows, spilling across the floor. Various potted plants filled the area beside the windows, overflowing with vibrant greenery.

Several colorful butterflies fluttered gracefully among the leaves. The woman called Manlin sat in a rocking chair, holding a cup of steaming flower tea as she took a gentle sip.

"Marven, what brings you here today?" Manlin blew lightly across the surface of her tea. Then her gaze shifted and landed on Zelier.

"And who is this little one?"

"My name is Zelier. I'm a newly promoted Mage Apprentice." Zelier bowed slightly and introduced himself. Out of the corner of his eye, Zelier studied the woman. She looked to be around thirty years old. Her soft flaxen hair rested casually over her shoulders, with only a simple wooden hairpin holding part of it in place. People often said women were like water. That description fit Manlin perfectly. Her features were gentle and elegant.

She lacked Bev's youthful innocence and was nothing like Cyr's sharp, alluring presence. Instead, she carried the calm wisdom and grace that came only after years of experience, making people instinctively want to draw closer.

"A newly promoted Mage Apprentice?" Manlin looked Zelier over for a moment before the corners of her lips curled into a gentle smile.

"The amount of mana inside you doesn't look like that of a newly promoted apprentice…" She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"You seem quite close to becoming a Novice Mage already, aren't you?" Zelier's heart skipped a beat. For some reason, he felt that Manlin's gaze possessed a strange penetrating quality. Standing before her, Zelier had the unsettling feeling that nothing about him could remain hidden.