Zatiel was back in the house resting in his bed. Although with meditation he can replenish all the energy that he had lost, sleeping will do the trick better and besides it is relaxing to do it from time to time.
'They gave me five years if, by that time I haven't met their conditions, they possibly will be the first in killing me and take all my possessions with them for the trouble that I cause them. But that doesn't matter. If I focus only on rune crafting, it will take me less than a year to become a Rank 1 Runemaster, but that will raise suspicions. After all, for a rank 0 apprentice reaching that level is supposed to be impossible due to the shortage in energy that humans have.'
Zatiel logic was correct. After all, even if the person was a supreme genius, Rank 1 is one of the great breakthroughs of life-forms, triggering an immense change in the individual, especially in humans since they are one of the weakest races when they are in rank 0.
'I should first reach Rank 1 before advancing as a runemaster, with the laboratory of the ancient magus, I will get the most important component in advancing, but those places are often full of danger. I will need to do a lot of preparation before going there.'
...
It was morning and two figures could be seen leaving the Magic Tower; they were Zatiel and Sophia.
They were moving at a great velocity, of course, to Zatiel this was trotting but he had to slow down due to the presence of Sophia.
Sophia was an elementium apprentice and her affinity was water.
Usually, the body of these apprentices is very weak but those deformities that torment her so much allow her to reach the body strength of a rank 3 body-refining apprentice permitting her to keep up with the speed.
"Zatiel, do we need to go to the Underground Zone? That place is full of bloody races that attack in the first sight of anyone."
Sophia was scared of going to such a dangerous place. But the truth was that she doesn't know anything about the underground, just the rumors that are passed among people.
"That place has some materials I need to craft runes, besides, if you are talking about bloody races humans definitely are in the top 10."
In Zatiel view, humans were one of the more warmongers races of the entire universe especially those that came from High Worlds like The Magi World.
"You don't know what you are talking about! A lot of people are good and loving with those closest to them, especially in villages, where everybody takes care of each other."
Sophia usually will never scream at Zatiel, but anger overcomes her rationality at this moment.
Most of Sophia's anger with Zatiel words came from the memories she has before embarking on the path of magic. Those memories are something precious and what helps her in her darkest moments so she wants to protect everything she has.
The moment she finished speaking she felt fear crawling his body making her stop, as she tried to find the origins of it, she saw Zatiel coldly looking at her.
"Are you sure I am mistaken?"
The coldness in Zatiel's eyes just grew stronger as he waited for the answer.
Fear started to grow in Sophia's heart. She thought she had a basic idea of Zatiel for all the time they have been together, but at this moment the threat of death seems very clear.
She knows that if she retracts she will be fine, but just as she was about to lie, memories start to flash through her mind and as they do a flame could be seen growing in her eyes.
After a moment she looked back at Zatiel and she held her head high as she responded.
"Yes, you are wrong."
The moment she finished talking, the feeling of how a little something was growing inside her showed up, as that feeling passed she was ready to accept what was coming next, but what she received was unexpected.
"Ha haha, good, you have hope after all. You may not be the smartest or talented, but I don't give a shit about that, remember what you are feeling now and do all you can to strengthen it."
Zatiel nodded at the woman as he saw the resolve she displayed.
"Are you really not angry?"
Sophia was a little confused by what was happening. In a moment she felt he was ready to attack her and the next he was laughing and complimenting her.
"Do I look so pathetic that I will attack the people next to me just because they have different opinions. Take this as a little test and congrats you pass wonderfully."
Zatiel smiled at Sophia, as the image he had of her improved greatly.
"This was a test, of what and for what reason?"
Sophia was confused, after all, according to her, the value she had to someone like Zatiel is very little and not something worth testing.
"What I was testing was your will. Staying true to what you believe in the face of death is something truly brave. Of course, it is also truly stupid. The next time something like this happens, just lie. If what you need to be safe is to just say some false words, do it. As long as your heart stays firm, words do not matter. As for the reason, although you passed this test, you still have a long way to go."
Part of the reason Zatiel brings her with him was that it will be dangerous for her to be alone in the tower. Now, the rest of the apprentices can do nothing to him, but they may want to try to get information about him from her, and the other part was that he was fond of the woman and if she manages to prove herself worthy, he has no problem helping her.
As for Ezequiel, Zatiel was planning to bring him too, but the boy was at a crucial point in his creations so he chose to let him stay.
The Magus already had all the information they wanted about him, and apprentices would be sending themselves to their graves if they messed with him.
"Let's keep going, the entrance to the Underground Zone is a long way to go, and relax. We will just be staying in the first layers. I know my limitations," Zatiel didn't waste time and continue his journey.
Sophia stood still for a while as she touched her chest.
After a moment, her eyes became determined as she followed after Zatiel.
They continued traveling for about a week before they reached the entrance to the Underground Zone.
The entrance was nothing fancy; it was just an immense mountain with a cave that leads to the first layer of the underground, if something was worth mentioning was the darkness devoured all light in the cave.
When Zatiel was about to enter, he abruptly stopped and looked at the sky. As he did, annoyance started to show up in his face.
Sophia saw his reaction, and she looks at the sky but could not see anything
"Is there a problem?"
She could see that something bothered Zatiel but could not realize what it was.
"It's nothing, from now on do not stay more than 20 meters from me at all times," Zatiel was serious as she commanded Sophia, and she did not dare to disobey.
After they entered the cave and disappeared in the darkness, a figure show up from the sky.
