As the leader of the army post in Millfall gathered with the other soldiers from the Commander's rank, he held a dented silver arrow in his hands as he looked at his colleagues.
"I picked this up at the spot where the basilisk faced a powerful opponent a few days ago," Christopher commented as he looked at Peter, Arthur, and Alex, the Mages sent by the army to help with the basilisk problem.
Of these men, Peter, the emissary from the kingdom's capital, the strongest there, a Mid-level Mage, looked over and saw that Christopher had something on his mind. "Where do you want to reach with this?"
None of them were in a good mood. As much as their mission wasn't to get the basilisk's body but to protect Millfall from the threats of the nearby beasts, they didn't like how the problem had been solved.
After starting their mission, these men wanted to collect the basilisk's body and the items in the creature's nest, thus getting a better return on their mission.
But Cesar's deed had ended all that, and now they felt the frustration of having to return home without having fought or earned the bonuses they had expected.
Christopher said. "The place where I found this arrow was where Cesar had his first fight with the basilisk. I don't know how he defeated it, but it definitely wasn't in that first fight."
"What does that mean?" Arthur asked his younger brother.
The local post-Commander said. "Before they fought in that area, I think Cesar collected a wild 3rd-stage herb in that place. As soon as I arrived, I felt its medicinal aura in the area, and I can vouch for its value.
I believe that herb provoked his fight with the basilisk, but since Cesar managed to tame the creature, I believe he still has such a resource with him..."
"Oh?" The three Mages looked at each other, understanding what Christopher was getting at with the arrow.
"If we act together, we can take the herb from him without fighting." Peter got right to the point.
Even though Cesar was strong enough to defeat the basilisk, and he and Bart were probably as strong as 2 or 3 of them, with 4 Mages there, they were confident of defeating those two!
"Little brother, I didn't expect you to surprise me like this," Arthur said with a smile, remembering how terrible he had felt being unable to stop Cesar earlier.
But now he had an excellent motivation to act against Cesar!
He would never do anything against such a guy without a good reason, even outside the law. After all, there was no reason for him to act against someone who followed the rules of the kingdom and who would not bring him any benefit.
But since Cesar had something so valuable in his hands, it was worth considering something darker...
Peter was a Mid-level Mage, someone who could benefit greatly from something like a 3rd-stage herb. He then clenched his fists and prepared to commit a 'minor' crime against Cesar.
"I think everyone here agrees that we must act against him. If we do that, we'll possibly have the body of a basilisk and a valuable herb to share."
"Hmm, how would we deal with them?"
They began to talk about it.
...
Meanwhile, outside the Mazzanti estate, Vicente had just landed on the roof of his property when he felt a powerful aura coming from inside the building.
Leaving Bart behind and telling it to wait for him on the roof, Vicente ran to the inside of his property, where a Low-level Mage was waiting for him as orange flames covered his surroundings.
Entering with his mask on, Vicente felt the high temperature of the area where the man was sitting in a lotus position on the ground, quietly meditating at the entrance to his property.
'What the hell is this?' Vicente wondered as he looked at the man who clearly had fire-based powers.
On the area's outskirts, several of the family's soldiers were watching this Mage, but they didn't point their weapons at him or even act dangerously.
"Boss!" One of the level 2 Acolytes in the group finally saw Vicente's back and sighed, as neither he nor the others there knew how to deal with a Mage.
"Boss, this man came here a few minutes ago looking for you. He said he wouldn't leave until he talked to you, and he's been meditating here ever since." One man said, sweating profusely, considering the temperature of the room.
Even the paint on the walls closest to the Mage was melting, something strange to see.
However, Vicente didn't find the situation strange after hearing that this person was behind him.
Meditation made you vulnerable. But there was a way to protect oneself and meditate literally anywhere.
It would be enough for the magician to use some of their powers to influence the free elements in the environment and thus provoke a reaction like the one on the magician's body in Vicente's residence.
Those flames couldn't hurt the Mage's body, but anyone weaker than him who tried to get close to him would end up very badly if those flames touched them!
Having decided to wait for Vicente while he meditated, the man's action was not to threaten the Mazzanti family group but to keep him out of danger while he waited.
It was a strange attitude, but it wasn't necessarily a threat to the group.
Vicente sighed when he realized this and said to the man in a low voice. "I am here. Come to my office when you're done."
With that, Vicente made his way to his office while the Mage from Ironcrest gradually left his meditative state.
After only a minute, the flames around his body faded, and he smiled as he opened his eyes.
'Cesar Mazzanti, huh? It looks like you've grown up a lot since you were at Ironcrest.' Kohen Reeves thought to himself as he ignored Vicente's men watching him.
'It seems that your talent is truly unparalleled... But how is that possible? I don't remember any great talents emerging from this province in recent years. Where did you come from? Who are you?' He asked himself, aware of the data from the Awakening Temple for the entire Scott Province but also aware that Cesar was very young.
Since there was no record of someone like Cesar coming to light, this Congregation of Revelation member was naturally curious.
When he entered Vicente's office, he had a smile on his face, wondering how to deal with this young man whom he and his companions wanted to bring into their faction, regardless of the methods.
"Cesar Mazzanti, my name is Kohen Reeves. I come from the Awakening Temple in Ironcrest."
