Life on the road was growing harsher with each passing second. Now that the colder season was gone, the temperature was rising and the air was becoming dry. There wasn’t much to look at on the road either. Only rarely did the roadside have a forest, but that barely made the scenery any more beautiful. The travelers of this road were already low on both patience and energy after traveling for three hours.

It wasn’t an easy feat. The ‘forest’ by the roadside hardly had a few dozen trees in them. Everything else was just a barren landscape.

The advance guard, a group of lightly-dressed knights, were off farther down the path to scout for danger—not that there was much of a need for it. The trees here hardly had enough leaves for shade, let alone enough to hide a person. And the heat that rose off from the ground made it extremely unlikely that someone would be hidden underneath. It was also not geographically suitable to make battle on here.

Someone from the advance guard was already trotting back on his horse.

And just like that, the travelers resumed their journey toward the forest.

The carriage containing the prince and princess traveled into the forest while the knights took guard by the entrance. Forming a formation, the priests and magi erected a barrier that encompassed a good portion of the forest within. A few of the magi ascended to the canopy along with six mercenaries to keep watch.

Three days had transpired since the departure from Sovereign. Three days since they left the territory of their own and into the domain of a foreign power.

The Fire God’s Pasture, a controversial piece of wasteland between Sovereign and Karth. For ages, it remained the biggest source of contention between both nations. As it was a wasteland, there was little value in the land and would’ve been of little loss if gifted from Sovereign to Karth. But that wasn’t a good option considering that it was the only natural barrier that divided the two nations. It’d still be a good move to gift the land away, but no one dared think that Karth would be satisfied with just this.

Every nation knew about Karth and their imperialistic ambitions. Giving the Fire God’s Pasture to Karth could possibly open up Sovereign to an invasion—an event far too realistic in probability to risk it.

The Fire God’s Pasture was immeasurable in distance. Like a moat, it spanned from the southwestern borders to the eastern ridge of Karth. It was thanks to this that Karth was able to enjoy an era of peace longer than the other nations.

But now it was no longer a fence that protected them from foreign invaders. It was a cage that inhibited their expansion.

No one could deny that Karth was now a hegemon. Their Paladin Order ranked amongst the strongest three chivalric orders on the continent; the Zephyr Order was one of the two greatest light-armor cavalry groups along with the Unicorn Riders from Monteda. Even the quality of their magi held near-unparalleled strength as a collective, something made only possible due to the head of the Circle of Magi in Karth, Archmagister Kebrilio. Though many oft said he wasn’t a magus deserving such a rank, Kebrilio was still sometimes said to be the strongest Archmagister.

Of course, in the eyes of Crazy, Kebrilio was a third-rate magus; and her opinion held some truth.

It was common knowledge that an archmagister had to have full mastery in the four major schools of magic. Practically every magister or adept were proficient in four schools of magic—Crazy and Kebrilio excluded. Crazy was proficient in pyromancy, hydromancy, and aeromancy, but not geomancy. No matter how hard she tried. That being said, it made sense why she wasn’t capable of geomancy. An impatient person like her trying to make use of an element known for its steadfast nature? Aside from a few quicksand spells, there was really only one other spell she knew, one that helped her create the laboratory she lived in: Rampart Wall.

But Kebrilio was even worse off. Fire and wind were the only two branches he had any mastery in. He didn’t even have a solid foundation in any of the other elements; that was the biggest reason why most magi felt he was unworthy of his title. The biggest credence he had toward being an archmagister was the fact that he was the only known magus capable of using forbidden magic. One particular forbidden spell he knew was Final Day, one of the ultimate examples of pyromancy.

It’d be simply wonderful if Elric could meet such a prestigious magus and bear witness the power of that forbidden magic. But it was nothing more than a pipe dream. The rest of his companions wanted nothing more than to finish up their business in Karth as fast as possible and return. Meeting the archmagister would be the very last thing they’d want.

Seven days would be required before the group would arrive in Kradyne, the west-most city of Karth and deep within ‘enemy’ territory. Being in such a situation was tough on the nerves, and no one could particularly be blamed for wanting to extend the journey time and delay their arrival. The only ones that wanted to arrive in Kradyne as quickly as possible were the two responsible for the safety of the royals and the leader of the Royal Guard, Hamon. In order to properly protect the two royals during their mission as ambassadors, the king had the strongest Royal Guards put on the mission. He was just the vice-commander of this trip, however. Charle, Elric’s mentor, was the one in charge.

With Charle being of royal blood, the prince and princess had no choice but to be respectful with him whenever addressed, but that didn’t stop them from gossiping about the man behind his back. Elric had to admit, he was curious about his mentor. The way he carried himself and how respected he was by even the knights around him? There had to be something else about him that made him special. And so Elric asked. He inquired the knights in the envoy group and managed to learn a little more about Charle.

Never once conscripts, Elric and the other mercenaries were looked down upon by the soldiers and even less so by the Royal Guards.

A majority of these Royal Guards were scions of their houses. Nobles and those of high status similar to Jerry. Social elites they were, and it was because of their pride that they ignored the mercenaries.

Elric was different in this regard. He was not a noble, but a magus! Knights and magi held equivalent power within the Kingdom, if just symbolically. In truth, more knights existed than magi. Knighthood was a path that could be attained by many, but few held the ability to study magic. The rarity of magi always amused Elric. A magus was quite rare, and yet he was surrounded by multiple powerful magi! Bellissa was one of near-commoner status and she was an adept! Magic, Elric mused, was an equalizer of circumstances.

A real life example was actually one of the bodyguards for the king. Like Bellissa, he was an adept. Archmagi like Pierrot were a quantity far too tiny for even the king to monopolize. This, in a sense, placed magi on a high pedestal, and society reflected that. Elric was affiliated more with the mercenaries, but being a magus gave him special exemption. His name was equally helpful—despite the stories. Many knew Elric and his companion and the prowess they demonstrated to the court.

Of the four, Kite gained the most favor. Taken in under Hamon’s wing and tasked to be assistant to the Royal Guards? It was an honor no less important than his father’s title as one of two Guardians of Sina.

Belladonna was taken in at once by the royal family to be a healer. This was an opportunity even priests found hard to earn, especially at her age!

And Jerry’s mastery of the spoken language earned him a position as ambassador under the prince.

Elric, in the end, was thrown to the mercenaries. His embarrassment to the court made him undesirable to high society.