Zachary was flying through the plain, his gaze fixed on the rock formation looming in front of him. He was excited to be able to meet Isaac.

He couldn't wait to chat with him—he had never met another Archmage. Although he knew where they were and sometimes exchanged letters with them, he had never had the opportunity to meet one in person.

In order not to waste any more time, he teleported again and reappeared a kilometer ahead.

Erivia and his escort were well behind him now. He knew they would probably arrive after a while and right now he had only one thing on his mind: to meet Isaac.

As he was about to finally arrive at the shrine, an intense wave of mana suddenly crossed the air as a dome of light came to encompass the entirety of the cliffs and the High Plains.

Zachary didn't even have time to react when a transparent, slightly white wall appeared in front of him. A moment later, a BANG sounded as the Archmage crashed into the surface of the protective dome.

"Argh!"

As Zachary pulled back, an expression of surprise decorating his face, a male and unknown voice suddenly echoing in his mind.

- "You must be Zachary Kol. Nice to meet you, I'm Isaac."

For a moment, the Archmage stood still before suddenly pulling himself together. "Telepathy?" he thought. It was the first time he had seen this kind of magic. Was this a technique inherited from the elves?

- "Nice to meet you?" Zachary replied, looking all around him. "I would have liked to shake your hand, but you seem shy," he finally said with a smile.

- "Let's say you arrived a little too quickly for my taste. Anyway, what is the reason for your visit?"

The Magus looked around nervously, not knowing where to look. He had to choose his words carefully. He did not want to start a fight or hostilities. If the Archmage he faced was as powerful as he thought, and moreover an elf, his chances of survival were slim. He could still teleport to escape.

- "The system window. How did you access it?" he finally said.

He didn’t really know where to start. He wanted to know the identity and origin of Isaac, but the most pressing question he had was on the famous window of heaven.

As he quietly waited for a response, Zachary suddenly felt a magical formation appear behind him. Immediately, he turned around before seeing a white figure emerge from what appeared to be a shadow hovering in the air.

Very quickly, Isaac's figure emerged from the shadows which immediately disappeared as the elf stood there, his face puzzled.

- "System window?"

"A shadow walker?" thought the Magus.

Zachary swallowed hard. The instant Isaac had appeared, an intense feeling had completely enveloped him. All around him was the aura of the elf. A powerful aura, almost suffocating but without being violent or harmful. It seemed to hold some form of sweetness and freshness.

The Magus inhaled before answering.

- "The rune you drew in Erivia causes system windows to appear. How did you do it? Please, I need to know. You as a fellow Archmage should understand, right?"

Isaac looked at Zachary for a long time. In a way, he saw himself in him. Not totally, but his thirst for knowledge and his passion were things he understood.

He smiled slightly.

- "So, you are not here to fight, are you?"

Zachary was about to nod his head but stopped himself. It was true that the reason he had come was purely out of a desire for knowledge.

But he couldn't forget what had happened in Erivia. These actions should be punished. Although he was dying to know more, the Magus calmed down and took on a more serene look before looking Isaac in the eye.

Isaac sensed the change in behavior and took on a serious look. What his interlocutor was about to say seemed important.

- "You are right. I have mixed up my priorities. Nice to meet you, I am Zachary Kol, Magus of the Court of the Kilguana kingdom. It has been reported to me that you have attacked the city of Erivia, which is part of our kingdom. How do you plead?"

A little taken aback, Isaac did not know what to answer and remained silent for a few seconds before pulling himself together.

- "Guilty."

"Huh?" Zachary thought, "What do you mean? Does he confess? Why?!"

The Magus was astounded. Which Archmage would be so calm and quiet? Even an intermediate mage would pose more resistance than Isaac.

Something was wrong.

Isaac slowly looked up at the Magus, his eyes serious before taking on an equally serious and cold tone.

- "I do not intend to apologize, and if I had to choose again, I would make the same choice."

Isaac looked down slightly, deep in thought. He knew very well that what he had done was inhuman. Who would keep their head on their shoulders after receiving powers capable of literally destroying a city? Maybe even the world.

No one should come out of it unchanged. If someone did, Isaac wouldn’t want to meet them.

It wasn't like he hadn't thought about it. He hadn't stopped thinking about it. Work, research magic—this was his way of forgetting.

But in the end, he was comfortable with his choice. It was either forcing the population to obey or having to hurt or even kill, innocent people in order to obtain revenge. It was an easy choice.

Of course, it was a bad example for Rebecca. He had forbidden her to use her powers to seek revenge and yet, here he was, using his powers for revenge.

The anxiety, stress, and speed with which things had happened made him do what he would probably never do in normal circumstances. But what is done is done. He can't go back, so he might as well face the consequences.

He wasn't going to accept any punishment though. Isaac had planned to compensate Kilguana and Erivia, the rune of logic being one example.

Zachary pulled himself together then cleared his throat slightly, nodding.

- "His Majesty the King has given me all the necessary powers with regard to you. I have a few questions for you."

Isaac then nodded and came to open a new shadow behind him before indicating to Zachary to follow him.

- "This is not a suitable place to chat, would you like to come inside?" Isaac asked with a small smile.

The Magus nodded and followed Isaac in the shadows. He didn't really care, he had already checked the spatial coordinates of the portal. According to the energy emanations, there didn't seem to be much on the other side.

A moment later, Zachary found himself in the middle of a large plain on what appeared to be a flying boulder. Immediately, the Magus widened his eyes and began to analyze the rune before being speechless.

"An aura and wind rune coupled with a mana flower! Awesome," he thought before looking up to Isaac.

The elf showed him a chair, which was just a plant shaped like a flower, and invited him to sit down, which Zachary hurried to do. Isaac sat down opposite to him on his own chair. He had many questions. But after seeing the rune of logic, the mana flower, and this flying rock, the Magus began to suspect something.

Isaac noticed the Magus' expression and invited him to ask his questions. Zachary didn’t hesitate and began his questioning.

- "Who are you?"

- "Isaac"

- "You don't have a last name? Are you from Angremort? What is this place?"

For now, Zachary was in a hurry to learn the origin of his interlocutor. Who was he? Where did he come from? The incident of Erivia was something he could always tackle later.

Isaac waited patiently before inhaling lightly. What should he say about his last name? He hadn't revealed it to anyone yet, not because it was a personal matter, but just because he didn’t want to.

He didn't have a particular reason and he didn't need one. He didn't want to, that's all.

- "I would prefer to keep my last name to myself. But I can tell you that I do not work nor come from Angremort. I do not come from any other kingdom either. To be honest, you are the first High Official of a kingdom of this world that I have met so far,” Isaac replied.

Immediately, Zachary widened his eyes and stood up. His eyes were gleaming with hope and excitement.

- "Join Kilguana! Become Archmage of the Court with me and I assure you that the Erivia incident will be completely forgiven. We can offer you whatever you wish…" Zachary told Isaac.

Isaac stepped back slightly. Zachary was way too close to his face at this point. Much too close for his liking.

What's more, his proposal was far too sudden. Wasn't he here to punish Isaac for his actions against Erivia? And now he wanted to recruit him? Isaac was having a hard time making sense of it all, but he decided to think about it logically.

- "What are the prerogatives of this rank?" he asked.

- "The Archmage of the Court has the same prerogatives as the Magus of the Court with a few exceptions. As a foreigner, you immediately become a citizen of the kingdom and will therefore be under the protection of Kilguana. In addition to that, you have all the privileges of the High Aristocracy,"

Zachary caught his breath before resuming.

- "As Archmage of the Court, only the King's words are superior to you. Your words are therefore superior to those of a Duke" he continued before pausing to show the importance of what he had just said.

Isaac quickly understood where he was going. After all, in terms of Nobility, the Dukes were meant to be second only to the King. That someone could give orders to a Duke was something incredible on its own.

- "You will also be given a small plot in the lands of the royal domain. And the list does not end there," he said.

Isaac was still. They were willing to do that much just to recruit him? Him, a stranger? He had the possibility of obtaining wealth and tranquility for the rest of his life which was sure to be a very long one. But something was bothering him, it was too good to be true.

- "And what will my obligations be?" he asked, looking Zachary in the eyes.

The Magus began to think. He didn't expect Isaac to hesitate after listing all the benefits that came with the rank of Archmage. But it wasn't shocking either. After all, his interlocutor was an Archmage, he was not a peasant who would jump at any opportunity for easy money.

So he decided to be honest with Isaac.

- "Like all graduates of the Royal Academy, you will have to swear loyalty to the kingdom and to the King, to protect them at the risk of your life ..."

This was the part Isaac was waiting for. A contract of fidelity. This was exactly what he didn't want. Having to be chained to a place when he wanted to explore this world? No thanks.

What is more, he was the Administrator of the World! Not the Archmage of Kilguana. He didn't want to be a King's dog, whether said King was good or bad. He wanted to be able to freely choose whether or not to give his aid.

Isaac's expression changed drastically as did the atmosphere around him. Zachary sensed it easily. He could read on the surface the emotions that showed through the aura given off by Isaac.

- "Guess that's no surprise. What foreigner would want to serve a King who hasn't given him anything?" the Magus said with a small laugh.

- "I'm sorry."

- "Don't worry. I'm just a little sad, I thought I had finally found a colleague to talk to," he began with a sigh as he sat down.

- "We can continue to discuss if you want, I do not intend to leave. I even hoped to be able to come with you to the capital."

Zachary's interest was immediately piqued.

- "The capital? Why so?"

- "I might not look like it, but I'm fairly new to magic. I was hoping I could take a trip to your Magic Academy or your libraries to learn more?"

- "IT WOULD BE A PLEASURE!" Zachary continued with much enthusiasm.

"That was quick," Isaac thought as he saw Zachary stand up again. "He reminds me of Mat. Always too active, some herbal tea would do him good I think."

- "I don't know how I could compensate you. Maybe we could exchange our knowledge?" Isaac said.

- "With joy! We can start with the rune you put on Erivia. I'm still curious about how you can control the system console…"

Isaac's curiosity was immediately piqued. Ever since they had met, Zachary had repeated technical terms like "System Window" or "System Console."

Terms that shouldn't exist in a medieval world. Did anyone else have access to the system? Were there other Administrators?

- "How do you know the system?" Isaac asked impatiently.

- "What mage would not know what it is?" Zachary said with a chuckle, looking at Isaac like he just played a joke.

- "I'm sorry... but I do not understand," he replied seriously.

Zachary stood still for a moment, unable to know if Isaac was joking or not. But seeing the latter's serious gaze, his expression changed to a complex one between interest and questioning.

- "Earlier, you said ‘of this world’. So you are not from this world?"

Isaac was surprised for a moment. He hadn't noticed he said it that way, but the fact that the Magus had noticed such a slight turn of phrase deserved respect.

So he nodded in response.

Zachary then leaned more seriously on his chair and thought deeply for several seconds. The two Archmages remained silent for a while, both totally still until Zachary spoke.

- "Are you from Earth too?"

- "Y-yes... Wait. You are from Earth?!"

Zachary nodded positively before starting to smile. A delighted, serene, and relieved expression then decorated his face.

- "My name is Ricardo Giovanni, I’m from Spain. Nice to meet you. You have no idea how good it makes me feel to meet another earthling that doesn’t want to kill me."