The symphony of aromas overwhelmed his sensitive nostrils. With each step he took inside this building, a new and splendid fragrance filled his lungs. They strolled through the cafe, searching for an open table. Everything around Nilbog seemed to sparkle, from the silverware to the golden ceiling and even to the very food itself. As horrible as humans were, their civilization was…wondrous.

How could such evil creatures make such beautiful creations? To think such things even existed. Music was another perplexing concept. Though Nilbog knew what it was, he’d never actually heard it. The memories inside his head were tricky like that. He was aware of concepts like carts, castles, dance, and even the smell of alcohol without actually ever encountering it before.

Experience was a whole other problem. The first time a cart had rumbled by he’d nearly been trampled. He hadn’t expected them to be so fast. If he was being honest though, music was one he’d been looking forward to. In the corner of the cafe, on a raised stage, sat a machine. It seemed to fit his understanding of what the humans called a ‘piano’. It was supposed to be a relaxing and elegant machine, but all he heard from it was… discomfort? The sound was not at all like he’d been led to believe. It was strange. The pianist? Even stranger.

She wore a white buttoned-up shirt and gloomy black pants identical to every other human he’d seen, but they somehow stuck out more. The three orange braids she had stuck to each side of her head were also a first. She had two large scars, one was small, cutting across the left side of her lips, and the other curved up the right side of her face over her sharp cheekbones. It vanished underneath a yellow piece of cloth that covered her eyes.

Something about her was off, not the least being her hidden Danger Rank. Nilbog could feel the goosebumps crawling up his bones. Seventh Sense was going haywire. His ability to innately sense the Danger Rank of those he encountered was one of the reasons Nilbog had been able to survive his journey through human society. Powerful individuals, the humans called them rankers, were categorized into various tiers based on the level of threat known as Danger Rank. Nilbog had learned to avoid anything more powerful than a Cub, the lowest rank.

The chill grew as he neared the stage, further fueling Nilbog's suspicions that the pianist was dangerous. Few creatures in the forest made his Seventh Sense signal such a clear warning. It wasn’t just her, either. Most humans nearby were Cubs, but there were Wolves, the highest Danger Rank Nilbog had seen. A couple more of the Humans had their Danger Rank hidden. While he couldn’t sense their exact rank, his Seventh Sense still flared when he looked their way.

Argento smiled when he noticed Nilbog’s gaze. ‘’You have a good eye, my boy. The musician this afternoon is none other than Kara Aivlys, an intriguing wanderer. They say she appeared about a month ago informing Ouranios Hold that she would like access to their library! The gall of the lady! Many fine citizens go their entire lives without being granted leave to peruse a single tomb from their archives. Yet this woman appears and demands access to the entire library as if it was nothing!”

“Really?” Nilbog asked with wide eyes. He, of course, did not know what that place was, but he felt like it was important. Humans loved to write important things down on thin pieces of trees.

“She’s a silent caster, boy, where normally you would need gestures and words to channel Mana,” he said, swooping down to whisper in Nilbog's ear with a speed unbefitting of his size. “Her aptitude is unheard of. As you noticed, her Danger Tier is hidden. No one knows it. Not her origins, class, or even a rough guess of her level. Word is she could be quite powerful. With all this talk of the Game having been absent for longer than usual, well, the army was glad to take her in as an honorary guest while they tried to research her background. We will need all the Rankers we can get if things kick-off. Though I pray it is not in my lifetime. Ah- This is my favorite spot—let’s settle down here.”

Following Argento’s lead, Nilbog pulled back the chair, opened the menu, and acted as if he could read any of it. At the very least he was able to use the flimsy sheet to hide his glances at the stage. Just looking at the musician felt dangerous. He wouldn’t have been surprised if any second now she would snap around to lock eyes with him despite the crowd of bustling tables around them.

“She’s blind, isn’t she?” Nilbog asked. It certainly didn’t feel like it given the pressure of her attention that seemed to hang in the air. It was oppressive. How did anyone stay in her presence?

“Ah, that’s another wonder--she’s a mage specialized in Kinetic Mana. This a bit of an area of interest of mine if you’ll indulge an old man’s hobby. Do you know what mages are?”

Nilbog nodded. The memories he had covered this at least. Mages were people capable of manipulating Mana, the most basic ones being Thermal and Kinetic. Thermal was the control of heat, either to create or take it away. Fire and ice, basically. As for the other one…

“Kinetic Mana is movement, right?” he responded. It could cut, pierce, or even explode if tightly condensed. It was the most versatile Mana to master, but Nilbog didn’t understand how that allowed her to see.

“First and foremost, Mages are students of knowledge. They study the physics of this world. How it functions, how it exists, and most of all, how to utilize it.” Argento said, shaking his head. “Not all of it is for combat purposes!”

“Right, of course,” Nilbog said, nodding. He couldn’t see how else they could create such enormous, nearly gravity-defying structures.

“Back to our topic. Kinetic Mana is the movement of particles. Imagine tiny dots everywhere and that make up everything. Those are particles, and there are millions upon millions! More than you can count, more than there are stars in the…” Argento stopped short of his sentence for a breath. He pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat off his brow. “Madam Kara senses the movement of particles, while identifying living beings by the Thermal Mana of their bodies. That’s my theory anyway. Or she may be constantly releasing a light wave of Kinetic Mana. Like a bat does with sound. The way the air moves around an object or a dent in the ground, or even a living person, lets her draw an image. There are probably other ways it might be done that even I am not aware of. I am only an enthusiast after all, not a practitioner.”

Nilbog would have laughed if he had the energy for it. Mages could surely sense the heat in a campfire, or maybe the kinetic mana of a moving an arrow. But to be able to sense mana of such a tiny magnitude? That did sound like unbelievably powerful magic. “Sounds impossible,” he replied.

Argento nodded solemnly. “Precisely. Unless she achieved mastery of Mana this side of the world has yet to see, she must have gained an undocumented unique skill. I have no doubt she could have been one of the world’s greatest rankers just for that simple fact, but even for a prodigy, channeling Mana while--”

Why does he know so much about her? Nilbog thought as the waitress finally arrived. She wore black pants and a white buttoned-up shirt with a small bow tie below her chin. It was bright red like her lips. Most other waitresses looked similar, down to height, haircut, and color of their skin. It was uncanny how similar all of them looked and dressed.

"Welcome back sir Argento,” she said, nodding towards him. “You never miss a day, I must say.”

“Little else is worth doing than to sit here, eating your delicious food, and trying to comprehend the enigma of the Blind Mage,” Argento replied, stretching his neck as he did so. “I’ll go with number three. High thermally done duck with a Life Ent juice. No shankle leaves, and doused with black wine.”

The waitress nodded. “As per usual, your orders certainly make Chef Doyan happy. And for you, young sir?”

“The same,” Nilbog responded. As long as it was food, he would be happy with it. Having it be cooked was a plus.

"Of course," she said, smiling. She jotted it down, straightened her back, and walked towards the kitchen.

“You work, young lad?"

Nilbog had the lie ready. It was something he was asked often on the road when he managed to hitch a ride on the back of a wagon.

"A handy boy for a carpenter, it’s honest work, though it’s not enough to…" Nilbog said, glancing at the opulence around him.

"Not sure if you noticed,” Argento said, patting his stomach. “But I am a regular of this fine establishment—too regular, perhaps. How old are you, young man?” Argento asked, leaning forward over the tableware.

“I’m sixteen, I believe, sir,” he replied. He had quickly come to understand what humans would believe and what they would not. Sixteen was what most seemed happy to accept based on his current appearance.

“You believe? Did your parents not teach you to count on your fingers and toes?” he asked, chuckling. His entire body shook in motion, the flesh below his chin juggling slightly.

Nilbog was ready for this too. A tried and tested way to avoid further irritating questions. He looked back at Argento with his best dejected, miserable look. Human faces had many of these. “They’re dead, sir. Lost in a raid.”

Argento’s laughter stopped midway in his throat. His gleeful, carefree face turned mournful. “Apologies. It is common enough that I should have known better. Times are hard. Everyone is preparing for The Game, but most often it ends up with the unprepared sustaining grievous injuries, or worse, leaving their children behind.”

“Hunger is a curse. Makes you do things you’ll regret for the rest of your life.” Nilbog shifted in his chair, that last bit had simply slipped out. He began to fidget, feeling uncomfortably exposed. Chairs were a silly human invention, why sit on hard, splintery wood when they could sit on the soft ground? “At least death hurts a lot less than starvation.” He finished, hoping that bringing the conversation back around to death would end all this questioning. Humans hated talking about it.

Argento gulped either out of hunger or fear. Nilbog was still learning to tell the two apart. “It is unfortunate, how things are, but let’s speak of more merry subjects! This cafe is exquisite! You see that crystal chandelier up there? It’s quite expensive work, constructed from discharged Obleeks, crystals that transfer Mana rather than store it, and linked in gold, another great conduit. Thermal Mana is discharged through glass—”

Ignoring the Argento's rambling, Nilbog surveyed the dishes around him, his eyes lingering longer on the more attractive of them. He tugged at his mouth, making sure he was doing the smile thing. He made sure to nod and exclaim whenever the need arose, but really he was just biding his time as his meal was prepared. In the meantime he needed to come up with a plan.

The city had been his last hope. He’d tried telling his story to every village guard and magistrate in the countryside. He’d even approached a few "rankers" on the road. Every time the response was the same. Some would beat him, some would just laugh. He wasn’t sure why he’d thought going to the hub of where humans gathered would make a difference.

No one was going to believe him. He wanted to expose Barlom and his queen—killing them wasn’t justice. It wasn’t what she would have wanted. At first Nilbog had been consumed with rage. His first thought had been to hunt them down and destroy them. Common sense had reared its head however and told him that; firstly, he wasn’t anywhere near powerful enough and two, a quick death was far too easy of a punishment for what they had done.

But how would he even go about that? He was a Danger Tier Cub stuck at level 20. His body was stuck. The only way he could gather more power would be to complete his evolution. That meant doing something he swore he’d never do again.

Consume the life force of a sentient being. It didn't have to be humans--there were Vandrans and the Free Tribe folk, but it was all the same.

Nilbog licked his dry lips, turning his attention back to the music of the blind pianist. Something about it was hauntingly familiar. The music crept into his brain, dulling his senses. Did all music do this? The notes began to swell, boring into his mind. The music was like a snake’s venom, numbing as it flowed through him. It pulled horrible emotions out of him—guilt, anger, helplessness. Reality, maybe. He was being delusional if he thought he could do this peacefully. Was there any meaning in exposing the truth? Would Jack and Nelly really care about the way he avenged them? Justice is justice. Who cares if the world never finds out what they--

“Kid? Everything alright down there?” Argento said, leaning forward.

Nilbog snapped back to himself, his eyes wide. He sucked in a sharp breath as the numbness lessened. He clutched his chest, trying to calm it down. “Do you hear that?” Nilbog asked, his hands shaking.

“Do you mean the tempo of the song? Why yes, it is at its climax.”

“No,” Nilbog said. “I’m talking about the air. It’s… shaking.” Argento’s lips widened further than any creature Nilbog has seen.

“Yes, yes, of course! Spirits be praised, it is no coincidence that you caught my eyes—you have the ears too. The sight, maybe. That phenomenon is exactly what I am studying. Ever wondered why mages can’t use mana without yelling the name of their skill? Why External Life Force skills behave the same way, but not internal Life Force? What if it’s not the name? What if it’s the sound that draws and controls mana?”

Nilbog just stared at him. He didn’t understand a thing Argento said.

Argento nodded. “With eyes like yours, such a keen mind, you are wasted with a mere carpenter. It appears the Game has decided — you will become my student. Mana Sight is something I believe I myself am on the cusp of achieving, but alas, The Pre-Game does not easily grant such powerful skills to old men like me. Having a pupil with your potential will surely will vastly further my research!”

“What? No… no, that’s not what I meant,” Nilbog said, studying the area around him. Argento was focussed on him, delighted at this novel discovery. The man had completely missed the point. Something was wrong. Nilbog just didn't know what.

“The Game works in mysterious ways, young Nilbog. Drama, conflict, and spectacularity are its three pillars. Just how likely is it for two people with the sight to meet? And in this very place, where the enigma has presented itself?” Argento said, standing up in his excitement. “It’s as unlikely as meeting an honest ranker! Come on my boy, join me in my quest for knowledge, what do you say?”

“I-I’ll think about it,” Nilbog said off-handedly. The feeling of wrongness continued to rise. With no way of knowing what the source was, he did the only thing he could—he waited for his meal and hoped for the best.