"Hmm…" Gerald placed his hand under his chin as he considered the guy's request.

'It appears he is serious… Well, I can teach him, and whether he can make it, it's entirely up to him. However, he can't be my student for free, so…'

"What are your talents?" he asked in the end. "I can see you carrying that book around…"

"Yes, Master!" Blum answered enthusiastically. "I'm good at reading and writing, and I know a lot about what is happening in the Kingdom, as well as the relationships between powerful families!"

"I'm not interested in politics, but do keep an eye on any important events just in case," Gerald said indifferently. "How about numbers? Are you good at math?"

Blum nodded continuously and even started boasting, "Of course, Master! I have studied numbers since I was little, and over the years I have become well-versed in addition, subtraction, multiplication…"

"Good, good…" Gerald nodded, "I might have use for you, you can help me keep the finances in check. But I'll probably have to teach you a few things about calculus first… Make sure to study hard!"

"Yes, Master! Leave it to me, I'll do my very best, I'm a quick learner!" Blum was excited to learn, however, that's simply because he wasn't aware of the horrors that were waiting for him.

How many almost gave up on life because of calculus? Spending long sleepless nights trying to learn the complex formulas only to become even more confused in the end? It happened all the time back on Earth.

However, if Gerald wanted to have a good helper, teaching him about economics, physics, and complex math was a must! Besides, to truly understand magic, a good grasp of the natural laws was mandatory, and what better way to do so other than math?

"Alright, enough of that," Gerald said. "Get your things packed up and get ready. We are returning back to Auralba soon!"

"Yes, my Lord!"

"Yes, Master!"

Warren and Blum left to pick up a few miscellaneous things and give a hand to the wounded. Most of them had to be transported on the wagon since they were immobile.

In the meantime, Gerald still couldn't quite believe what just happened. Did he get two more helpers just like that? It was nothing like what he had in mind when creating Black Onyx, but he was not going to say no to a pair of free workers.

"Hmm? Warren's helmet…" He picked up the old and rusty helmet the man left on the ground. A few small words were inscribed on it. "[Helm of Iron]? Well, duh. But it doesn't look like it would offer much protection anymore…"

He rubbed the surface to remove some dirt, and a few pieces chipped off, revealing another barely-legible word.

"[Helm of Iron Will]?" Gerald read with a puzzled expression and lifted an eyebrow. "Don't tell me, this thing is a magical object? But it's made out of iron!" He wasn't sure what to think, so he exerted some strength to test the helmet's durability. What if it was enchanted? That would be cool.

Crack!

However, he was bound to be left disappointed. The helmet was too old and completely rusted through and through. It crumbled in his hand, and the pieces fell apart like old crackers. Even if it used to hold any enchantments, they were long gone.

"Um…" Gerald was stupefied and quickly looked around to see if anyone noticed. After he confirmed that he was alone, he quickly turned around and left.

"Whatever, nothing to see here… Back to Auralba we go, yes, yes…" he mumbled and went to pack his things.

He gathered the few items he had, the silver hand, his sword, as well as his spear, and then went to see Tabbris who was currently talking with the few of his remaining teammates. It was safe to say the Phoenix Knights were no more.

They lost more than half of their people, and those were all promising youths who they fought with, side-by-side, for almost a decade.

"Hey," Gerald greeted and attracted attention to himself from whatever was they were all looking at.

"Gerald!" Tabbris stood up and pulled him closer. "You came at the right time, look what we found!" He showed him a fistful of finger-length nail-like objects that had thin hooks all over them and a small gem on the thicker part. It was just like the one he found underground in the Orc's neck.

"After you discovered that one I decided to check the rest of the beasts… And guess what? We found all of these in the corpses of Orcs!

"Hmm," Gerald furrowed his brows while examining the artifacts. He couldn't feel any Mana at the moment, but he was certain he could learn a lot if he could.

"So they truly were being controlled, huh? What did you learn?" he asked.

Riordian the Water mage was the one to answer, "It's nothing much, that's why we need to return to the capital as fast as possible! This is way bigger than us, and if we stay any longer I'm afraid we'll all perish." He spoke in a somber voice, and the rest nodded in agreement.

"Then when do we leave?"

"One hour!" Tabbris decided, and then added, "We'll have to be slower because of all of the wounded, but we still need to hurry! Let's go!"

The Phoenix Knights split up and hurried along to get things done.

Gerald went to check on the girls and also introduce the new team members. It turned out that they already knew each other, but that was to be expected. He was absent for a few days and was last to learn what was happening after all.

Their road was void of any dangers, maybe because the beasts and bandits were cleared out beforehand, or because the smell of war permeated the air.

In any case, their return lasted much longer, and so they returned to the capital around noon on the third day. They immediately went to deliver the news to the Guild, as well as get healers and medics to help with the wounded.

Gerald mostly recovered, but that was only because Tabbris had some spare Health Potions. They were many times more effective than those cheap Healing Potions. Still, his skin remained full of scars, and it was unlikely they would ever completely disappear.

The Phoenix Knights then left to deliver the news to the Royal Palace, where Tabbris went to speak with his father as well as the King himself. The news was too important not to be delivered personally.