I pretty much left the school without actually knowing where to go. Going to the capital is out of the question and I don’t really feel like going back to my parents. I remember a student talking about Han Village. Special students who graduated from Eule Academy and went there instead of the capital, it is said that it’s a good starting place for those who don’t want to become scribes or scholars, it’s like the starting area for those who graduated, that is if you can get there without dying. So, Han Village is somewhere between Cylon City and the academy. When I went with Jaden to his house we took a right somewhere. I think that going left will lead me to Han Village.

For now I should get to the crossroad. I heard that after dusk monsters as well as wild animals appear on the roads and if somebody somehow avoids them or survives there is a high chance of meeting bandits or even worse, demons. Oh well, if something happens I will just kill them and move on and speaking of moving, I should get moving before dusk. At a walking pace I should get to the crossroad in two hours. I could run but that would make me stand out even more, it’s not like being the only man on the road makes me inconspicuous.

After thirty minutes I reached the end of the forest and went onto the main road, now I need to follow it until I reach the crossroad. The landscape wasn’t impressive at all, after I exited the forest I stepped into grassland. Near the road were some bushes and the occasional tree. I haven’t noticed before but this road doesn’t look used at all. I’ve seen people come and go and usually there is a difference but not in this case.

I was getting close to the crossroad when I saw an old man lying in the middle of the road. Even with my enhanced vision I couldn’t detect any other people besides him and there isn’t any smell of blood in the air, I hope that he’s just tired or something.

He was a black haired man, built, wearing mostly hide clothes. It is summer so the temperature is Florida high so going clothed like that is guaranteed to make one sweat, maybe he is just thirsty.

My curiosity got the better of me and I ran to see if the old man was still alive.

“Hello, are you still alive?”

I tried calling him out instead of getting too close. I don’t feel any danger and I can’t detect anyone else but I have to make sure I’m not getting involved in something bigger than just a dying man.

“Is... someone... there?” the man asked.

So he isn’t dead after all, thank God. I went and checked the man’s condition using my powers. The initial scan showed that he was a 50 years old man, his threat level was zero so no problems here and it looks like he collapsed due to fatigue and, what a surprise, thirst. His condition looks stable but his body is pretty fucked from the heat.

“It’s OK, I’m a traveler; I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Can you...give me...water?”

“Yes, here you are.”

I helped the old man lift his upper body and I gave him the canteen I had in The Null. While he was drinking I used Dark Transfer to remove some of the fatigue. It really bothers me that my resistances don’t count when I’m using it, kind of stupid really.

“Thank you.”

The old man finished drinking all the water in my canteen in a second.

“Tell me child, where are you travelling to?”

“Han Village.”

“I see. Are you willing to listen to an old man’s request?”

I don’t really find it strange that he is asking me for help, he was lying on the ground after all. If he asks me to come with him to the village I’m seriously going to laugh.

“I cannot promise anything but I cat at least hear your request.”

“I too am heading to Han Village; I want you to be my travelling companion until we reach the village.”

Ha ha ha, I called it; he really needs my help getting to the village. As much as I try to abstain from laughing the temptation is strong.

“Are you perhaps amused by my request?” the confused man asked me.

“Indeed I am. Somehow I knew that you will ask me to accompany you.”

“Well of course, there was nothing else I could have requested. Well, no matter, laughing at the old ones is one of the advantages of youth.”

I quickly stopped smiling, took a deep breath and returned to my serious self.

“Well then, shall we get going?”

“Yes, let us proceed.”

It seems that the lack of education made these people make the best decisions. From where we are going straight forward will take us to Han Village, no detours, no curved paths and seemingly no monsters, the way is easy to remember.

I thought that the old man was weak when I first saw him but the amount of fatigue he accumulated in his body is quite amazing, even I would have problems walking if I were this tired.

After an hour of walking the old man wanted to take a break, he didn’t want to overexert himself and become a bother to me. While I understand his reason of taking a break I don’t think that taking one was such a good idea, the night is approaching and once the night comes so do the monsters. I wouldn’t really mind if I were alone but I’m not good at protecting others.

“You seem lost in thought, is there something wrong?” asked the man.

“I was looking at the sky, it’s getting rather dark.”

“True, I suppose it would be best to end this break and continue moving.”

I helped the old man up and kept moving.

After another half an hour I could see something in the distance, it looked like a wooden wall. When we got closer I confirmed it, the structure was a wooden wall, five meters tall, mostly made by tying logs together with iron chains. The gate itself was an iron gate, as tall as the logs; I don’t understand why somebody would put an iron gate there but whatever. The walls that covered the village were the same as the front wall, well, assuming that the structure is a defensive wall around the village. In front of the gate I could see two guards, a man and a woman fully dressed in iron armor. I picked up the pack a little, mostly because of my curiosity.

“YOU THERE, DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!” shouted the man.

…my ears are ringing. I know that we look suspicious but seriously now, we don’t even carry weapons with us…unlike the two guards armed with longswords.

“State your business.” said the man while pointing a sword at me.

Ever since I was little I was taught to disarm people looking to fight me. I’m pretty sure it would take me about four seconds to disarm the man and kill him and the woman, especially because the only light they have is the moonlight, but out of respect for the old man I won’t.

“Calm yourself, this child helped me.”

“Elder, is that you?” the woman asked.

“Indeed I am; I apologize for my late arrival, my battle against the sun ended with my defeat.”

“So you had a sunstroke…Whatever, just get in.”

To my surprise the gates quickly opened when the guards pushed them and the entrance to the village opened.

“Excuse me for asking but can you tell me your name?” the female guard asked.

“Alexander Lowe is my name.”

“My name is Ange. Thank you for taking care of the elder Alexander, he usually tends to disappear.”

“You don’t look like a lion to me. What are you anyway?” asked the male guard.

“He is a magician, of course.” the elder answered.

OK, that was impressive. Sure I don’t look like a knight but I don’t look like a magician either.

“Will it be impolite for me to ask how you reached that conclusion?”

“When you helped me get up I felt my fatigue leaving my body. One would think that the water in the canteen would have been the cause but it was obvious that the water inside was normal so I deduced that the reason my condition improved is magic. I did not see any light so I must ask, are you one of the black magicians?”

“The analysis was quite impressive but it’s not completely right. I know a little black magic but not to that extent. The magic I used is Dark Magic, that’s all I can tell you.”

“I do not intend to ask any further questions; that would be rude of me.”

“Thanks for understanding Elder Khan.”

Since he wanted to know about my magic I showed him another trick, I just spoke his name despite the fact that he never introduced himself…and he is quite calm about it.

“I see; I’m afraid that I will have to ask one more question, what is your purpose for coming here?”

“Truthfully, I just want to become an adventurer and make some money.”

“I sense no lies in your words. Well then child, as thanks for helping me, I will let you spend the night at my place.”

I expected to walk through the whole village before reaching the elder’s house but in reality the house was close to the gates. The houses in the village are made out of wood, the same type my house is made of though the shade is a little darker. The exterior looks rather simple so I guess that the elder doesn’t really care about looks and the house itself seems kind of small.

“Please come in.”

The inside of the house is as simple as the outside. From the entrance there is a hallway. On the left I can see two simple rooms, bedrooms I think; on the right a study room of sorts filled with books, a desk and a chair. The house was using light crystals as a light source, one for each room to be exact. Well, I can see in the dark so I don’t need to light mine up…and risk an explosion.

“Please you the farthest room on the right.”

“Ah, OK.”

“If you will excuse me I will go and change.”

I went to the second bedroom and the elder remained in the first one. I don’t really want to watch an old man undress so let’s just close the door and hop on the bed.

When I told him his name he didn’t panic or anything, I want to know why. Normally a person would be scared or change his facial expression but no, he acted so natural, it bugs me.

“Old man, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“You didn’t flinch when I spoke your name, I thought that it would scare you or something, why were you so calm?”

“Ah, of course…I cannot say that I lived a long life but in this short life I’ve learnt a few things so it’s only natural that I would know about your [Demon Eyes]. I believe that your eyes became like that as a result of curse or of an attempt to transform in a vampire but that is not the case with you, isn’t it?”

Hey hey, what is that supposed to mean, how does he know about it? There aren’t many humans that know about the [Demon Eyes] and even fewer people know how someone can get them.

“A failed attempt to transform in a vampire would be the more likely especially because the one your headmistress kept escaped.”

At first I was afraid, I was petrified. I don’t know how but he knows I was a student of Eule Academy and he also knows about Astrid, that’s not something he should know.

“How do you know about that?” leaving my manners in my room I barged in his, it’s a good thing that he had time to change.

“The headmistress told me this. A long time ago we used to be good friends. This village is close to the academy so when something important happens the headmistress tells me in hope noting happens to this village; that is the reason why I know about the vampire and about you, the child in an adult body. I have heard some things about you and I suspected that you are the one she talked about when you helped me; the moment you said my name I realized I was correct. If what she said is true then you will not bring trouble to our village.”

“I see, somehow I am relieved.”

“I should also mention that a human possessing the [Demon Eyes] isn’t uncommon, especially if you are a vampire slayer.”

“So, is that why you said I was bitten by a vampire?”

“Yes, you are correct. Now, is there anything else you want to ask?”

“There is something but it can wait until tomorrow.”

“Good night.”

“Good night.”

So he knows about me, Astrid and the fact that I am a child despite how I look. I tend to overlook the fact that the headmistress is a famous person…but still…AAAAH, fuck it; he knows who I am and he trusts me to some extent, that’s enough for now. Time to sleep.

As usual I spent most of my night in a meditative state instead of sleeping, which is the same as sleeping minus the dreaming part. Now that I’m in Han Village I have to find the Adventurers’ Guild and an inn.

I got up and left the room. It looks like the elder was already up, he was about to leave the house. It is almost 8 in the morning, where does he need to be at this hour?

“Morning.”

“Oh; good morning.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have to explain the situation to those two kids.”

“Are you talking about the guards?”

“Yes. We have a rule of not letting strangers in the village after dusk unless they are in danger, despite this rule I let you in so I will need to apologize.”

“I don’t understand why you would apologize but I’m not going to tell you to stop since I think it wouldn’t make a difference.”

“Indeed, it wouldn’t. I suppose now it is the time for me to tell you where the Adventurer Guild is. Follow the path, then go right and go straight ahead until you reach the village center, one you reach it look for a stone building. I believe that the building is easily recognizable for it is the only stone building in the village.”

“Thank you for your hospitality and for letting me inside the village. That said I guess I will also get going.”