Mahon spent almost one hour looking through the first half of the book, and although it was very instructive about Finem’s history he found no mention whatsoever about anyone capable of living as long as a millennium. In fact, he didn’t even see any reference to the Immortal King that the old librarian had talked about.

Not losing patience, he continued reading with attention and when he reached the two-thirds of the book, his efforts were finally rewarded. On the right page, a single sidebar story immediately drew his attention. It was titled King Dragomir, the first Immortal King?, and Mahon skipped the left page to read it first.

His eyes opened wide as he read through, and he turned to the next page as soon as he finished. Like that, Mahon devoured six pages of the book without even blinking. Seeing the passage about Immortal King was over after that, he went back to the beginning and re-read it.

Afterwards he pulled out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and started to take notes furiously. He only stopped writing to re-read some paragraphs, and when he finished, he dropped his pencil and laid down on his chair with a serious expression.

“By the Fada…”

The book had confirmed there indeed existed people capable of living very long lives of multiple millennia. All of these people had come to do extraordinary things, and most, if not all, became monarchs at a time, and that’s why they were known as Immortal King.

There were two notable characteristics about the Immortal King that immediately drew Mahon’s attention. The first one was that all of them, without exception, had been great architects. The text described how they had miraculously built cities or fortifications out of nowhere every time they needed. That feat didn’t happen just once, but it was instead a recurrent theme among the Immortal Kings.

Mahon couldn’t help but think about Earth magic when he read about it. But that wasn’t even the biggest revelation. The second thing that all Immortal Kings shared was a complete immunity to poison. It was recorded multiple times, because according to the author, it was because of this immunity that they managed to rule for so long despite others’ attempt to deprive them of their power.

As to how the Immortal King obtained such power, the author could only speculate. As they started to appear after the Fada went missing, the most likely theory was that they were some kind of Fada hybrid. A child born from the union of a human and a Fada, but the author couldn’t be less certain.

Among the feats related to the Immortal Kings, the author attributed the creation of the Ill Immortals to the first of them, King Dragomir. He also explained the initial goals of the Ill Immortals, which were approximately the same Elas had related to Mahon, that is to say protect the world from any threats.

Although the era of the Immortal Kings was no more, a more recent note indicated that they should still exist, but had learnt not to be on the front-stage anymore. Given how the Ill Immortals had walked away from their initial objectives, it was likely that they had rebelled against their Immortal King progenitors, and that had spurred the legendary existences to hide and help humanity from the shadows instead.

Whereas they still existed today remained a mystery that perhaps only the most powerful knew of, but in a commendable display of positivity, the author strongly believed they still existed.

Browsing through the other three books, Mahon didn’t find anything of importance, except for the mention of yet another book, much more recent, entirely dedicated to the Immortal Kings.

Mahon went back to the first floor to ask the librarian about the book, but the old lady sighed, and informed him it had been transferred to the capital a long time ago, and it wasn’t in their hands anymore. Not a bit disappointed by this news, Mahon exited the library with millions of thoughts swirling in his mind.

He had forced himself to think as White and write down all the information without interpreting anything. Only that way could he be certain he would not bias the information even more. But now that he was out of the library, he couldn’t help but think about it.

Am I an Immortal King? Or rather, one of their descendants? Is that why we protect Ratho from the Amentiae and not the human? Because we’re related to Fada in the end? Only with the years, the Fada’s blood in our veins grew weaker, and we can now only live up to a millennium whereas the Immortal Kings of yesteryear could live multiple millennia?

That would also explain the Earth magic. If it’s an ability coming from the Fada, and the Immortal Kings inherited it, it’s only natural we can use it too but not the human. If that is the case, though, why did we lose the ability to wield fire magic then? Aren’t we both human and Fada? There is no mention of time magic either, but given the invisible nature of the Flow, It might have gone unnoticed…

He had spent a lot of time in the library, and he only realized when he exited it that the sun was past its zenith, and the afternoon was already well underway. His stomach rumbled at the same time, reminding him that a long time had passed since he had sat to read.

Following Siraye’s advice, he stopped at a street food vendor stall and bought a hot sandwich made with a wide bread filled with strips of grilled meat and raw vegetables. The thing was delicious, and he devoured it in five minutes, licking his fingers in the end not to miss a single bit.

Construction related to Earth magic and immunity to poison… The more I think about it, the less I believe we’re not related to the Immortal King in some way. That’s too many coincidences.

With disturbing thoughts filling his mind, Mahon finally came back to Siraye and Jorik in the market. They were as busy as when Mahon had left them. It seemed nothing had changed here. He gestured to Jorik that he had made important discoveries, and that they should talk. Jorik replied with the end of service sign, and Mahon nodded. He resumed his position at the other end of the cart and waited for the remaining open hours of the market to pass. He was glad he had already focused yesterday to let his mind absorb his surroundings because with what he had read before, Mahon was incapable of focusing on the market or Siraye. His mind was entirely obsessed with Immortal Kings.

If they’re still alive and we could find one, they would know about the Fada, the Amentiae and Ratho. But where could they be hidden?

While such questions haunted Mahon’s mind, no one attempted to steal anything while he was on watch with Jorik, and Siraye gave her all to sell her weapons to the adequate people. She ended the day with a satisfied sigh, and Mahon and Jorik helped her to secure her cart and her load.

As they were almost finished, Edwin walked to them with determined steps and a worried look. When he saw Mahon and Jorik by Siraye’s side however, his expression eased a little.

“What did you do?” He shot at the woman.

“What?” She threw him a puzzle look.

“The emasculated man.”

“Oh! This...”

“Yes, this. Do you know who he was?”

“Does it matter?” She answered with a bored tone. “You know that’s…”

“Yes, it does!” Edwin barked. “Although we’re not subject to the town’s jurisdiction, we still need their approval if we want to stop our caravan at Stonewell.”

Sensing the subject was much more touchy than she thought, Siraye didn’t answer, and Edwin continued, getting angrier and angrier as he talked.

“That was the son of the mayor that you assaulted! And not even in the caravan! You did it in the streets of Stonewell! What went through your mind?!”

“He tried to rape me.” Siraye said with a low voice, and Edwin was immediately rendered silent. “He came to the market yesterday at lunch and tried to buy my father’s sword forcefully. I refused multiple times, but he insisted while insulting me. I snapped when he tried to steal the sword and broke his fingers. That should have stopped there, but the same day, when we toured the city, he ambushed me with the help of other soldiers, and if not for Jorik and Mahon, they would have left me for dead. Or worse. I assure you I only made him pay a fraction of what I should have.”

Edwin sighed once he heard the full story. “Obviously, the mayor didn’t even mention any of it… Although he can’t really touch us because of the caravan’s law, he is threatening to ban the Frontaliers from stopping at Stonewell with any caravan if we keep you in ours. You know what that means for us. If we can’t stop at Stonewell, no sane merchants would want to join the caravan…”

“Fuck that bastard and his son.” Siraye muttered.

“Siraye!” Edwin threw a look around. “Don’t push it.”

“So what then? You’ll kick me out so he can do whatever he wants with me?”

“Obviously not.” Edwin shook his head. “But even then, my options are very limited. I bought enough time so that you can run away tonight. I agreed to a duel tomorrow in the morning, but if you’re long gone by then, he will not be able to do anything to you, and it wouldn’t be my fault either. I can’t do more than that.”

“You agreed to a duel?” Siraye frowned. “What’s the bet?”

“If he wins, you’re kicked out of the caravan. If you win, he drops all charges and you’re free to stay. That’s ridiculous, but I didn’t focus on getting a better bet. I just thought of a way to delay him enough so you could run away.” Edwin answered with a sigh.

“Why run?” Jorik intervened with a low voice. “You’re not forced to fight yourself in a duel, right? We can fight for you?”

“You’ll fight for me?” Siraye asked, eyes open wide.

“I’m ashamed you’ll think otherwise.” Jorik smirked. “And I’d gladly teach a lesson to the bastard who thinks he can do as he pleases and get away with it.”

“That would not do.” Jorik shook his head. “The mayor has obviously heard about you from his son because he hired a seven-star expert to represent him for the duel.”

Siraye kicked her own cart. “Fuck him!”

Jorik and Mahon exchanged a look. “We can’t be sure, but a seven-star might be right at your level.” The latter commented. “It’s maybe safer if I deal with him...”

Even with the Flow? Jorik gestured to Mahon, a frown barring his face.

It might not be reliable. Mahon gestured back.

Edwin eyed the silent exchange between the two men, unable to decode what they told each other. “Anyway.” He finally said. “The mayor except you tomorrow at the first light at the arena. I would advise you to pack your staff and run away when you can, but if you prefer, you’re free to accept the challenge. I’ve done what I could. It’s in your hands now, Siraye. I’m sorry.”

The woman nodded, and Edwin turned his back on them and left without any more words. Mahon was the first to speak once he was gone.

“Is there a rule preventing the usage of magic in the duel? What are the odds of our seven-star being a sorcerer?”

“Seven-star pure warriors are super rare. But sorcerers are even rarer. There is no rule preventing the usage of magic, and that’s exactly why sorcerers are so thought after in the capital. If you manage to hire one, your duel is basically a free win.”

“I see.” Mahon acquiesced. “It’s best if I fight then. I’m pretty confident I can deal with a seven-star. Sorcerer or not.”

“Don’t keep all the interesting opponents to yourself.” Jorik intervened. “Siraye said it might be possible, but it’s rare. So if it’s not a sorcerer, I’m the one fighting. Otherwise, or if we have a doubt, you can go.”

“Deal.” Mahon shrugged it off. “How can you test your grade by the way? If we win against a seven-star in a duel, does that mean we are directly promoted to seven-star?” He then asked Siraye.

“No.” She laughed. “That’s not that easy, unfortunately. You have to get tested either in an adventurer guild or a bodyguard center. You’re only allowed to challenge up to two ranks above your own, and you need to stay at least a month with the rank you get before you’re allowed to challenge it again. So even if you do it as quickly as you can, and challenge two-star today, you’ll need to wait a month before you get to four, then another month to six, and a third one to seven.”

“We can’t get ourselves tested to know our relative level, then.” Mahon sighed. “Dueling this seven-star will have to do.”

“Wait.” Siraye intervened. “I’m the one risking it all in there. I didn’t say I agreed to let you fight. It’s a seven-star we’re talking about! How confident are you in defeating one?”

“Depends if it’s a sorcerer or not.” Mahon immediately answered. “If he’s not, then even Jorik has a hundred percent chance to defeat him.”

“A hundred percent?” Siraye repeated with a slight frown. “I know you’re very strong, but a seven-star warrior is as close as you can imagine to the peak. I’ve only heard of one or two eight-star warriors in the whole Finem. Aren’t you overestimating yourself a bit?”

“I don’t think so.” Mahon shook his head. “We have our own tricks, after all. And even if I just have a rough idea of a seven-star fighting ability, I don’t think it’s up to our standard at all. Trust me.”

“What about a sorcerer then?” She asked.

“That’s more tricky. I have even less clue to their fighting ability, but that’s not the part I’m afraid of. Somehow, there seems to be a… slight hindrance when we use our techniques against fire magic. It’s not much, but enough to throw us off balance. I experienced it first against the two-headed goblins, so I’m a bit more used to it than Jorik.”

“What odds are we talking about then?” Siraye asked.

“I’d say fifty-fifty.”

“Fifty-fifty?! And you want to bet my life on this?”

“No. That’s why I said I would fight if a sorcerer came. Jorik has a fifty-fifty chance of winning against a sorcerer, but I think I still have a hundred percent.”

Siraye threw him an astonished glance to which Mahon only answered with a mysterious smile.