XXV

  Kaz stepped out from the tree and faced the group of 4, who were all very tall compared to him. He looked up at them, and before he could speak, everyone audibly gasped at him. He felt his heart sink, they probably knew who he was already.

  He spoke up, his voice raspy and quiet from not speaking for some time now, “Sorry, I didn’t mean —"

  “You poor thing! What happened to you?” One of the females rushed at him, gripping his shoulders.

  He was rooted in place, seizing up at the contact and sudden attention, not expecting this.

  “Eliza, leave the poor guy alone. Let him speak up,” the towering male Human chided her.

  The girl, who he knew now as Eliza, backed up, mumbling an apology.

  Kaz cleared his throat, trying to find the words, and spoke up again, “Sorry for following you guys. I am simply lost and have been trying to get to Sarus, and you guys were the first group for me to run across, so I assumed I would follow you guys to Sarus and leave you guys alone.”

  The female Elf asked him gently, “So why didn’t you approach us and simply ask us to help guide you back to town?”

  Kaz winced slightly, before mustering the courage to reply, trying to keep his voice from cracking, “I haven’t had the best luck with people, so I didn’t want to approach you guys, especially since I am alone.” His voice cracked several times, as his anxiety and trauma were starting to catch up to him.

  The male replied to him, slightly frowning at him, not upset at him, but in pity, which caused a spark of anger to flare within him, but he kept his cool, “Understandable. Well, you’re free to join us, as we were heading back to Sarus, like you correctly assumed. Unless any of you object to that?”

  The rest of the girls shook their heads, and they began walking back to town, with a Gnome joining them on the trip.

  Eliza POV

  Her heart broke looking at the tiny figure before them. He looked like someone who had gone through all kinds of extensive trials, his robe was a mess, full of holes and scratches, with enough dirt and blood to explain that this guy was out in the open for way too long. He was also alone, which raised some questions in her head. He also didn’t pull back his hood, but when she kneeled in front of him, she noticed the silver eyes looking back at her, glowing intently.

  He carried an impressive weapon, which glowed a soft white, which she knew meant this weapon was of (Refined) quality. She wondered how much Resonance he had, as he was alone in this forest, and he also had a high quality weapon, but she didn’t have the courage to ask any questions, not wanting to pressure the poor guy.

  “So, what’s your name?” She heard Dorrel softly ask him.

  “I’m Kaz,” he answered, not indulging anything more. Dorrel simply nodded, Kaz’s caution reasonable with meeting a new group. Dorrel then began introducing all of them, starting with himself, “My name is Dorrel Ulrailis, and I’m a Defender. That over there is Eliza Oredale, who is an Archer. She is Tiayla Lothuralea, a Fighter, and finally, that’s Helenesta Bronda, a Forager,” while pointing out each person while introducing them.

  Kaz nodded at everyone, and in an almost hushed voice, he stated, “I’m a Mage.”

  They all kept their reactions to themselves, not believing their luck. They were looking for a Mage to join their group, but unfortunately all the Mages back in Sarus were, to put it nicely, very rude. They all continued in silence, which she assumed was to allow himself to open up to them, until she heard a voice behind her.

  “Was that you back in the cave, hiding behind some of the crates?” She flinched as Helenesta asked their new member. Eliza wanted to slap her forehead. She saw him miss a step and she heard a slight sigh coming from him, and he meekly replied,

  “Yeah, that was me. I was on my way out when I heard you guys entering the cave. I ran back into the big room and hid in the corner, hoping you guys wouldn’t see me.”

  She heard Tiayla inhale sharply, before pausing, and turning to him, almost whispering, “Was that… was that blood yours on the loot chest?”

  She saw Kaz wince, and he nodded, not responding verbally. She softly followed up, “Are you okay now?”

  Again, Kaz nodded, although this time, he replied to them, “There was a health potion in the chest that I quickly drank.”

  Everyone nodded, releasing the breaths they were holding. He nearly died in that room, but thankfully that chest gave him a health potion. The tension slowly escaped the group, and they began bombarding poor Kaz with questions, to which he replied, slowly warming up to them.

  Helenesta first asked him, “If you don’t mind us asking, what is your Resonance at? Because we know the Stonerock Goblins in this area are pretty strong, so someone like you must be pretty powerful in order to take down groups of these goblins down by yourself.”

  He nodded thoughtfully and replied to her cautiously, “I just reached 15 Resonance. How about you all?”

  Everyone came to a halt and looked at him in, eyes wide in amazement. He shifted uncomfortably, gripping his hood and pulling it tighter around his head.

  Dorrel was the first to respond, who they viewed as the leader, as he definitely fit that role. He started speaking, but then had to clear his throat, “We are all around 7 Resonance, but Helenesta is still at 5 Resonance.”

  Kaz simply nodded, as if he knew that they were around that range. He must’ve seen their battle against the group of goblins and made an assumption based on that. After everyone’s shock passed, they resumed their journey, slowing down as they tried to lengthen their walk in order to ask Kaz more questions.

  It was her turn to speak up, a question burning in her mind, she politely asked him, “So, why are you going to Sarus, especially alone?”

  Kaz simply stayed silent for a while, and Eliza realized she might’ve asked the wrong question. As she was beating herself over her lack of emotional awareness, she heard him speak up, a voice full of pain that tugged on her heart strings.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I had an unfortunate turn of events back in the town I was from. After my Awakening, the people closest to me and those that didn’t even know me, turned on me, so I decided that I had to find a new town to start over. So, here I am now.”

  Everyone knew he was hiding some details from them, but it made sense. It honestly made her sad, how could people turn on him, especially since he had so much power.

  “How long have you been on the road?” She heard Tiayla ask him, grateful she asked that, as she was wondering.

  “I think around 3 weeks? Honestly, I don’t know how much time really passed,” he replied casually.

  Tiayla nodded, because it made sense. Looking at the state of him, he has had a rough time these past few weeks.

  In surprise, it was Kaz who asked them a question, “Are all of you attending the Academies in Sarus?”

  Everyone nodded, with Dorrel speaking up, “Yes, we were fortunate enough to receive two-star Callings that allowed to visit our local Academies.”

  Kaz simply nodded, not offering a response. Was he looking to join the Academy here? Surely, he would easily get in, as he seemed like a two star Mage, and she wouldn’t doubt it if he was a three star Mage, because surviving by yourself in these areas most people couldn’t do even those who were talented two stars.

  Helenesta chimed in, as if reading her thoughts, “The Mage Academy is pretty good in Sarus. I am pretty sure you will be able to get in still for this year.”

  She heard a disappointed sigh coming from him, and to everyone’s surprise, he revealed to them, “I am only a one star Mage, hence why I am in this situation.”

  Everyone was speechless, unable to process that confession. She was quickly broken out of it though, as they heard roaring coming from behind them. Dorrel got into position, placing his shield in between them and the five charging goblins. She unslung her bow and prepared her arrows. She felt a slight static feeling, and then she saw a jagged mana construct fly towards one of the goblins. It immediately fell over, and she saw Kaz cast again, and his mana construct struck the same goblin, instantly defeating it.

  She was dumbstruck, it only took two attacks from him to defeat one of them?

  “Why aren’t you firing your arrows, Eliza?” Tiayla’s voice called out to her, breaking her from her thoughts. She quickly strung her bow, casting her [ Quick Shot ] to aid their group.

  Her attack hit the goblin in the head, not affecting its charge at all. She saw as another goblin hit the ground, disappearing as it was defeated. She glanced at Kaz, who was calmly casting and taking down the goblins like it was nothing. This was a one star Mage?

  Kaz POV

  Kaz was loving this fight. He was able to cast his [ Mana Burst ] one after another without having to worry about taking any damage. The guy with the shield, Dorrel, managed to keep their attention and they all pelted his shield, and he just stood firm, blocking all of the goblins’ attacks.

  It was honestly impressive for him to be witnessing this up close, and it felt good to be fighting as a group. He continued to cast his [ Mana Burst ], although he started to slow down, not wanting to take down all the enemies himself. The group was probably out here to gain experience and Rank their Abilities, so he decided he would only step in when they were in danger. It also seemed that Dorrel was slightly overwhelmed with the goblins, so he grasped his glaive and stepped up next to him.

  Dorrel looked at him, a questioning look in his face, and then asked him, “What are you doing up here? You’re going to take damage.”

  Kaz honestly smiled back at him, and turned to the goblins, stepping towards them. Two of the three approached him, grinning as a smaller weaker target appeared. Kaz met their grins with one of his own and got into a stance. They charged at him, and he activated his [ Mana Shield ] while also listening to the pulses from [ Evasive Step ]. He dodged and blocked every attack, not sweating at all. He occasionally grazed each of the goblins, but tried to minimize his own damage to help the others get their attacks in.

  After a few more minutes, Tiayla finally stabbed the final goblin through its back, her blade exiting out the goblin’s chest.

  They all gathered together, breathing heavily and trying to recuperate from the battle. Kaz simply sat down, and began his [ Mana Regeneration ], oblivious to everything around him.

  He felt a slight tug on his shoulder, instantly breaking his channeling, and his eyes shot open, immediately reaching for his glaive out of reflex.

  “Whoa whoa, it’s me, Eliza! We were wondering if you’re good to go. We tried asking you, but you weren’t responding.”

  He calmed down, his adrenaline coming to a halt, as he stood up slowly. He felt embarrassed by this situation, so he decided to explain himself while looking down, “Sorry about that. I was channeling my Passive Ability, [ Mana Regeneration ]. It puts me in a state where I shut myself from the world until I recover my Mana Points.”

  They all nodded slowly, each of them with a questioning look on their face. He tilted his head to the side, wondering what he said wrong.

  Helenesta was the one to speak up, “But wouldn’t that leave you open to any attacks?”

  Kaz looked up and nodded, explaining himself, “Ah yeah, that makes sense to ask. I have another Passive, [ Evasive Step ], which pulses my mind whenever I am about to be under attack and helps me dodge during combat.”

  They all nodded absent mindedly, and Eliza simply threw her hands in the air. She exasperatedly exclaimed, “Is there anything you can’t do?”

  Kaz chuckled for the first time in ages, and was glad he had a hood one, as it hid the lone tear of happiness that ran down his cheek. They continued on their journey, with them asking about his own personal journey. Kaz relayed all of his moments from his journey. He described all the monsters he ran into, first the Grass Slimes and the bigger variant of a Grass Slime, then the powerful wolf that was his first real challenge. He told them about the bird that woke him up, and that got a light chuckle from everyone. He explained his battles with the Woodspike Hedgehogs, which inspired his mana constructs and provided him with big updates to his Ranks. He brought up his run in with the Bandits, and then the Inn, where Bartly took him in and allowed him to pay in crystals.

  Kaz also explained how he got told by Bartly how he should head to the area where the Ironbark Boars were, and his encounter with the one very strong one. That got everyone slightly emotional, but everyone quickly perked up when he mentioned the three-tailed fox, and unfortunately, they didn’t know either what it was. He illustrated his journey while he was lost and managed to climb the tree to find the mountains and head in that direction, running into more Timberfang Wolves which were no challenge for him anymore.

  Embarrassed, he revealed his first encounter with the Stonerock Goblins, and how it led to his fight with the Elite Stonerock Goblin, his near death fight, and how he obtained the key, which gave him the quest to come to the cave.

  Everyone absorbed what they were told, each of them going through many emotions, of despair, amazement, and pity for him. He was honestly glad they didn’t call him a liar, and they believed every word he said, or at least acted as if they did.

  They walked in silence after that, everyone still digesting his story, not having any questions for him. Until Eliza spoke up, looking down at his fingers, and asked him, mumbling slightly, “Would it be possible to see your face Kaz? Are you by chance a Gnome?”

  Kaz was slightly taken aback. He reached up to his hood and hesitated. He bought this robe to protect his identity from people. But these weren’t just regular people, they were people who were potentially going to become his new friends. Hopefully. It honestly scared him to put his trust in these people, but everyone looked at him, with earnest smiles and eyes filled with warmth.

  He pulled his hood back and met everyone’s eyes, and then shyly looked away, his cheeks and ears turning red from embarrassment as everyone studied him.

  “I love your eyes, Kaz. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such brilliant silver eyes,” Eliza spoke up at him, beaming at him.

  “Thank you,” he mumbled, and then quickly pulled up his hood, gaining a lighthearted chuckle from the group. They continued along the road, which they finally reached. He saw many people along the road this close to the town, with them occasionally greeting the people that were in his group. He merely kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with everybody.

  “That is Sarus up ahead, Kaz,” Tiayla softly whispered to him.

  Kaz looked up and saw a town that was easily double the size of Forith, with impressive stone walls that reached the sky. His excitement bubbled in him, with anxiety not that far behind.