A few days had passed since Raze had visited the town with Safa. Each night, Raze continued to join in the training, which seemed to still focus on perfecting the two-step shift as a group.
Raze participated, doing his best to increase his stamina. While there were some improvements, they were negligible, almost as if he were unwell. Nevertheless, he continued to cultivate each night, and his Dark attribute continued to grow stronger.
He could feel that the Dark attribute was nearing its peak. If he didn't manage to become a 2-star mage soon, he would hit the cap.
The good news was that during this time, there were no visitors. No visitors from the Red Brigade Clan, no visitors from Gren, or anyone else. Being secluded in the mountains, they were away from gossip and rumors, so he had no idea what had happened with that 'incident.' For now, he would focus on himself.
There was one surprising thing, though. After a couple of days, Safa had returned to the temple, and she was completely fine. There were no bandages on her arm, and she had no broken bones. There was now a small scar on her bottom lip, but it was quite remarkable. Raze wondered what the physician had done without any magic to expedite the healing process.
He thought that maybe he should have stayed to observe.
During the day, the group had finished their chores early, leaving them with free time to do as they wished. Most of them were playing games like tag or hopscotch on the ground. Some were simply taking naps.
As for Simyon, he was walking around outside when he spotted Safa sitting alone under a tree, seemingly reading a book.
"I'm surprised that someone her age can read," Simyon thought. "I thought she and Raze were from a family with no name. They wouldn't have been able to afford school. Most do learn the basics at the Pagna Academy due to needing them to read skill books and cultivation manuals. I guess with the way she is, it would make sense if she found some way to read, since she can't talk."
While Simyon approached her, he felt a bit sorry for her. Due to her condition, none of the other kids wanted to play with her. The others were much younger, making it challenging to communicate with someone who couldn't speak. Gren, the twins, and himself were the only ones around her age.
"Hey, do you mind if I sit with you?" Simyon asked, tilting his head to catch the name of the book she was reading: 'How to Control Your Emotions.'
Safa shook her head to indicate that she didn't mind, and Simyon took a seat beside her, making sure not to encroach on her personal space.
"You know, I think that book might be better for your brother to read," Simyon suggested.
Safa responded with a small giggle or two. While she could make simple noises like giggling, an outright laugh was nearly impossible and would sound like huge breaths of air.
"You know, sometimes, I wish your brother were as approachable as you," Simyon said as he started playing with the mud on the ground.
Safa looked at him and raised her shoulders while making hand gestures, but Simyon couldn't understand their meaning.
"Are you trying to ask why?" Simyon guessed, to which she quickly nodded.
Before saying anything further, Simyon turned his head to look for Raze. Children were playing outside, but Raze was nowhere in sight.
"The truth is, Safa, I think your brother's really strong. And if he is, I wanted to ask him how he got strong. We can see from the training that he's not as talented as you, so what's his secret?" Simyon said to himself.
He hadn't approached Raze yet and had only observed him during the past few days of training, but nothing stood out.
"You know, I'm sure your brother would never tell you this, so keep it a secret. But he was actually the one who gave Gren a beating," Simyon confided. "I saw it with my own two eyes. That's why that bully hasn't come back, and that's how I know your brother is strong as well."
Safa's eyes widened as she heard this, and her heart started to beat slightly faster, with her face turning slightly red. She had always worried whether Raze cared for her and if he would be angry at her for losing those crystals. She had tried her hardest, and she wondered if he had seen that. To hear this, it seemed like she was right about her brother being a kind person.
"So, how do you think I should approach him?" Simyon asked. "I was thinking of trying to force him to teach me. You know, if he doesn't teach me, then I'll tell Mr. Kron what he did to Gren."
Immediately, Safa started to shake her head violently. She could already imagine how that scene would play out, based on the few instances she had seen a different side of Raze.
"Haha, you don't think that's a good idea either, huh? I had a feeling that might not work," Simyon said.
Trying to find a way to communicate, Safa eventually picked up the book she was reading and started to point at certain words. Her index finger lingered on the word until Simyon said it out loud.
"You," Simyon called out.
She stopped for a moment and looked at him.
"I can read, don't worry, keep going," Simyon said with a smile.
Eventually, after going through each word this way, Simyon had gathered what Safa was trying to say.
"So you think I shouldn't use this in a threatening way, but if I can spin it so it sounds like he owes me a favor for keeping this secret, then he might teach me because he owes me one... I see, I think that could work. I just need to find the right time," Simyon said.
Later that night, Raze exited his room and turned to look at Safa, who was gazing at him. No words were spoken, as she simply turned away as if she were trying to get some sleep, while Raze closed the door behind him.
"It seems like she's learning fairly quickly," Raze smiled to himself.
Back in the same spot as before, in the forest, Raze drew a magic circle on the ground. He then touched the cloth-like clothing that had been given to him by the temple. It started to change slightly, almost growing out of the shirt he was wearing, and now a full black robe was on him.
The long black robe covered most of his legs, almost touching the floor, and when he pulled up the hood, his face was harder to see than usual, being slightly distorted around his eyes. Only his nose and mouth could be seen clearly; it was one of the robe's effects.
Lifting one side of the robe open, Raze reached in and pulled out the power stone, holding it in his hand.
"It's been exactly a week since I last went to this place. That's what that person said, to come back in a week."
Opening a portal to another dimension would be risky, as there was a high chance it could lead to a place filled with even more dangerous beasts. The beasts from the portal he had opened before were suited to his level, but there was a chance he could run into Beatrix or someone like Beatrix again.
However, for some reason, the strange man had helped him last time. Just in case something like that happened again, he thought it would be safer as long as the man was present.
Although meeting them was more of a side goal, Raze just aimed to get more crystals.
"Let's hope things go better this time," Raze said as he stepped into the portal.
At the same time, in another part of the continent, Dame and his small squad were staring at a portal in front of them. "I hope we get to meet him again, the Dark Magus," Dame smiled.