At the mountains, Damien briskly walked towards the fire.
The only thing he can see in the damn fog was the blurry little fire.
He was confused as his path was clear, there was nothing that made him trip or stumble even though this was a mountain rage.
'Is this another illusion? I don't want to go through that shit again.'
There wasn't even a plant or shrub to block his path, it was just a clear path leading straight to the fire. And it was suspicious as hell.
He was determined to see the hermit and turning away would only affect his life. There was no one like this guy in the entire novel.
In a way, this was just a cliche trope. The wise old man training the boy to become powerful and of course, using that to his advantage was the best thing he can do.
If he was in that certain novel with the casted out princess with three dragons, then he would've died the day he transmigrated into this world.
'Why the hell am I thinking about her?'
He slapped his cheeks and cautiously walked towards the fire.
He walked and walked and walked but the fire was still away from him. Like he hadn't been walking at all. 'Are you fucking kidding me!' He shouted internally.
He stopped for a moment and sat on the ground. He was tired as well as hungry after walking for hours.
There was nothing on the ground to even lean on.
'This is an illusion, okay. That fucking hermit must be playing with me.'
And there was nothing else to do other than to break free of this illusion.
He channeled his mana inside his body. Circulating it all around and inside the body.
If the said hermit is just testing Damien then the illusion spell must be of weak power, it is meant to be broken but if the hermit really doesn't want him there then nothing can break out of this spell.
Damien doubted the second one as the hermit already would've sensed the divine gift he had with him.
He won't steal it though, some morals he has.
Damien felt his whole body rejuvenating as the mana circulated throughout his system. The feeling was serene and vivid. He could feel his body strengthening, getting sturdier as wherever he focused the mana on.
Mana was indeed magical!
He closed his eyes and focused on dispelling the entire mana brimming his body to the outside in one single push. That way the spell bounding him would be dispelled instantly.
He waited and waited, making his body fully covered with mana and when the right time came, with a sudden cry he dispelled all the mana inside his body.
Instantly everything in the near vicinity was blown away with a violent wind.
When he opened his eyes he found himself surrounded by dust.
The fog was gone, replaced with a blinding light and sound.
It was almost deafening, but it didn't last forever as soon enough the noise subsided and left behind a strange silence.
what he saw didn't astonish him as he anticipated this scene the moment he suspected he was in an illusory spell.
It was the same place he had camped before night and it appears he hadn't left the makeshift camp at all and now...it was all gone.
Poof! Just like that.
"Well played old man."
It appears his bag was either missing or stolen, he suspects the latter though.
But he could see the water bottle laying across a large tree.
'Seems like there is no water on the mountains. Well, he was generous enough to leave the water at least. That's good.'
Grabbing the water bottle, he scanned the area. Though he was sure he wouldn't see the old man, that doesn't mean he shouldn't scan for other dangers.
The forest was the same as before, calm and serene with wonderful and not so creepy sounds of the nature.
You know, the sound of a wolf howling and trees creaking, those horror items. Yep, exactly that one.
He looked at the first step, he was already having second thoughts now. He could just turn back and return to his estate and do his regular chores; Sleep, eat, and whoring.
This was the old man's way of saying "Turn back now kiddo, this is the last chance," but he had come all the way here just to learn and become powerful and he's going to do that no matter what happens.
That was the burning desire he had, the desire to protect his lovers. The desire to protect himself from the likes of Calen and arrogant young masters.
He's a Zadkiel, someone who was born to be greatness, and he's going to embrace that without any hesitation.
He stepped forward, ignoring the fear and anxiety that was building up within him.
"I'm not scared of you, old man." He said, climbing the steep of the mountain foot. "I'm coming for you."
***
At the same time, on the Zadkiel Castle.
Heads of the vassal houses of the duchy were gathered in the office of Duke Zadkiel.
Their expression was that of grim and serious.
They didn't know what was the summon about but they knew it was of something dire seeing the state the castle is in.
Every single one of the servants was busy with various works like they were preparing for the end of the world and the soldiers...they were training harder and more brutally than ever.
Some of them were checking the weaponry and armory while the others were busy teaching the young ones.
It was like the Zadkiels were preparing for a war!
The heads murmured among themselves as to what to anticipate in the meeting, some of them speculated a civil war against the Silverthorne duchy while the others suspected this was a preparation for a rebellion against the crown.
With all the tension in the air, the door suddenly opened widely.
And the murmuring went dead. Their eyes watched as the Duke, along with his son and the commander of the duchy walked to the front of the masses.
Their expression was of utter seriousness, lips pursed and without even an ounce of a smile on their faces.
The situation was indeed dire, they all understood that.
"My lords," announced the Duke, standing at the front, to his sides his son and commander stood. "It seems the gods have cursed and abandoned us as we're, at this moment, at a war!"