Building Connections
[Speed Boost]
Magister Kever rushed towards Rodo. Rodo jumped back, knowing that he couldn’t win against the magister when it comes to swordsmanship.
“Do you think I will let you get away?”, Rodo said.
Magister Kever looked around. He wanted to withdraw from the fight, but he realized that it would be hard to get away from the Tigers.
“Why are you targeting one of my students? Who hired you?”, the magister asked.
Rodo didn’t answer, which frustrated the magister.
“I see, you’re actually capable of loyalty”, the magister said, and then he asked Rodo. “I want to withdraw from the fight. If you just let me put Kael in a safe place, then we can resume the fight. But if you really insist to do it now, I have no choice. So, Rodo, what do you think?”
Rodo looked at his subordinates. “Do you really think you can win against all of us?”, Rodo stated.
Magister Kever understood the message. “So that’s your answer… okay then”
Magister Kever prepared himself. Initially, he was ordered by the king to apprehend the rebels, and to not kill them if possible. However, it was obvious that he could not do that in their situation.
“Prepare yourself”, the magister declared.
[Speed Boost]
The magister stacked multiple speed enhancement magic on himself.
[Strength Boost]
The stacks of strength enhancement proved that the magister is at the level of grade A mages.
[Clean Cut]
The magister’s blade glowed white. His opponents were alerted, but they didn’t do anything. They were waiting for Rodo’s commands, but up to that point, they didn’t hear any.
“Master, what should we do?”, one of Rodo’s grade A mages asked. All of Rodo’s subordinates were still recovering their mana, after pouring all that they have to chain Kael in place. The plan worked for them. Rodo’s blade reached Kael, which disabled Kael’s magic. But, the arrival of the magister was unexpected, and so, their efforts became their disadvantage. At that point, only Rodo can fight for them.
“Jump back when you heard my signal”, Rodo answered. He was familiar with what the magister was trying to pull off. It was a dangerous technique that he couldn’t defend against. It was a good thing that the magister could only do it once per hour.
[Hidden Blades]
“Now!”, Rodo exclaimed.
There’s a slight delay before the magister’s multiple attacks hit. But it was too fast that after he returned his sword to its scabbard, several Tigers were cleanly cut in half. The rebels that survived sustained cuts on multiple parts of their body, while Rodo managed to jump back on time. In total, six Tigers were killed.
“I should polish this technique more”, Magister Kever stated. He looked at the casualties he caused.
“Apologies, your majesty”, the magister whispered to himself.
Rodo’s subordinates were terrified, as they witness their comrades’ deaths. They weren’t aware that they were moving away little by little, fearing that the magister could do it again.
“The next strike will not miss. Prepare yourself, Rodo”
Magister Kever pointed his sword towards Rodo. His gaze was unflinching, his eyes were expressing his killing intent.
[Speed Boost]
Rodo prepared himself once again. He didn’t remember that the magister has another attack after the unseen blades. He was anxious, waiting for the next attack. But then, the magister did something unusual.
Magister Kever lifted up Kael. He looked at Rodo, and said one thing to the leader of Tigers.
“Until we meet again”, Magister Kever said. After that, he ran quickly, back to the inhabited part of town.
“Wha–”
Rodo was too late to realize. It was a bluff from the magister. He didn’t know that the magister almost used up all his mana for his special attack. It was the right call for the magister to retreat. He was a skilled warrior, but in terms of mana capacity, he was no match against a master grade. Just like that, Magister Kever saved Kael from the Tigers.
In the morning, Kael woke up with his wound already healed. However, the curse symbol was still on the place where he was stabbed. He quickly realized that he was not alone, and he was not in his house.
“Oh, you’re awake Kael”, Magister Kever said. He greeted Kael and offered some breakfast.
“Where are we, magister?”
“You’re in my house. It’s not safe to stay in your home anymore, so I will let you stay here”, the magister replied. Magister Kever then continued speaking, telling Kael the rules in his house. Kael was still thinking about what happened last night.
“Kael, are you listening?”, the magister asked. He lectured Kael about the importance of listening to adults’ words. Kael was silent for awhile, then he cleared his mind.
“Magister, why are you doing this? You have no involvement in this, this is my problem”, Kael stated.
Magister Kever paused. He ate one of the bread he prepared for their breakfast. “Before you start questioning, can we reconcile with this?”, the magister said, while handing Kael a piece of bread. From there, there was silence until they finished eating.
“Now, let me first apologize for thinking that you have ill intentions towards Rezelus”, the magister said, slightly lowering his head. “As for your question, I’m doing this because you’re one of my students”
Kael was surprised, but he kept listening. The magister stated that Kael proved his innocence by fighting against one of the enemies of Rezelus church. The magister witnessed Kael’s life, and determined that his thinking towards his student was flawed.
As for how he got to the fight last night, Magister Kever explained that he was searching for the Tigers back then, and happen to stumble upon the uninhabited place where the fight happened. Kael was relieved that the magister didn’t witness him destroying the powerful magic chains that binded him.
“I told you my story. Now tell me, why are the Tigers trying to kill you?”, the magister asked. Kael was silent, so the magister assumed that Kael was unwilling to answer. However, when he was about to apologize and dismiss his question, Kael asked him a surprising question.
“Magister, even if you trust me, can I really trust you?”