As Marcus was walking behind his sister to head to the dining room , he looked at his woolen shirt and pants hardly believing he was truly in the past. When he reached the dining room,he was greeted by the sight of a light skinned woman with black hair that was starting to have grey spots setting up the table filled with servings of pilau,beef stew, kale, plantain and tilapia. All cooked with a wide range of spices.
"Marcus,Sheba. Help me get some extra stew from the kitchen,"Katelia,the woman setting up the table, told the siblings.
Marcus and Sheba complied with their mother's instructions and brought the stew from the kitchen to the table.
"If I'm to ask mom what's so special about today since you've gone all out on the meals?"
Marcus questioned since as a family living in the mideastern parts of the Maziwa region, using the wide range of spices used to cook the meals in front of him should not be considered cheap by any means.
"Oh, you don't remember? Today your brother should be returning from his military deployment from the Star Islands and your father has managed to secure a trade deal with a major trade company from Toros,"Katelia answered Marcus.
When those words were mentioned,a flurry of information surged from Marcus' memories about that day from his previous life. His father,Atlen Muhandi,was a merchant who worked for Wardin Exports,a company that exports a variety of agricultural products to foreign countries. Around two days ago from that day he managed to secure a trade deal with a processing company from the kingdom of Toros. His brother,Arbus had just finished a defense operation from Star Islands which his nation, Shabaard and another kingdom,Rimaal were fighting for the resources found in those islands.
"Tonight should be the night that..." Marcus' thoughts were interrupted by the door opening with two men entering their house.
One man was dark skinned with his face and hands having some wrinkles with greying facial hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a formal suit and carried a brief case. The other man was almost a taller and younger version of the first man and looked muscular in his green camouflage uniform and carried a large bag.
Katelia left the dining room to hug the two men while Sheba asked them,"how was your journey to here Arbus and dad?"
"The train from Kidani port to here was just fine and I managed to catch up with Arbus on his tales while he was on deployment,"Atlen said with a smile while his eyes had a sense of exhaustion.
Katelia noticed that and assisted her husband in carrying his luggage and welcomed the two men to have dinner. The whole family gathered at the table enjoying the food that was prepared.
" Just wait until the first pay from this contract hits we can eat like this without worries of cash. Hell,we might even expand this house of ours," Atlen said as he took a scoop of pilau.
" My dear don't go overboard with your imagination remember that we still have to worry about paying for Sheba's fees for university since her partial scholarship is about to end," Katelia commented.
" Oh. Why did I forget about that. There goes my plans to refurbish the house," Atlen said but felt a piercing gaze coming from Sheba.
"Let's not forget about the potential dowry we have to pay since Arbus has reached marrying age," Katelia said before continuing speaking looking at Arbus with a knowing smile.
"Speaking of which, when do you plan bringing a woman home. I am thinking it's about time you gave us a grandson,"
"I...I haven't yet found the one and besides how could I think of having a relationship before stepping out of the military,"Arbus said with an embarrassed look in his eyes.
"Nonsense. My friend's son is in the military and he already has a fiance and they are planning to hold a wedding by the end of the year. However, here you are without a mate and Marcus is about to finish school in a year. Anyways, Marcus have you decided what you are planning to do after you finish school?"
"Oh great she has already gotten on my case. What answer did I give in my past life?" Marcus thought before answering,"Maybe I'll join Arbus in the military."
"Oh you want to follow in the path of your brother. I don't get why you can't be more in the path of finance,just like me or your sister,"Atlen said.
"While I get that the path to a military career may seem cool,kindly think about it since it requires you to put your life on the line," Arbus added and soon the dining room was filled with conversations on careers and soon delved into other topics. Before long they had finished eating and then decided give thanks to the household faith before going to sleep.
As everyone went to their own bedroom, Marcus quickly closed his door as he thought of what was about to come. The day he was in when he first got introduced to the world of Path Treaders. The world of the arcane is well known in this world due to the multiple accounts of people encountering strange events, creatures, claims of humans with supernatural abilities and the well known forbidden region of Ostavljen in Zemlja Otoka.
However,most of these stories are usually over exaggerated or lacking enough facts creating a certain blend of legend and true accounts leading to being indecisive on whether the existence of the arcane is true or simply a tall tale told over generations.
In Arbus' room,Arbus looked out the window looking at the nearby houses with its lower walls made with limestone and basalt while the rest of the walls made with baked clay creating a rugged yet smooth appearance. This building style was introduced by Emperor Ricardis,the founder of their current Shabaard republic and it since stuck as a standard from then on.
His eyes changed to a glowing orange colour as he saw a person well hidden in the dark. The shadows moved like tentacles retrieving a rifle which was then aimed at his general direction. Arbus quickly noticed this and moved away from the window and went to bag in his bed removing a revolver hidden in it. When he was about to load the revolver,a bullet flew through the open window with the bullet landing only 1.5 meters away from him.
With his enhanced senses, Marcus had already heard the bullet landing in Arbus' room.
"So it has already started. In my previous life,I stumbled on the conflict between the assassin and Arbus by chance where they were using supernatural abilities. Arbus was winning the scuffle until the assassin's partner managed to shoot him by attempting to shoot me forcing him to protect me.
"During that time he was seriously injured leading to him being discharged from military service all because of me. This time at least I can help him but how? My Path was built for non combat situations and I am most probably dealing with at least a Warrior of the Warrior Path . Wait I'm a Potion Maestro," Marcus thought and an idea sparked in his mind at the realization of the last sentence.
He took a small carving knife from his room and got out of the house and using his unique sight to track any intruders in the yard. He found nothing and decided to look further in the neighborhood until he found a figure perfectly hidden by the shadows as if the shadows decided to blanket him. He aimed the carving knife at the intruder using Accuracy and applying Bone Crusher on the knife,he threw it at a transonic speed which caught the intruder off guard leading to him moving fast enough to avoid it from hitting his vitals but slow enough for the knife to lodge itself in his left tricep rendering his arm ineffective.
"You kid,how did you manage to see me," said the intruder as he pulled out a gun from his dark clothes using his right hand.
Meanwhile in Arbus' room,Arbus managed to dodge all the assassin's bullets which gave him the opportunity to counterattack. Aiming his gun at the now moving assassin he shot a bullet which was cloaked with orange flames. The assassin managed to dodge it but the bullet suddenly made a curve perfectly striking his shoulder. Seeing that his attack had worked perfectly,he jumped out of the window and used the yellow flames emerging from his shoes as propulsion to reach the assassin's location.