The mage, seeing Marc smile at the fact that she was going to uphold justice in his stead, smiled as well.
'What a nice kid,' she thought.
"Then I'll excuse myself," Marc said and turned to leave.
"Wait," said the mage, seeing him turn to go.
"How do you wish to be informed about the commission? Do you live here?" the lady asked.
"O-oh, ehm, not really. In fact, I'll be leaving for Perrin's Gate soon — I have someone to meet there in two weeks," Marc said. He didn't know how this whole commission thing worked.
"And how would you know I held my end of the deal if I can't contact you?" asked the mage in turn.
"Are… are you going to go back on your word?" Marc replied.
The lady exhaled and looked at him.
"Hah, no. But boy, you shouldn't trust anybody that easily, as that trust might as well be the dagger that stabs you in the back," she said, educating the kid.
"You don't look like someone who wouldn't carry out her end of a deal," Marc said bluntly.
The lady was left speechless, then laughed.
"Hahaha! You're one amusing kid, Marc," she said, laughing at his words.
"Okay, that's all then," she said, waving at Marc, signaling the end of their encounter.
Marc turned around, went to his table again, finished his food, paid, and went to his room.
The mage, on the other hand, finished eating with the maids, paid, and left the inn.
Outside, one of the maids turned to her and asked,
"Miss Lydia, why did you take the kid's commission? Isn't twenty gold coins too little for such a task?" she asked respectfully.
"Well, I didn't agree for the money. And indeed, this amount of money wouldn't normally make me even look at someone. I took the money and the request because, as the Mage Squad's Captain of the Capital City's Security Bureau, it's my duty to uphold justice. And what that noble did got on my nerves," Lydia said to the maid.
"Besides, he actually commissioned someone to carry out justice for a dead person. It's weird to see, but a welcome sight nonetheless. His heart is in the right place."
Lydia liked Marc's behavior toward injustice — going as far as reaching out to an unknown person to carry it out for him, even paying from his own pocket.
In Marc's room...
"I have fourteen days left to meet Alex," Marc started murmuring to himself.
Then he suddenly remembered what Malcom, the guard, said.
He took out the Fire Gathering and Fire Fist books.
He opened the latter and started reading.
He quickly reached the conclusion that this book could only be learned after gathering fire mana and forming his mana arteries.
Coincidentally, the other book was called Fire Gathering.
So he picked that one up and started reading instead.
The book explained how to gather fire mana and turn it into either a mana core or mana arteries.
He chose the latter, knowing that it was what he needed for Fire Fist.
And he started cultivating.
After a few hours of meditation, he felt hungry. Seeing it was dinner time, he went downstairs again to eat.
The mage was nowhere to be seen anymore.
He repeated this process for another four days.
On the fourth day, he started making his mana arteries, stepping onto the path of a martial artist.
After Marc formed his mana arteries, a ring formed around his heart, containing within it a sphere of red color.
Marc knew that this sphere represented his element.
Then he, like Alex, felt the status screen appear in his mind — and just like Alex, he was shocked when he finally activated it.
—STATUS—
Name: Marc (Beginner Martial Artist — 1%)
Age: 14
Mana: 50/50
Mana Gathering: Fire Gathering (Beginner)
Mana Sense: None
Elements: Fire (Beginner) (22%)
Martial Arts: None
Marc didn't have much of a reaction to the fact that he had spent four days to reach only 1% progress.
After closing the status screen, he refocused — this time reading the Fire Fist book thoroughly.
In essence, one had to focus their fire mana into a chosen fist, then condense it. At the moment of impact, the mana would explode forward, dealing extra damage.
Marc knew he needed to test this outside, so he went out of the city to the nearby forest and started practicing by hitting trees.
He failed for an hour straight to concentrate his mana on his fist and keep it condensed until he punched.
His mana dissipated the moment he shifted focus from channeling to the punching motion — but he kept trying.
After another two hours, he finally made his first successful impact.
As his fist struck the tree, a boom was heard, and fire surged from the back of the tree.
Marc sat down to rest, happy, and opened his status again.
—STATUS—
Mana: 10/50
Mana Gathering: Fire Gathering (Beginner)
Elements: Fire (Beginner) (22%)
Martial Arts: Fire Fist (Beginner) (25%)
He knew that each use of Fire Fist cost ten mana.
So he practiced Fire Gathering while waiting for his mana to recover. He soon realized that his mana recharged faster while using the gathering method.
He kept practicing this technique for another six days.
After six days, his mastery of the skill reached 75%, and he could cast the skill and punch simultaneously.
On the tenth day, Marc was going around the city buying supplies for the journey. He was going to depart that day, since it would take several days to reach Perrin's Gate even by carriage.
As he was leaving the city to rent one, he sensed someone following him from behind. Instead of heading toward the carriage, he kept walking toward the forest.
When he reached the forest, he turned around and saw someone he recognized.
"Alonso…" Marc said in a cold voice. He hadn't forgotten how his brother tried to kill Alex — and him.
"Surprise, fucker," Alonso said.
"I was following you, trying to find an opportunity to finish you off, and you came to a forest alone. What a moron you are!" Alonso was furious.
He had to watch his brother's head be cut off that night, and also had to see Alex and Marc leave with all the loot — while he ran away empty-handed.
"You know how much I suffered because of you and that other fucker?!" Alonso shouted.
"Consequences of your own actions. You shouldn't have tried to kill us," Marc replied, his voice still cold.
"Well, my brother died because of you, and since I couldn't find that mongrel Alex, I guess you'll do for revenge."
Alonso said that and reached for a knife he had hidden. He then rushed forward at Marc, aiming to slash his neck open.
Marc, on the other hand, saw the attack coming.
It seemed that his perception had enhanced after awakening — he could see Alonso's movements and intent clearly.
He dodged the slash at the last second by ducking. As he did, he began focusing his mana, channeling it for Fire Fist.
He punched forward rapidly, his fist landing on Alonso's chest.
The strength, now enhanced by mana, already caved Alonso's chest inward, cracking almost all of his ribcage.
"GAH!" Alonso screamed in pain, surprised at Marc's speed and strength.
But before he could finish screaming—
Boom! An explosion erupted, fire bursting from Alonso's back.
He was sent flying two or three meters away.
When Marc approached, he found Alonso sprawled on the ground, a blackened hole in his chest as blood began to pool beneath him.
Alonso was dead — just like that.
"Good riddance. Go join your brother, you retarded piece of shit," Marc said without a trace of pity.
He turned back, went to the carriages, and rented one bound for Perrin's Gate.
"I'll see you soon, Alex. Hang on tight," Marc said before getting on.