Kaelen started gathering information because with the right knowledge, the impossible could become possible. He learned about the system of this world. They were currently in the Kingdom of Damanus, surrounded by two empires.
First, the Teheis Empire — a brutal, incredibly powerful force with knights that were almost unbeatable, a paradise for warriors. They had access to the Elven Forest and were economically strong thanks to the slave trade involving elves.
Then, the Keos Empire — famous for its monopoly on talented magicians, magical resources, and the best slave blacksmiths, since the dwarven mountains were just nearby. Their magic could wipe out entire lordships in no time.
These two empires kept peace by balancing each other out. If one tried to invade a kingdom, the other would step in to stop them.
Besides these empires, there were other kingdoms and maybe even other empires. Damanus was the weakest kingdom, so it did everything to stay allied.
Kaelen felt these new facts were crucial and knew he'd have to adjust his plans.
He asked the peasants how magic worked.
They didn't really understand the question—it was like asking a blind man what it's like to see. They assumed everyone had at least some magic. It was normal to them.
Kaelen made up a story and said he had no magic because his mother told him his family was cursed by a divine punishment.
The villagers half believed him but tried to explain with their simple knowledge: magic was everywhere—in every person, every animal, every tree. Magic was just a form of mana.
Mana could be used in many ways.
The first was Ki—used by fighters to create brute force powerful enough to destroy houses in one hit and protect themselves from hellfire. It was the simplest, cheapest magic but useless for farmers, except maybe hunters.
The second was "magic" — the ability to create fire, water, or anything the person could imagine in their mind. It was harder to master, but peasants always tried to learn it to make their lives easier, produce their own fire, and maybe have a chance to move to Keos to become nobles or improve their lives. This was extremely rare.
There were other ways to use mana, but Kaelen wondered: how does mana work? How does it create something out of nothing?
He wasn't the best scientist or physicist, but it seemed impossible.
Suddenly, the vanished window reappeared, giving him an order: reach 1,000 rebels and barricade the village to revolt against the lord.
Kaelen was caught off guard. Only 1,000? There were about 1,000 knights and 700 soldiers, so the village probably had about 2,000 people.
If they barricaded all exits and poisoned the magicians and Ki fighters, they'd have a chance.
Kaelen left the headquarters to think.
Poisoning would be easy—but who exactly? To be sure, they'd have to poison the water, but that would be a crime worse than war crimes. And if the villagers drank poisoned water, they'd be doomed.
As he pondered, a sixteen-year-old boy came out, took a breath of fresh air, saw him, and greeted him, asking what was wrong.
Kaelen told him he thought the best way to kill the Ki fighters and magicians was to poison them.
The boy suggested organizing a fight between the magicians and the Ki fighters—then they'd know who was who, and it would be easier.
Kaelen realized the boy was a genius.
He returned to the lord's castle wearing clothes he found on the ground to make it look like he had escaped kidnappers.
At the castle entrance, the knights were finally relieved to see him alive—terrified of the consequences if a Leonheart was kidnapped under their watch.