To the west of Velmire City.
It differed vastly from the lively city center", as it sits next to a mountain. Appreciating nature more than crowds, the residents prefer a slower and quiet life.
Luke's life had always revolved around foraging herbs and wild plants in the forest. It was a hobby his father had taught him since he was young, which later became his main job when he started selling them.
He brushed aside the tall grass and made his way to look for precious herbs. Luke glanced at the tree on his left, which made him freeze.
There were tiny scratches on the tree, not just one or two, but four of them.
'What is this? It looks smaller than claw marks.'
This was his first time seeing such tiny scratches in this forest. As a native, this was worrying.
Just when he was about to take a closer look…
Rustle. Rustle.
'Someone's here!'
Luke swiftly turned around. He quickly unsheathed the blade hanging from his waist but his hand stopped mid-air.
"Wha–? Kid, what are you doing here?"
In front of him is a child with light lavender hair and ash colored eyes.
His eyes widened when he saw the bruises on the child's body. The child's clothes were tattered, and even wore iron shackles.
Luke sheathed his blade and hurried to the child,
"What in the world is this? Who could've done such a thing to a kid?!"
He held the little child's arms with teary eyes.
Seeing a precious child in such a state made his chest hurt. No one should ever be put in such a position, especially a young kid!
"What's your name? Can you speak? Where are your parents?"
Countless questions poured in, but no answer came out.
The child remained expressionless, but Luke didn't care,
"Come with me. Let's heal your wounds. You can tell me what happened later."
He then grabbed the child's hand. His first priority is tending to the wounds. There's a lot of medicine and herbs at his home, so bringing him there is a must.
Luke pulled him but the child didn't budge an inch.
"Kiek. Kiek."
"Huh?"
A dark, small creature with pointed ears and sharp teeth came out.
Two, three.
"Kiek. Kiek!"
One by one, they slowly came out.
He estimated there were at least twenty or more of them in front of him. Each barely reached the height of his knees but their numbers made him tremble. His grip on the child's hand tightened.
It was the first time he had seen one, but his guts were telling him something.
'Demonic creatures!'
He had heard recently that their neighboring village, Neval, shut its doors after sighting a demonic creature. Was it one of these guys? To think they had already reached the edge of Velmire City, fear had overcome him.
The head of the child he's holding slowly nodded, as if he's drowsy.
The small hand lost its strength and slipped out of Luke's grip, which surprised him.
The child slowly opened his drowsy eyes, revealing the lifeless ashen-gray pupils once more. The black ring on his left index finger twitched.
Thorns slowly came out of it and extended, carefully climbing to his neck.
A flower with crumpled petals appeared with its stem hugging the left side of the child's neck.
It glowed violently, until a humming voice of a woman echoed.
The surrounding birds flew away from the tall trees they were resting on.
"What–? What's happening?"
Luke's body shivered. His feet subconsciously tried to move away from the child with shackles.
But it was already too late.
The humming voice of a woman made his body relaxed, too relaxed, in fact, that he fell to the ground, completely unconscious.
The child's head tilted to his right. His index finger flinched.
His dry lips opened,
"Father…"
***
Screech!
The wooden wheels skidded to a halt, spraying dust everywhere.
The horse pulling the wooden cart suddenly stopped, surprising everyone, including the driver.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Vick hurriedly went down and took a closer look at the horse.
"Ah!"
Eli stumbled from the sudden break of the cart, making Chad pull his shirt to prevent his fall.
"T, thank you, Mr. Chad."
"It's fine. How's the horse?"
Chad shook it off and asked Vick.
The driver shook his head,
"It seems he's tired. It can't be helped. After all, he was pulling five people for a while now. I'll give him food and water. I'll park the cart, so you guys should take a rest under a tree for now."
Chad got up from his position,
"How long 'til we reach Velmire?"
Vick put his hand on his chin,
"Hmm, let's see. If we rest for an hour, then we might reach it when the night falls. There's a water well near here. Wait for me."
Eli and Chad nodded.
Chad turned around, looking at the two unconscious men on the cart.
'The cart is too heavy, huh…'
From the looks of it, they were already far from the Oakenford, and closer to Velmire. It's already afternoon, and they don't have to be with these two until they reach Velmire City.
This made Chad grin.
He raised his hand wrapped in white cloth and commanded the air to lift the unconscious men carefully,
"Heave… ho!"
And sharply threw them in the forest.
'Eh?!'
The boy beside him got flabbergasted. They were tossed with so much force, that even Eli noticed.
"I, is it okay to do that? Are they still alive?"
Chad chuckled,
"They're fine. Even though they're weak, they're still demigods. They won't die so easily."
Eli was still worried, though. They might not die, but they'll probably be injured heavily. A thought came into his mind,
"Are they also an Archeion–ah, ow–! What was that for?"
Chad smacked his head with no hesitation. He looked at the kid as if he was talking nonsense.
"What are you saying? If they had a divine mark, then you wouldn't be able to make it out of there alive. Tsk, you really have no idea, do you?"
He gestured for Eli to follow him, and sat underneath a tree shade,
"Listen, there aren't that many other divine marks in this world. Did you think they're just everywhere? Unlike you, those marks are given to people who are already strong. The divine mark just makes them even stronger. If you encounter a real Archeion, then you'd surely be at their mercy."
"I, is that so? So even people without marks can use the Atlas of Verse?"
Chad nodded,
"As long as you have divine power, then yeah. That's how demigods without marks can still use the Atlas according to their attributes."
"I see…"
Eli remembered how the two managed to conjure winds and flames last night, even for a moment before Mr. Chad beat them up.
He looked at his small hands. Eli wondered if he could also be strong in the future if he worked hard.
He also wanted to be able to fight for himself.
"Give it up. Solomon's mark wasn't made for physical combat. Just focus on what you can do."
Chad saw the look on his face and scoffed.
He didn't even bother with sugarcoating it. For him, it was pointless to yearn for things you never should, and never would achieve. Wasting your time and effort for such things would only lead to pointless disappointments.
It might sound harsh, but it's best to allocate energy on things they could do better.
Eli opened his mouth, but voice didn't come out. He wasn't sure how to respond to that.
He glanced at the sky, and turned his head to Mr. Chad,
"Mr. Chad, how do you know all of these things? Are you…"
A moment of hesitation clicked in,
"...also an Archeion?"
But he still wanted to know.
The man beside him didn't speak.
Mr. Chad's lips curled into a smile.
"Why don't you guess?"
Eli's eyes shone.
As he had expected, Mr. Chad gave him no answer.
Still, his questions didn't stop in his mind.
He decided to change the topic.
"I was able to go to Verse 7 because of you, right? You mentioned I'm only at Verse 11. Is there any way I could move up to Verse 10 and above on my own?"
"Just do as you always have. Keep on using your mark."
Chad picked up a nearby rock and started fiddling with it.
He lightly threw the small rock in the air, but its leap was unstable.
His fingers kept on throwing the rock aimlessly,
"One thing about the Atlas, you see, the more you use and understand it, the more it will open up. Then, the more Verses you will unlock, and the more spells you can access."
Tap.
Until it finally landed properly.
"The same goes for divine power. The more you use it, the more you can gather. Unless you drink some sort of elixir or potion, then it'll stay that way. It's not something that can be rushed, especially for a tiny human like you."
He gently threw the rock to Eli's side.
"Ah."
Eli reflexively caught it.
Crack.
Chad reached for his lower back and stretched.
He frowned while muttering,
"Ah, that feels good. Dammit. Why is my body like this? Seriously…"