The strong will always be sought after and as long as there are those who are weak, the strong would reign supreme in both wealth and influence. So Timothy after pondering over what he would decide to do, finally chose to go along with what his master had said. Even if he received a monthly allowance from a very small school, he could use it to play the city's market as a merchant buying and selling items which would already quicken his quest to immortality.

After eating his meal and resting at his table, Timothy chose to start heading back to the meeting spot to look for the Patriarch of the Flamed Roots clan. Technically, he now had enough personal wealth to remain in the town by purchasing a room, but it was a much better choice to accept the free escort to Hollow City.

To his surprise, Timothy actually bumped into the Patriarch while exiting the restaurant and the two walked back together. "Well Timothy, I hope you have gotten a good dish because it may be one of your last good meals for a while. The competition of even getting into the smaller schools within Hollow City can be fierce. Do not worry, I am sure along with my clan's younger generation you will be able to find a proper school." he told Timothy as the rest of the group arrived slowly.

"Thank you for your polite words, Patriarch." Timothy replied as Master Sei sent him another mental message. "It is good that you are being very respectful towards him, but something seems rather off. Once you enter Hollow City, you should distance yourself from the group entirely." Master Sei told Timothy as the group finally jumped into the carriage once more and headed straight to Hollow City.

"Master, why did you say that earlier about the Patriarch?" Timothy mentally asked with a very puzzled look on his face. Since he grew up and knew several members of the Flamed Roots clan, Timothy was never under the impression of them being any less than very polite and welcoming.

"You are still too young to understand this, but those who are seemingly perfect all of the time, are usually the ones who are the most evil and cunning. Tell me my student, have you ever even seen the Patriarch give off a negative impression?" Master Sei asked Timothy in a light tone.

Thinking back to all of their interactions, Timothy could not think of such an occurrence. Not to mention, although it was not out of their way, it was somewhat strange that not only did the Patriarch allow him a free escort to Hollow City, but even some of the outer members of the Flamed Roots clan did not look like the higher ups of the clan in which Timothy had interacted with.

Now feeling very stressed out, Timothy felt that he still needed to keep up appearances so he began talking to some of the outer clan members in the carriage. Luckily, the Patriarch was sitting far in the front alongside his son who was guiding the horses towards the city.

"Oh, I think you have me mistaken for someone else. I am actually an orphan that was taken in by the Patriarch's clan when I was born. It has taken a while, but the Patriarch told me that as long as I work hard to enter a specific organization the Flamed Roots clan was affiliated with, I would be able to pay back the clan for taking care of me for so many years." one of the females told Timothy before the rest of the children shared.

Their stories were all of the same which made Timothy feel uneasy as Master Shi continued to remain silent as if he was also pondering what this had all meant. Timothy shared his family's background and why he was also working hard in order to enter a school. Hearing Timothy's goals fired up the other children and they showed some admiration for Timothy being in the same age group as them.

"Timothy, when you reach Hollow City, you must immediately jump out and run as far as you can. I believe that the Flamed Roots clan may be a front for slave traders. Back in my world, slave traders worked the same way where they would take orphans while very young, and when they grew old enough to start being valuable enough, they would escort them to a different location and hand them over to the sellers.

"To avoid any negative attention for all of these years, they most likely set themselves up in your small township so that the caretakers such as the Patriarch and his family could raise the children to eventually sell for a massive profit. It would also explain why the Flamed Roots clan members never sent those with the highest potential into Hollow City, because they wouldn't waste any resources in training anyone else but themselves!" Master Shi explained to Timothy in a soft tone in order to keep Timothy aware but somewhat relaxed.

"Chances are, it would be too difficult for them to move out of the township or to get rid of your family because you are the only blacksmith family within the township. Therefore, they will most likely not be acting against them any time soon, so you just need to focus on protecting yourself. Better yet, do not take off running right away, instead find a time to separate from the group."

"It truly is a shame, but learning this lesson this early in your journey may be a good thing as it hardens your heart which is very important while on the path towards immortality. You do not have the strength to save everyone who you come across and have a good relationship with. These children sitting next to you and laughing have their own paths ahead of them. All you could do is in the future hope that you become strong enough to make things right." Master Shi told Timothy as he himself reflected on the many times he came across this realization.