The city thrived with vibrant colours and laughter, as stores sold their morning bread or other delicious-smelling food. A celebrative vibe lingered in the air as stores and vendors were set up on the main roads of the city, some even gifting free food among other celebratory items.

Otherworlders, namely the ones from Earth, set up their own food stalls and were widely popular among the people and often found long lines. Many others found themselves cooking in proper restaurants instead of the restricted stalls, wanting to create far more complex dishes than the take-aways the stalls provided.

Colourful signs and posters hung from the overhead wires instead of laundry, along with welcoming words written in the universal language of Ecloma – which meant ‘God’s tongue’ when translated from Frostbitten. It only made sense for the followers of the many Gods to speak their common language.

However, this wasn’t always the case. Writings from other languages also fluttered beside them in the gentle breeze.

Common humanoids races, such as the Dwarves and Elves, and partially Demi-humans had their own set of languages far different from Ecloma. Some say it attributed from the many years of racial isolation in the distant past, after the Children of Balance imprisoned each God within the regions. But this was only one of the many theories.

The morning sun greeted the kingdom from the spotless sky. Recently, the skies have been clear, almost completely void of any clouds. People called it a blessing, brought by the arrival of the Exrenity.

Indeed, the celebrative mood was because of the news about the Exrenity. It had been thousands of years since the last, and only vague stories from past generations could describe what the Exrenity was.

It was a historical moment. People had gathered to the centre gates, just outside where the castle resided in hopes to catch a glance of the Exrenity leaving.

Upon remembering this –

Exrite sighed as he silently detached himself from the thick book laid in front of him. The small restaurant he sat in was empty, apart from the cat-eared Demi-human who silently sat at the front counter. He was dressed sharply to make good first impressions, but sadly, no one else entered besides Exrite, who sat waiting for his order.

It wasn’t that the restaurant was bad – in fact, the interior was pristine and beautiful. Amazing timber tables lined the edges of the place, while long, cushioned benches ran on either side of the tables.

“Still too early.” He mumbled before drowning himself into the book again.

The clear, unsoiled pages depicted extensive diagrams and text of the magic arts. Most he knew, but he was pleasantly surprised when he learnt a small bundle of new things.

For starters – magic was always thought as something more akin to ‘using’ the mind, but after having a look through the book, he realised that this may not be the case. Magic wasn’t simply someone harnessing or using mana to instantly create something from thin air, but instead, had processes and stages.

Firstly, magic required mana to exist. And for mana to exist – there must be life. Everything that breathed, secreted mana.

It was lifeforce in the strictest sense.

It would explain why individuals who deplete their mana reservoir would collapse or become comatose, even though their vitals were perfectly healthy and unharmed.

Exrite wryly smiled at that as footsteps slowly approached him. He had incredibly low mana capacity himself and relied on harnessing external mana to use magic – hence why he refused to use light magic in the lair of the Gods.

“Here’s your cinnamon coffee, sir.” The cat-eared person gently placed the pale cup above the book.

“Thank you very much.” Exrite looked up at the man and smiled before looking at the rather large, pale cup of the steaming beverage.

The man piqued interest in the book Exrite read, staring for a moment as he left for the counter. Like a cat, his black, pointy ears twitched as curiosity got the better of him.

“Studying for a test at the Institute?” His voice slipped from his grasp as he quickly spun to Exrite from the counter.

“Institute? No- I’m just looking through. Just amused that magic isn’t as simple as I thought.” Exrite swiped to the next page, inhaling the cinnamon in the air.

The man’s dark brown eyes broadened. When he placed his arms onto the counter comfortably, he spoke.

“Almost like a science in itself, isn’t it? But understanding that even makes the weakest into someone formidable.” He tapped the wooden surface and smiled. “Half-baked chants, misused magic circles and no clear mental image – it’s a mystery why people even bother with magic if they can’t get the basics right.”

Exrite held back a laugh as he sipped from the cup.

“Sounds like you’ve been through a lot.”

“As someone who teaches magic at the Truebirth Institute of Magic, it’s a given. You have people who have the most amazing mana capacities but fail to create even a spark of fire because they can’t figure out how to make their own chant. Granted, they can just use a template chant, but what moron’s going to let you stand there uttering for a whole minute?”

Exrite understood what he meant and quietly laughed. Indeed – magic was controlled by the individual, meaning that their interpretations and understanding of a concept would greatly affect how long a chant would be, to even performing ‘non-chants’. Knowing how fire formedwas objectively better than only knowing what fire was.

The man wore a tired expression as they sighed.

“I’ll let you finish your coffee.”

He then moved into a back room where another voice spoke, muffled by the thick walls.

The quiet returned as Exrite brought his eyes back to the book. The mysteries surrounding magic were far too great. There were times when magic wouldn’t follow any of the known theories of magic – such as necromancy, which was magic in the absence of mana and high tiered magic.

The fifteen tiers of magic were used to measure how complex and difficult the magic was. For example, tier one healing magic would be the primary intention to just ‘heal’, while tier five healing magic would be healing specific areas at a greater effect and in some cases, efficiency.

But for people like Exrite, their magic was weak without the right circumstance – thanks to their low mana capacity. The lower it was, the less mana could be streamlined, and would require a chant to create the ‘purpose’, and almost always a magic circle to fulfil it.

Naturally, mages with larger pools of mana were the most powerful due to their mostly unrestricted flow of mana – even lower tiered magic would become formidable.

As Exrite submerged in the thought, he gulped down a mouthful of the tasty beverage and immediately entered a comedic, coughing fit. When he slammed the cup back down, he held his mouth and painfully winced.

“Hot!”

* * *

Nothing but chatter and laughter surrounded the two siblings as they made their way through the northern main road. It was already close to noon, and the surrounding ambience only grew louder as more people joined the celebration.

Frosty wanted to close her eyes and walk holding onto her brother’s sleeve, just to avoid the clutter of souls that littered every inch of her vision. It was an annoying gift – one that she would gladly discard without a second thought.

They promised to meet with Exrite at the store Acacia mentioned last night, wanting to check if she maybe had a supply of cobalt, and for the favour she asked. Inkshard, despite trying to convince the group the let her join, was refused wholeheartedly as Exrite’s cover as the Exrenity would be blown.

There was a risk that someone would recognise him and gain the attention of Enthile. They abhorred the thought of being dragged back to Enthile and wanted to avoid any risks at all costs.

Frosty lazily stared at her legs and walked with a hand gently pressed against Khaos’ back. Every time he’d get a chance to glance at her, he’d chuckle. It reminded him of the brighter days in his past.

A time when she was only a little girl, who depended on him for every little thing.

“Think Exrite’s already there?” He asked.

“I hope he is. I’m just wondering if it’s really a good idea for him to be investing in magic.” Her voice was criticising. “With barely any mana capacity, he’s going to end up killing himself one day.”

“But you saw how fast he chanted that orb of light? It was brighter than yours as well.”

“I know that.” She snapped and stared at him. “I know he’s good with magic, but relying on surrounding mana every time, especially without a magic circle, will kill him. No one survives a mana overload.”

Khaos, wanted to disagree, but was reminded of the dangers of chanting without a magic circle.

While not being a mage himself, or ever used magic for that matter, he had heard about the rare, but brutal deaths resulting from mana overloads. Essentially, chanting or stating a phrase to cast magic ended up causing the external mana to enter the caster and use them as a catalyst.

Hence, why magic circles were important – they were the catalysts for external mana, and effectively mitigated the risk of a mana overload.

“A fate worse than death.” Frosty’s hum was almost lost in the sea of chatter.

All blood vessels in a person’s body would erupt, while every orifice would ooze with thick, coagulated blood. Eyes quickly become bloodshot as every nerve becomes hyperactive, accepting any and all stimulations. Needless to say – the process was excruciating and would turn many mad before they succumbed to death.

While grimacing to the horrific imagery, Frosty hid her face once more. But just before she could completely follow through, she saw a hand wave for their attention from the side.

“Oh-! Hey!” Khaos noticed as well and gave a pleasant wave of his own.

Exrite stood at the bright entrance of a flower shop, surrounded by rows of potted flowers. He smiled as they approached, backing himself into the shop as he made way for them to enter.

Once inside, a barrage of delightful scents bombarded their nasals. They paused abruptly by the wide entrance, the sight of the interior was just as beautiful as the outside. They were awed by the many shelfs filled to the brim with colourful plants. Even some stranger, but cute carnivorous plants could be seen amongst them, baring their adorable little teeth.

While stuck in their trance, a familiar face tapped from the wooden counter as a puff of smoke elegantly left their mouth.

“So, the two finally arrived.” Acacia spoke with a calm voice as she placed her gentle, dark brown eyes onto the siblings. “I was getting worried that only Exrite would be coming.”

Frosty nudged him.

“How long have you been here for?” She whispered as the woman took another deep breath through the wooden pipe.

“Half an hour. I didn’t expect to make it here so quickly through the crowd.” He said, walking up to the counter.

“Morning.” Acacia puffed another stream of the silver smoke as the others joined Exrite.

“Yeah. Morning.” Khaos weakly responded as he returned to reality. “Is it fine to be smoking that in here?”

Acacia softly smiled and waved the pipe with two fingers.

“Not at all. This is good for them, actually. This is edible incense. Want to buy some?”

“Sorry. We’re only here for your offer.” Frosty quickly cut in with a stern face.

She did not want to deviate from the goal they had in mind, even if it was something minor. Her stubbornness made Khaos look in another direction with an annoyed face.

But the woman didn’t seem to mind. She glanced at the iron door behind her and smiled.

“You’re too straight laced, Frosty. Your friend almost killed me, you know. Besides – I promised to lend you some gear, right?”

For a moment, Frosty held a confused face as she failed to recall when Acacia had mentioned to offer free gear.

“For a favour in return, right?” Exrite clearly remembered the conversation from last night as he watched the woman spin the pipe in between her fingers.

“Of course. Don’t think anything is ever of goodwill in this business.” She leaned over the counter and stared up at him with cunning eyes. “Let’s talk back there, Exrenity andFrostbitten.”

Hostility immediately vented from Frosty as she reached for the air, only to be caught by Khaos who threw her hand down.

“Wait!” He cried as the woman slithered from the counter and hopped a few steps back.

“H-how do you know that?” Exrite didn’t bother denying anything and went straight to the point. His fists tightly clenched as he feared that he would have to take this matter into his own hands.

Somehow, this woman knew of their identities.

Was it leaked somewhere? Did she see us leave from the airship as it passed over the kingdom?

There wasn’t any concrete way of knowing.

While he knew that the woman had… ‘good’ intentions, she still couldn’t be trusted with their secret. Not someone who valued money over everything else.

However, her smile seemed like it was only natural for her to know.

“My client who wanted the explosive powder said that you might be coming to visit – unfortunately, they didn’t tell me anything apart from you being the Exrenity and Frostbitten.”

Exrite silently cursed, while Frosty more openly vented her frustration. It wasn’t until a few moments after that Khaos too, fell into an enraged state.

Undoubtably – the only people who would ever want explosive powder were Black and White. Being the Commanders of Pathfist as well, they certainly had the funds to completely buy out her stock.

But why would they leak such vital information to someone they only traded once with?

“Them, huh… what the fuck are they thinking?” Frosty growled as she threw away all motivation to strike the woman who.

If she killed her, then Black and White would become their enemy.

“What the hell made them think this was a good idea?” Khaos complained.

“Wait – just how much were you given?” Exrite wanted an estimate, suspecting that the two Commanders had bought not only her supply –

But herself as their supplier as well.

It wasn’t odd for popular merchants or traders to one day disappear from the market, only to bring goods to a sole client the next day. This was all too common in the other kingdoms, particularly Enthile, where many slave traders were owned by the kingdom itself.

Unlike Enthile where the pay was staggered, Acacia must’ve gotten the whole stack of coins upfront – and an absurd amount of it if someone like her was going to be owned by someone else.

“More than I’d ever make in a lifetime. All my stock belongs to them now, but there’s only one other thing they requested a few days ago, and it’s since been on my mind.” She hummed as she slid to the back door, still holding her cunning smile.

“And that’s the favour you’re asking us to fulfil?” Exrite pieced it all together whilst trying to digest the proper reasoning behind Black and White’s decision to involve the woman.

She thrust the metal door open and bared her teeth.

“What else could it be, Exrite?”

* * *

Everyone suspected Acacia of potentially leaking their information. Their wary movements into the next room made the woman sigh as she lightly folded her arms, tossing the unlit pipe to a nearby desk.

“Ease up, you three. You’re making me wish the tiny priestess was here.” She joked and pressed herself against the desk. “I’m working strictly under them now. I’m not an idiot to betray whatever had enough money to purchase all my wares and my life.”

Her claim was valid, but it wasn’t enough to clear their suspicion of her.

“Give it some time then. Trust isn’t something money can buy, after all. But I’ll tell you this – would you even consider turning whatever that thing is into an enemy?”

A brief silence followed as she turned and moved further into the bright room, which was flooded with various goods which sat on the many large, metal desks. Through the wide aisle, the others watched her with scrutiny.

No one disagreed with her.

Khaos was oddly satisfied, knowing that going against Black and White was akin to suicide. Exrite of course, knew this as well – the woman who wept and threw away her pride just to stay alive vividly remained with him.

He sighed.

With a slight squint, Frosty studied the woman’s soul and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She was still conflicted, but eventually, she came to agree with the others to ‘trust’ her for the time being.

Only for as long as Black and White ‘owned’ her.

“So, what’s your plan?” Frosty unwillingly asked as they approached the smiling Acacia.

She hummed delightfully as she scrubbed the steel surface of a massive two-meter-long blade. Magnificence shone from the polished blade and caught the eye of Khaos.

“Getting you ready to depart to the few mountains just west of here. Now, think any of you will be able to use this?” Despite her words, she intently stared at Khaos who was entranced by the giant blade.

It looked like a piece of an airship propeller was stuck onto an oversized sword handle. At least that’s how Frosty saw it. But to Khaos – it was beautiful. For someone like him, normal blades would break every time he’d swing into something. The large steel frame would surely mitigate it and grant him unprecedented reach over other creatures.

The woman was partly joking about Khaos using the dreaded, oversized blade. She only knew he was strong, but not the extent of his power. Just as he moved to grasp onto the blade, Acacia choked on the words that wanted to leave her mouth.

The reason for her sudden dumbstruck look, was because Khaos effortlessly held the blade in a single hand. He admired the oversized sword and felt its weight, waving it like it was nothing.

Acacia shifted briefly over Exrite, then Frosty as she wryly smiled.

“Exrite’s not the only monster here, is he?”

Khaos grinned and swung the blade away from the group before reeling it beside him. Any normal person would’ve been dragged by the sheer weight of the blade, and it didn’t help that the Acacia knew that the sword was top-heavy.

“Never was good with swords, but this is perfect. And if it breaks, then I can just use my fists.”

“To your liking? Good. That was the only one anyway. Take whatever you want from here – it’s already paid by my client, plus – I doubt you’ll survive the mountains with mundane equipment.”

Acacia eyed the group as she sat herself on the metal desk. There was no point in acting surprised any longer – with the Exrenity and two Frostbitten, it was only natural that they were incomparable to humans.

“Implying that the quality of your stuff is better?” Frosty began to explore the spacious room.

“No. These are throwaways. But it’s better than what the king could offer. Have you seen what the Heroes were wearing?”

While not noticeable immediately, there was indeed a stark contrast between the quality of gear littered messily in this place than what the Heroes had. They wondered if it was intentional to have them don weaker equipment than the white knights.

“Odd…” Frosty hummed to herself and sighed.

In front of her was a desk containing an assortment of cloaks. She felt the rugged cloth of her dark blue dress and looked back at the cross-legged Acacia.

“You sure we can take anything?”

“Like I said – these aren’t of any use to me.”

She still seemed uncertain, but when she gazed over at Khaos, she saw him fitting different pieces of armour.

“Black looks good.” He grinned and presented himself to Exrite who nodded in agreement. “Makes our last name finally mean something to us.”

“Eccent?” Exrite gently brushed his fingers against the smooth surface of a steel crossbow laid flat on a desk.

“It means ‘dread’ in Frostbitten. As if Reaper wasn’t a fitting title already.”

There was nothing more demeaning to Frosty than her last name.

While she frowned with an otherwise neutral face, the others gathered pieces of equipment as Acacia remained seated with a smile depicting glee. Their adventure would continue within a day of reaching the king. There was no rest for those bound to fate.

Exrite, while piling a small, leather bag with iron bolts, remembered the metal they’d need to create the weapon Black and White promised.

“Sorry Acacia, are you selling any cobalt?” He eagerly turned to her.

She shrugged. “Not here, I’m afraid. Although… you might also find some in the mountains. But your priority should be the limeite, deep underground.”

“Huh? That’s what you want?” Frosty had some edge in her voice when she heard the name of the rare metal.

Limeite wasn’t something you could find just anywhere and was highly valued. The beautiful green the ore shone with, along with its incredible tensile strength made it something more valuable than many gems.

It was only natural that Frosty would question the woman, in case she was making another tasteless joke. But her unwaveringly smug eyes said otherwise.

“And you think the mountains contains limeite?” Khaos too was plagued with uncertainty as his black armour clanked with every heavy step her took towards her.

“You’re not from this region, so you wouldn’t know about the dwarven city that used to exist in the small mountains. They died off a thousand years ago to Demons. And what dies underground inevitably- “

“Turns into limeite.” Acacia allowed Exrite to finish her off. “A whole city buried underground – I doubt others haven’t already tried harvesting it.”

“Hmm. That’s the problem. Not many make it back when they find the limeite. On the Guild board, that’s a task set up solely for B rank adventurers. But such a flawed system rarely bears any fruit. They’re just more fodder to greed.”

Frosty paused in the middle of wearing a dark blue cloak as she thought about the dangers the mountains potentially possessed. Cold from standing in only a shirt and shorts, she directed a gaze to Exrite.

He was already planning ahead. There was always a risk of them dying, no matter how much they prepared. Going from what Acacia said – there may very well be a Demon residing within the buried city.

“We’ve been through the Gods already. If we can’t beat this, then what chance do we have against them?”

Indeed. If they couldn’t beat a Demon, or whatever resided within the city, then what chancedid they have against the Maidens?

Adrenaline surged through Khaos’ veins as he riled himself up, hoping to best fate. Frosty sighed and softly smiled, the cloak covering up to her knees as her long, black boots revealed themselves.

“Right on. We can’t trip on a pebble in this grand race.” Khaos met with the lightly armoured Exrite.

“Heh. You almost sounded smart for a second there.” Frosty joined in with folded arms and a gentle smile.

Reunited, they stood before the seated woman and eagerly waited for her next call.

Acacia clasped her hands together and wore an optimistic grin.

“Now – let’s get that caravan.”