As the pair of people went through the forest, they were unperturbed by the darkness because the level of light wasn't an important factor as far as they were concerned.

Because of this, they noticed a few odd Gleem corpses here and there as they went.

When they ran into the third corpse, though, they decided to stop running and examine the corpse a little closer.

The young man crouched down and looked at the seemingly weird wounds that the Gleem had suffered.

"...A stick?"

He was left speechless.

Seeing this, the woman stepped closer to the corpse as well.

"Move."

The young man snapped out of his daze and immediately obeyed, standing up and moving a bit farther away from the corpse.

As the woman was examining the Gleem corpse, the young man interjected:

"This couldn't have been done by that old man."

The woman nodded.

"That much is obvious."

"Umm, what are you looking for then?"

The woman turned to look at the young man and shook her head.

"For traces of any kind of mana."

"Oh! Haha..."

The young man couldn't help but smile at his obvious oversight.

He was still a bit dumbfounded that someone would bother killing such a weak monster with a stick.

The woman then spoke.

"No mana was used on this Gleem. Two sticks were used, and neither of them were created by an elemental."

The young man was now even more confused.

"So basically... You're trying to say that an ordinary person marched into here, picked up a stick off the ground, and started killing Gleems?"

The woman shook her head.

"No. Two sticks were used. Other than that, it is indeed what I think happened."

"But why bother with sticks? Why not bring a proper weapon, such as a sword or a spear?"

"It's too early to say. But if I had to guess, I'd say that the person in question didn't have much of a choice."

The young man put a finger on his chin.

"A kidnapping? No... There are easier ways to dispose of someone than this, especially if the abducted person is without an elemental..."

Interrupting his thoughts, the woman spoke:

"Let's not waste any more time."

The young man nodded, and they continued their trip for a little bit longer.

And soon after, the two people were standing in front of a small brick house.

The woman glanced at the young man, and they both nodded at each other simultaneously.

*Bang, bang, bang*

The young man started yelling:

“We know you’re in there! Come out!”

After not getting an answer, the young man glanced at the woman. The woman shrugged her shoulders in a carefree manner, as if leaving the decision up to the young man.

The young man sighed.

“Tsk… So bothersome.”

The young man kicked the door in, which, in turn, flew away and crashed into the wooden chairs inside the house.

The young man then entered the house, followed by the woman.

The young man looked around the house and then smirked, as if seeing something interesting.

He pointed at something and asked the woman:

“Is this what I think it is?”

The woman answered curtly, with a small sneer.

“It is.”

They were looking at a bed on which a tattered, brown-haired young man lied. That brown-haired young man was Luke.

Luke was sweating profusely and was flinching often, as if he were having a bad dream.

“This is kind of nostalgic…”

The young man crossed his arms.

“But where is the old man?”

The questions kept piling up. They came here to return what the old man stole, but were instead greeted by a 20-something-year-old going through the first phase of soul cleansing.

The first phase of soul cleansing is something that people usually go through when they are at a very young age, or not at all, so it was pretty weird seeing it here of all places and in such circumstances.

The woman spoke up:

“Wait for him to wake up, then question him.”

The young man nodded.

“Yes, ma’am!”

Even though they were in a hurry, they couldn’t mindlessly interrupt someone’s soul cleansing, as it could have unforeseen consequences, such as the person’s soul shattering, which would result in instant death.

The young man turned around and started picking up the chairs that he had knocked over earlier, propping them back up.

The pair both sat down and started waiting patiently.

The young man then opened his mouth.

“Could this be the guy that went around stabbing Gleems with sticks? But if so, how is he going through soul cleansing? It should only be possible for an elementalist to-”

The woman turned her head and glared at the young man, prompting him to stop talking. The young man then cleared his throat and bowed his head.

“Ahem... I apologize.”

The woman then crossed her arms and closed her eyes, while the young man kept glancing at Luke.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

It was still the middle of the night.

Luke slowly opened his eyes. He could tell that he was a bit smelly and sweaty.

“Arghh…What the hell happened while I was asleep?”

Saying that, Luke sat up with his eyes still half-closed and rubbed his eyes.

He then saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

Luke opened his eyes wide and stared at the two uninvited guests sitting at the table in front of him.

‘What the hell? Who are they?’

The young man opened his mouth to speak.

“Ah, the prince has finally awakened! Come, sit!”

The young man pointed at the chair on the opposite side of the table from him.

Luke obviously didn't have much of a choice, and so he dazedly stood up and started walking towards the table, feeling very creeped out.

‘They’re wearing the exact same silver robes that the old man wore…’

Luke plopped down on the chair nervously.

“Who are you people?”

The young man smirked.

“Nah-ah. We’ll be the ones asking questions.”

The young man glanced at the woman.

“But maybe we should at least introduce ourselves?”

The woman, with her arms still crossed, simply nodded.

“I don’t see the harm.”

The young man turned his head to look at Luke.

The young man pointed at himself.

“My name is Mark, and this grumpy old woman’s name is Alissia.”

The woman, Alissia, then uncrossed her arms and slapped the young man, Mark, on the back of his head.

Mark grabbed the back of his head, tears welling up in his eyes, as if he were about to start crying.

“Ouch! What was that for?!”

Alissia smirked at Mark.

“That’s for disrespecting your superiors.”

Luke just stared at them dumbfoundedly, thinking that he might still be asleep and having a weird dream.

Mark looked at Luke with a serious expression.

“Okay, that would be the introductions. Now then.”

Luke gulped, while Mark narrowed his eyes.

“Who are you, and why are you here?”

Luke started thinking.

‘I think that I should just tell them what they want to know. I might learn something useful from them as well, and either way, I don’t think I’d be able to beat them or even escape if they’re anywhere near the old man’s level.’

Luke took a peek at the silver robes they were wearing.

“My name is Luke. I was saved by an old man while running away from a few Gleems, and then he-”

Mark grinned from ear to ear and interrupted Luke.

“Lying would be unwise in this situation, wouldn’t it?”

The wind started gathering around Mark's fingers.

Luke could feel an enormous amount of pressure from Mark and felt that he needed to speak up before this spiraled out of control.

“Wait! I’m not lying!”

Mark started laughing, finding this situation slightly amusing.

“Hahahaha! Of course you are! It's common sense that Gleems are one of the weakest monsters in existence! You should be able to take care of at least a few dozen on your own, considering your age!”

Luke started doubting Mark’s words.

“What do you mean?! I could barely kill a Gleem in a one-on-one fight, let alone if a few dozen of them charged at me at the same time!”

Mark glared at Luke.

“So, you're going to keep your act up until the very end. Very well!”

A pure white wind blade consisting of an enormous amount of mana materialized in Mark’s right hand. Mark then stood up and pointed the blade at Luke’s neck.

Mark spoke up.

“You even put on a show of going through your first phase of soul cleansing, even though you’re already an adult!"

Luke was confused yet again.

"Soul cleansing? What even is that?!"

Alissia then decided to speak up.

“Mark, enough.”

Mark retorted.

“Ma’am, just give me a bit more time! I have him cornered!”

Alissia waved her hand, releasing a gust of wind, making Mark’s wind blade scatter into mana particles in an instant.

“I said enough.”

Alissia calmly looked at Mark, and as if realizing what he just said and did, Mark’s eyes widened, and he lowered his head.

“Ma’am! I am truly sorry! It will not happen again!”

Alissia nodded her head.

“Good. I’ll take it from here. Go and wait outside.”

Mark left the house, his head still drooping.

Alissia shifted her gaze to Luke.

“First, why did you come to this forest if you can’t even defeat a few Gleems? What you're saying is at least somewhat credible because of the couple of Gleem corpses we found while coming here. What's not credible is you feigning ignorance about the soul cleansing.”

Luke started thinking.

‘What should I even tell her? That I fell asleep on a bench and just appeared here? There’s no way she’d buy that. And again, 'soul cleansing'? What the hell is it? I'd also like to ask about the Gleem corpses they found, but I don't have any say here, as it seems.’

“Let's just say that I went through an incident, leading me to be here against my will.”

Alissia narrowed her eyes.

They had already presumed as much.

“What kind of an incident?”

Luke opened his mouth.

“You could say that I was brought into this forest against my will by an external force.”

‘What a scary old woman. Even though I, myself, don’t know why I’m here, you’re asking me that…’

Alissia scoffed.

“An 'external force', was it… Well, not that it matters much.”

Alissia crossed her arms and asked Luke directly.

“Where is the old man?”

Luke gulped, and his face stiffened.

‘Don’t tell me… They are here to find the old man?’

“...What do you want with the old man?”

Alissia smiled.

“Hiding a few skeletons in your closet?"

Luke's facial expression was a dead giveaway that he knew something.

Luke was left speechless as he stared at the woman.

"Relax. It’s not really the old man himself we’re after. He stole something that is very precious to us.”

Luke narrowed his eyes a bit.

‘He stole something? But the old man didn’t seem to have anything of value. Did I perhaps miss something?’

“Could you perhaps tell me about what he stole?”

Alissia sneered at Luke.

“No. Just answer the question. Do you know anything about him at all?”

Luke lowered his head and stared at the table nervously.

“I, umm… I killed him.”

Alissia’s face contorted.

She stood up and stared at Luke.

“You? The guy who couldn’t kill a few Gleems? Ha…Hahahahahahahahaha!”

Alissia’s husky laughter was creepy, to say the least. She grabbed her face with one of her hands and laughed on and on.

"Hahahahahaha!!"

'How long is she going to keep laughing?'

“Haha.. ha... Phew…"

Alissia wiped the tear that had formed out of laughter off her face.

"I haven’t laughed like that in decades! Thanks.”

Alissia sat back down and expressionlessly stared at Luke.

“Where is he?”

'What the hell. Talk about a 180-degree mood shift...'

Alissia raised up a finger and started swirling it around.

The wind started gathering around Luke, putting pressure on his whole body. He felt as if his whole body would pop like a balloon if he didn't do something about it.

“Okay, okay! I get it! I will lead you to his corpse! But only if you answer one of my questions first, alright?!”

Alissia snorted.

“You aren't in a situation to bargain. But at least I can admire your guts. Fine, ask.”

Alissia swirled her finger once again, releasing the pressure and causing Luke to sigh a breath of relief inwardly.

‘Phew, that went better than I thought it would.’

Luke asked:

“What is the “soul cleansing” thing that that guy mentioned earlier? He said that I faked going through it, but I don’t even know what it is.”

Alissia was bored by such questions.

“Didn’t your parents teach you anything? Or did you just have none?"

Alissia sighed.

Luke bowed his head slightly.

"Please."

"Tsk..."

Alissia clicked her tongue and explained:

"Soul cleansing is the process of strengthening and consolidating one’s soul after accumulating enough mana, thus being able to have a better connection with mana as well as a better spiritual understanding of mana. Now, lead me to the old man. I know that you couldn't have killed him, so just drop the act.”

Luke stood up.

"Fine, but once you see his corpse, you'll understand that I wasn't lying..."

‘That was definitely not the full answer to my question, but it will have to do for now.’

Luke left the house with Alissia and Mark in tow. He was heading towards where he dropped the old man’s corpse off.

‘It’s nighttime, but I think that even if we were to run into N’Gool, that woman would be able to handle him.’

Luke glanced at Alissia and kept moving forward.

His body still tensed up when he thought about the pressure exerted on him just minutes ago.

They soon reached the old man’s corpse.

Alissia was surprised. She kneeled down and checked the old man’s corpse for a pulse.

“Huh...”

After confirming that the old man was indeed dead, Alissia turned towards Luke.

“One last request, and you’re free to go.”

Luke smiled bitterly.

“Go ahead.”

Alissia then said something that made Luke’s mind go blank.

“Show me your chest.”