Chapter Thirteen: Target: the Dark Mage

In the year 403 of the New History, the ancient fortress that the humans took pride in—a fortress that had protected the empire and all of humanity for hundreds of years—was finally captured by a race even older than the humans: the orcs.
Would history repeat itself after a thousand years? The orcish archmages were deeply worried, as recorded in the history of magic.
Upon receiving news from the Imperial Archmage Viston, King Sasan XII immediately assembled an army of 20,000 men and sent them to the western border to rebuild a defense line. After all, those were the same formidable enemies from a thousand years ago, and no carelessness was allowed. At the same time, King Sasan ordered all towns and cities near the orcish ancestral altar to relocate eastward to avoid attack.
Strangely enough, after occupying the town called Set, the orcs did not rush to avenge themselves on the humans. Instead, they built a new ancestral altar across the vast lands from Fort Bird to Set.
Perhaps it was true as the old shaman of that small clan said—he didn’t want to start a war. But he was merely the leader of a small clan within his tribe.
The imperial elite did not believe that the orcs’ goal was merely to retrieve their ancestral altar. They likely were also secretly gathering troops. Thus, in addition to the 20,000-man army, the empire continued to strengthen its defenses in the west and held numerous councils to discuss countermeasures.
The radicals argued that human territory should be reclaimed, even though the land there was barren and the population sparse. The conservatives believed that the orcs were still the formidable enemies of a thousand years ago—a ancient and cruel race that could not be dealt with by a single empire. They suggested forming an alliance with the white mages of Salonia, as well as dwarves, barbarians, elves, and others.
Thus, although the situation in the west was tense, it had not yet reached the point of war.
But who could guarantee that peace would last?
Despite the tension, the nobles in the imperial capital were not worried at all. More interested in the apprentice of the royal archmage than the affairs in the west, they were captivated by her.
Jiana!
A charming name, just as charming as her person. Though she was only twelve or thirteen years old, she had already captivated many nobles at balls. Unfortunately, this charming young girl was not very talkative, and her status also deterred some nobles.
The only and most beloved apprentice of the Imperial Archmage Viston!
If you don’t want to incur the wrath of a holy archmage, I advise you to stay away from her.

With this mindset, watching that charming female magic apprentice stand alone on the balcony, admiring the moonlight, many young nobles grew eager but dared not approach, especially with the Grand Mage Veston by her side…
“Do you feel stifled, my child?”
“No, mentor,” said Nina—no, it was Gianna—turning with a smile, clad in an expensive magic cloak. Yet her smile was tinged with bitterness, saddening the young nobles watching her from afar.
“You can call me Old Veston, just as you call Charles,” the old mage said cheerfully, glancing at the ballroom behind him before lowering his head. “Sometimes I hate them too, but when my magic research needs funding, they seem rather endearing…”
“Giggle.” Gianna chuckled softly, then continued to stroke the strange little stone in her hand. To her, the stone given to her by her brother, though ordinary, was far more valuable than any gift from those nobles.
Sighing inwardly, the old mage rested his hands on the balcony railing and gently advised, “Nina, forget that unfortunate incident. Learning magic is a joyful thing, but at the same time, magic itself is full of danger. A single carelessness can lead to misfortune…”
“Mm,” Gianna nodded obediently and said softly, “Thors once told me that to do something well, one must devote all one’s effort and not be distracted. I’ve always remembered that…”
Seeing the gloom hidden in her apprentice’s eyes, as dark as obsidian, the old mage sighed softly and smiled. “Perhaps it’s true as Charles said—the child’s intelligence is a gift in itself…”
“Thors is very smart, really smart…”
“Since you truly think so, remember what he said—devote yourself wholeheartedly to learning magic…”
“Mm!”
Satisfied, the old mage nodded and glanced at the nobles behind him before laughing lightly. “Since you don’t like it here, let’s go back…”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course!” The old mage winked. “It’s a privilege of a Grand Mage!”
“Hee!”
“Come on, child!”
“Mm, mentor… Hee, Old Veston!”
“Very good!”
What a smart and lovely child, the old mage thought with satisfaction.
“Old Veston, I successfully cast a small fireball today…”

“Really? Oh my god, that’s incredible! Come on, let’s go back so I can see the little fireball you use.”
“Mm!”
Sos, my dearest brother, I will definitely become a holy mage!
It’s the only thing I can do. Maybe this will ease your regret a bit…
※※※
At that moment, the “brother” mentioned by Nina was lying on top of a merchant carriage, yawning.
“Be careful, kid, don’t fall!” warned Niman, the old drunkard who drove the carriage and an old friend of the farm owner.
“Mm,” Jiang Zhe replied indifferently, resting his arms behind his head and gazing at the sky while yawning from time to time.
For some reason, he often felt sleepy. When drowsiness hit, his already lack of interest in the outside world vanished completely.
Jiang Zhe was often puzzled by this. He didn’t think he was a person who slept a lot—how strange. It was just as strange as the hexagram pattern on his left hand…
Unconsciously, Jiang Zhe pulled out his left hand, which he had been resting on, and examined the hexagram magic array on his back again.
The magic array covered the entire back of his hand, with very fine and complex lines. As for the dense array of strange symbols on it, he couldn’t understand them at all.
Of course, Jiang Zhe didn’t remember when this magic array appeared on his back. He only remembered that ever since it appeared, he no longer had nightmares. Although listening to those strange snoring sounds all night was boring, it was clearly much better than before.
“By the way, kid, I don’t remember Old Loy having any relatives?” Seeing that Jiang Zhe wasn’t talking much, the old drunkard Niman took the initiative to start a conversation.
“Actually, I’m not his relative’s child. He just wants to help me.”
“I see… You’re going to Sassen to learn magic?”
“Yes!”
“I’ve been to Sassen before and met some mages. From them, I heard that learning magic requires a lot of money. I’m sure the gold coins Old Loy gave you are definitely not enough!”
A lot of money…
A ton of money…
Why did those words sound so familiar? Why did they give him such an uncomfortable feeling?
Jiang Zhe shook his head to suppress the discomfort. After thinking for a moment, he took out the money bag the old man had given him from his pocket. It was a very ordinary, worn-out bag, but it contained twenty gold coins—quite a significant sum of wealth for people in a small town.
Unconsciously, Jiang Zhe recalled the time before the merchant caravan set off…
“Take this, child!”

“This…” Jiang Zhe took the money bag handed to him by the old man hesitantly. He adjusted it and untied the strap to take a look inside before shaking his head and saying, “You’ve already done so much for me. I can’t accept it!”
“This isn’t from me; it’s the old lady who asked me to give it to you. Originally, we planned to use this money to help find a marriage partner for our son once he returned…”
“Then I definitely can’t take it!”
“Child, we all understand that our son will never be able to return… The old lady has been hiding this money all along. For us, these gold coins are a heavy burden… Yesterday was the happiest day for her in over a decade… Take it, child. Strength is admirable, but strength alone won’t take you to Sassen.”
“…”
“Oh, right, I just remembered… When you become a magician and have time to come back, use your magic to water the plants for me. Hiring a magician costs far more than just these gold coins…”
“Thank you, Old Loy!”
“Hey!” The old man tapped his pipe and pulled at his tattered cloak before turning to leave. “Young man, you want to become a magician, huh?”
“I definitely will!”
…
Glancing at his clothes—old but clean—Jiang Zhe murmured, “I definitely will! I will surely become a powerful dark magician!”