Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran checked the bodies of all the bandits. Unfortunately,  he still did not find any clue how they hid their presence from his detection.

'If I can find how they hid their presence, it will be helpful for covert missions.' He thought.

It could also help him sneak into the Shaiha Ruins to look for the rare stones.

Since Kyran could not find any clues, he checked all valuable items the bandits had with them.

Most items he found were weapons, pills, potions, magic scrolls, and talismans.

These items were of no use to Kyran, but that might not be the case in the future. So he did not hesitate to collect all of it.

Some had more than two low-grade space storage pouches or rings, and Kyran decided to check what was inside when he arrived at the guild. He would then sort the items he could keep or sell.

There was a chance some items were stolen, so he had to be careful when selling or trading them.

'I've stopped for a while, but there has been no ambush. Did the bandits give up?' Kyran wondered as he stood up after collecting all the items he could find.

As he surveyed his surroundings, something caught his eye.

'Hm?' Kyran squinted as he approached a beheaded body.

What caught his eye was not something on the dead body but on the ground, which the body had half covered.

'This,' Kyran's eyes widened and knelt at once.

He moved the body to the side and revealed a slightly damaged array.

The array was well hidden because the color used in writing the array calculation was dark green, almost similar to the grass around it. However, because blood smeared the array's writing, it was now slightly damaged. Thus, becoming visible.

Kyran studied the array.

In Array Creation, some calculations were considered standard. Some of it was, making the array invisible or undetectable. Another standard calculation was the range of the array's area of effect. And there was also the standard calculation of magic detection.

The array on the ground had the last one.

'This array can detect a person's magic?' Kyran wondered with a frown.

Kyran checked the range of the array's area of effect.

'10 meters,' he deciphered. 'That's too small.'

He stood up and checked the ground within 10 meters.

Sure enough, he saw another similar array.

Kyran shook his head with a bitter smile.

'So this was how they can detect me? And there is another calculation I am not familiar with. Is that the formula to hide their presence?' He wondered.

As much as Kyran wanted to indulge his curiosity right now, the forest was unsafe. If there were more bandits in the vicinity and they were still looking for him through these arrays, it was just a matter of time before they arrived.

'Let's decipher it when I get to Nhadal,' Kyran decided and took out a pen and a paper to copy the array. Since he was only writing it and was not using any special pen or materials, this array was inactive.

After he finished copying the array, he returned the pen and paper inside his pouch and was about to leave when a whirring sound suddenly appeared above him.

Kyran looked up in time to see a light-green magic array appeared above, and thick dark green vines came out. It circled him as if to trap him inside.

Kyran did not move and just let the vines cover his body.

As soon as the vines touched his armor, however, it sizzled and disintegrated.

"What?"

Someone exclaimed above.

Kyran sneered. He was too lazy to find his attacker and decided to stay still. He waited for his attacker to make a sound, and from there, he would act.

Kyran's eyes glinted silver as he activated the Regis Blessing.

Normally, he would not use the Regis Blessing more than once because he had not mastered its usage yet. Today was an exception because he was too lazy to think of a way to deal with his attackers. So he planned to win by overpowering them.

'Four o'clock behind a tree above,' Kyran calculated the location of his attacker using his voice.

Another light-green magic array appeared on all four sides of Kyran, and more dark green vines came at him.

However.

Kyran disappeared, and the vines got tangled on each other.

"How?"

Kyran appeared behind the man who attacked him and was about to slice off the man's head when he abruptly stopped.

'Hm?' He frowned as he recognized the man as the same one whom he met at the exit of Tarrin Town.

The tall, muscular man sensed danger coming from behind, and he immediately turned around.

His eyes almost bulged as he saw the man in black whom he met outside Tarrin, with a dark purple dagger in hand about to slice off his neck.

"You again-! Ahh!"

The man was so shocked he tripped on himself and fell back.

Kyran missed the chance to slice off the man's neck because he fell back.

'Tsk.'

Kyran followed the man and tried to create a needle.

'Ngrgh.' He winced, sensing his central core protested from his demand.

It seemed using his Regis Blessing had already taken up the remaining energy in his central core. If he tried to push it further, there was a good chance his central core might break.

Anyway, he still had his Void dagger, so he would have to make do with it.

Although the man was not with the bandits, he must be eliminated since he witnessed Kyran using the abilities Nar was supposed to have while he had Tyr's face.

Even though half of Kyran's face was covered, Tyr's unusual aquamarine eyes were still visible. Aside from this, the man recognized him just by appearing before him.

He did say you... Again.

The man felt his scalp go numb as he watched the man in black's unusual dagger neared his neck.

"No!" He exclaimed and suddenly disappeared.

'What?'

Now it was Kyran's turn to be surprised.

He fell on all four on the ground and looked around him.

'Don't use your eyes!' He reminded himself and immediately heard movements on his left.

Without looking at the spot, Kyran threw his dagger.

"Aahh!" The man shouted in fright as a dagger wheezed past his cheek missing him a few centimeters.

Sizzle!

The dagger went straight at the tree in front and left a hole on the trunk as it hit and passed through.

Due to fright, the man reappeared and fell back on his ass. Cold sweat ran down his back as he stared at the hole in the tree's trunk.

"W-What the hell...? H-How...?" He stammered.

"You sure are lucky," Kyran said with a frown as he approached the man. He tried to resummon his Void dagger but failed.

His magic energy was too low that he could no longer summon a new Void dagger. He thought of releasing his Void armor but decided against it. If he did, this man might think something was wrong and might look for a chance to escape.

Not that he would let him.

Seeing the man scared out of his wits was a chance for Kyran, so he had to maintain his in-control demeanor.

Hearing the man in black approached, the man turned his head. When he saw the man drew near, he felt his blood run cold. As if he was looking at death, all the fight in his body left.

"N-No..." The man tried to muster what little courage left in him and said, "W-Wait! I-I know who you work with! I'll cooperate with you! Just don't kill me!"

Kyran frowned. He knew the man was talking about something else but hearing him say 'he knew who he was working with' piqued his interest.

"If you knew then all the more reason I had to kill you."

The man retreated a little. Sweat trickled down his face as he said, "W-Wait! I-If you kill me, you will not be able to get the coordinates. I'm the only one who knows!"

'Coordinates?' Kyran's eyes narrowed.

Was it where these guys planned to go? Was it a hidden ruin?

Kyran stopped a few feet in front of the man and knelt. He looked straight at the man's eyes and asked, "What makes you think I care?"

The forest was dimmed, but Kyran saw the man's complexion paled.

"I-Isn't that why you ambushed us? T-To get the c-coordinates?"

Kyran shrugged.

"Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about. You attacked, so I retaliated. You saw me and what I can do, so I had to eliminate you." He told him.

The man's brow creased. He blinked twice and could not help but look at the bodies lying nearby.

Was this man not with them?

Come to think of it. This guy was dressed decently, while the men who ambushed them wore rugged clothes with red scarves covering half of their faces...

The man's complexion paled further as realization hit him.

Did he kill all of them?

Seeing the man's expression, Kyran could not help but chuckle.

He contemplated how to kill him.

This man was larger than him, and his neck was pretty thick. He could still strangle him to death, but that was only if the man did not fight back. He could take out his sword, but this man would definitely not sit still for him to cut down.

Kyran was already exhausted, to be honest. Missing the man with his dagger just now was proof.

While he could drink potions to replenish his stamina and magic energy, this man would not let him do that. Besides, he also had a troublesome ability to disappear.

Kyran suddenly remembered his mother told him something when he was young.

'If you meet a person once, it was by chance. But if your paths crossed twice, then it was for a reason.'

"G-Good sir. I-I may have mistaken something," the man stammered. "The truth I am not with those men. I-I'm actually from the Blue Lotus."

After hearing this, Kyran's eyes suddenly flashed.