Legacy of the Dark Sage

One would think that after losing a few mages from the fiery ball's appearance, the several small to medium factions would be discouraged from sending out their members. But no. They even gathered most of their talented high-level mages to investigate what happened. These mages were considered high-level, but the highest ones among them were only High Masters.

"Should I take care of them, or do you want to do it yourself?" Raya asked Myst as they looked at the mages approaching the periphery of the fiery ball's site.

The mages were still a distance away and did not see nor sense Myst and Raya's presence. However, the latter two could see them clearly due to the Regis Blessing enhancing their eyesight.

Myst shook his head and replied, "If I use my magic, it may disrupt the formation we created here. Instead, I'll control the array formation while you tweak with their memories."

After Kyran left, Myst and Raya busied themselves with creating an Array Formation within the periphery. The array was one of their countermeasures to prevent others from getting close to the center.

"Makes sense," Raya agreed with a nod. "Smokescreen with a confoundment spell, then?"

Myst nodded and replied without looking at him, "I'll only activate those two formulas. Give me twenty minutes to adjust the sequence."

Raya gave him a wry smile and said, "They will be here in fifteen minutes at most."

"That's why I said to give me twenty," Myst repeated with a wave of his hand. After which, he left without waiting for Raya's reply.

"Five minutes, huh," Raya scratched his head and heaved a sigh. "That's a lot to ask, given their number advantage!"

Though he complained, he still used a camouflage spell and ventured forward to meet the approaching mages.

Myst made his way to the heart of the Array formation. As he did, sounds of clashing magic attacks and powerful magic fluctuations could be heard and sensed coming from the center of the site.

Myst felt bad for not being a good assistance to Kyran.

When the three of them arrived a few minutes ago, Myst and Raya failed to sense the presence of the mage Kyran and Tritus were battling. They only realized it after seeing the latter flying toward Kyran's location at an alarming speed.

To think that Kyran had to rely on another person to assist him in dealing with the mage. It made Myst and Raya feel somewhat helpless. The feeling was similar to when they were out on a mission with Master Cade but ended up in the backseat after encountering a very powerful foe— a legendary beast or a mage.

Nevertheless, Myst knew that Kyran gave them the task of guarding the periphery because he trusted them. Thus, he did not have qualms about dealing with the other curious cats coming their way.

One could say that the feeling of helplessness they felt did not dampen Myst and Raya's will. It even ignited their motivation to improve and grow stronger.

'Do what you have to do, young master. We'll make sure that no one else disturbs you,' Myst thought and continued toward the array formation's center.

*

At the south border of the northern region leading to Meliora, Olivia sat at the other end of a long table inside a dimly lit dining hall.

A young man in a white robe sat at the other end of the table while a burly man stood respectfully to the side of the chair.

Because of the dimly lit room and the distance, Olivia failed to see the young man's features. However, judging by his demeanour, she was one-hundred percent sure he was not the young man her essence fought in the platform.

The biggest giveaway was the young man's choice of clothes. Olivia remembered that the young man her essence fought wore an all-black attire. He also had dark hair, while the one before her had light hair— Olivia was unsure what color they were because of the poor light.

"You are not that person. Why do you have my token?" Olivia demanded.

Right now, she had not decided whether to trust these two. In her opinion, the young man her essence met in the tower should inform her beforehand about letting these two meet her instead of him.

Nevertheless, Olivia knew the young man's circumstances. Thus, she was civil enough not to attack these two— who had low mage level than her— before hearing them out.

The burly man lowered his head and whispered something to the young man in a white robe.

The young man nodded at what the burly man said before looking at Olivia with a smile.

"Rest assured that we have your token because it has been entrusted to us," he started.

He waved his hand, and something appeared in the air, glittering with slight snow.

Olivia's eyes narrowed after seeing the snow-like effect. She knew such a result was not caused by the thing the young man had taken out but by his magic.

'A rare Ice mage?' She wondered.

"This is proof of my identity," the young man said. "My name is Silas, and this is the token I received after becoming the Regis Clan's Retainer."

Olivia sucked her back inwardly. She already had an inkling of the young man's identity, but her essence never spoke it out loud. Hearing the young man in front was really from that clan shook her. It made her fear for the empire's future if the Royal Family did find the truth.

Or could it be that all these were because the Royal Family already knew and there were already movements happening in the dark? Could the hole in the sky be part of the movements the Royal Family had planned?

"Are you sure it is fine to tell me your identity? I may be a different person."

Silas chuckled, "I dare introduce myself because we already confirmed your identity. Besides, if a different person managed to arrive here, that person would not be able to meet us."

Olivia's eyes narrowed after hearing this. She was reminded of the advanced array that protected the whole mansion. She did not bother understanding what formulas the formation had. Apparently, there was a formula that could recognize her. Only when the formation confirmed her identity could she enter the mansion and meet with Silas and the burly man.

As if reading Olivia's thoughts, Silas added while turning toward the burly man beside him, "To be precise, this guy here recognized you."

Olivia raised her brows in amusement, "Is that right? You recognized me? It is not because of an advanced array formula that is part of the formation protecting this place?"

The burly man shook his head and replied, "The array around the mansion will only give other people a different view. Basically, it camouflages what is happening on the inside.

"For your other question. I do recognize you, Lady Olivia. The memory orb master created is tailor-made to react only when your magic energy enters it. The orb will then leave a mark on you that only I can see."

Olivia frowned, "You dare mark me using that orb?"

"Please do not be offended, Ms. Olivia," Silas immediately tried to soothe her sudden rise in mood. "For the lack of a term, my friend here used the word 'marked,' but if I may give another explanation..."

Silas paused to sort his thoughts before continuing, "After the orb confirmed your identity, it stimulated your magic energy which my friend here managed to compare to the one the young master showed him."

"Young master?" Olivia exclaimed, seemingly forgetting her initial annoyance at having others secretly leave a mark on her.

Her reaction was reasonable. Although she had an inkling of the young man's identity— someone from the Regis Clan— she had yet to confirm his status inside.

After hearing Silas call that young man 'young master,' Olivia was somewhat frightened.

There were several young masters in the Regis Clan, but only one would have the authority to dispatch retainers to meet with others secretly.

"Ah... that's...."

"See what you've done!" The burly man complained, "You told me to let you speak to her, but what did you do?"

Silas laughed uneasily, "Ahahaha... Sorry, my bad."

Olivia gave them a dull look and said, "You know, you could have denied it and just said it was a different young master."

The burly man shook his head, "No need for that. It's not really important whether you know my master's identity. We'll tell you eventually, anyway. I only wanted to make sure that you are someone we can trust. I don't want to endanger my master's life further."

Silas nodded and looked at Olivia solemnly, "My friend is right."

"Stop referring to me as your friend. You're giving me the willies," the burly man shivered as if to make his point. He looked at Olivia and added proudly, "My name is Byron, and I am master's first Sigil."