Kraft Departs

"Mm, not bad. You two are learning pretty quickly!"

Seeing that Norn and Erik had successfully condensed a ball of light in their hands, Rhode praised them.

This was the seventh day since he started teaching them magic. From complete novices who knew nothing about magic to now beginning to grasp the basics, their pace was already quite fast.

At least that was what Serie said after watching them.

"Is it always this hard?"

Erik wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and dispersed the light ball in his hand.

He had watched Rhode use magic so effortlessly lately that he assumed learning magic wasn't difficult.

Yet even a basic Light Arrow attack had taken them a week to learn without mastering it.

At this rate, who knew how long it would take to become a powerful mage.

Compared to the impatient Erik, Norn was much calmer. He tried extending the light ball once more before dispersing it.

Observing Norn's technique, Rhode nodded. Although Erik had stronger natural talent, Norn would likely master magic before him.

"How's the teaching going?" Serie walked over and asked Rhode.

"Honestly, it's a bit tough."

Rhode had thought teaching magic wouldn't be hard, but actually doing it proved far more difficult.

The main issue was that he couldn't treat Norn and Erik the way Serie treated him. He had to explain everything step by step, carefully.

"I'm suddenly realizing—am I actually incredibly talented at magic?"

"You're only noticing now?" Serie shot him a look.

Being able to replicate the elves' Light Arrow just by seeing it once and even improve upon it—that kind of talent couldn't be described as merely frightening.

"Sigh, this is troublesome. Say, do you have any better teaching methods?"

Rhode released a small magic formation in his hand. While teaching the two, he had also been honing his own magical abilities.

"No. This is my first time teaching anyone too."

Serie refused outright. When she taught Rhode magic, she simply demonstrated it once, then let him observe and try to replicate it.

If it didn't work the first time, they tried again. Repeat the cycle until Rhode figured it out.

It was incredibly easy.

Only after seeing how Rhode taught others did Serie realize that teaching magic to someone else was such a hassle.

"Yo! You two are studying pretty seriously!"

Kraft appeared from somewhere and patted Norn and Erik on the shoulders.

He didn't stop them from learning magic. For a warrior, studying magic could also help improve their strength.

He himself had no talent for it, so he could only become a monk.

But since the two had such potential, they should make good use of it.

That was also the main reason he hadn't stopped Rhode from teaching them elven magic.

"Mr. Kraft, learning magic is really hard!"

"I can relate to that." Kraft nodded. For him, learning magic was like trying to climb the heavens.

"But I came to say goodbye. The war is about to begin."

"War?" Serie asked. "What war?"

Kraft said casually, "The Three-Race Allied Forces have already started moving. The winged race's scouts spotted demon troops gathering in the north."

The north was where the Elf Forest was located.

Although the Elf Kingdom and the Elf Forest had split, the latter was the ancestral home of all elves. Besides, the separation was only due to different choices, not any deep-seated hatred.

Faced with the demons gathering and threatening the Elf Forest, the allied forces had begun their own operations.

Rhode paused his movements, and the magic formation dissipated. "Is the scale large?"

"Comparable to those wars recorded in history," Kraft said, his voice low. "So I have to hurry back."

Serie narrowed her eyes slightly, looking intrigued.

Norn and Erik exchanged glances. Even though Kraft spoke lightly, they could tell this would be an unprecedented, earth-shaking battle.

"Mr. Kraft, we—" Norn hesitated.

Norn wanted to join the war.

Though he knew he would be nothing more than an insignificant pawn in such a conflict, he had his own reasons.

If they stayed holed up in the village forever, they could never truly solve humanity's current plight.

Before Rhode appeared, Norn had thought that the only way for humans to grow stronger was to become powerful warriors like the dwarves.

But Rhode's arrival had brought another possibility.

As if reading Norn's thoughts, Kraft patted his shoulder. "Stay here and keep learning magic. This war isn't something ordinary people can take part in."

Norn was somewhat surprised, looking toward Rhode. "You're not leaving?"

He had assumed Rhode's group would depart alongside Kraft, which was why he'd planned to go with them.

Rhode shook his head, glancing first at Serie, and only after she gave a slight nod did he speak. "We have a different destination, and it's far more dangerous than the war Kraft is heading into."

After all, their destinations were the Dwarven Kingdom ruins and the Land of Fallen Gods.

They were outright biological exclusion zones.

Norn felt a little relieved. In that case, he could wait until he'd fully mastered magic before setting out on his own adventures.

But Kraft seemed to have other ideas.

"Rhode, I have an impertinent request."

"What is it?"

"Could you take these two along on your adventure?" Kraft asked.

Rhode was puzzled. He hadn't considered bringing the two of them along, since he was counting on them to pass down the magical legacy.

"May I ask why? You should know how dangerous our destination is—mine and Serie's."

To be honest, even Som—Rhode felt he'd already let him down somewhat.

After hearing where he and Serie were headed, Som hadn't shown the slightest reluctance; instead, he'd thumped his chest and insisted on coming along.

Besides, from what Rhode had observed over this time, Som genuinely wanted to go on an adventure with them.

He was a very reliable companion.

"They're strong, but not strong enough. If they want to accomplish anything, they're not yet qualified without having been tempered by hardship."

As if seeing straight through Norn's thoughts, Kraft said this.

His words stirred something in Norn.

Could it be that they...?

"This isn't something you or I can decide. We'll have to ask for their own opinions."

Kraft nodded, agreeing with Rhode's point.

"I have no objections." Norn didn't deliberate long before agreeing.

He too looked forward to going on an adventure with a fellow human like Rhode. Perhaps, after hearing about his dream, the other would support him too.

"Same here!"

Seeing that his usually cautious friend Norn had said so, Erik quickly chimed in.