"Who?!" the barbarian bellowed, his voice echoing through the dripping cavern as he watched the dagger fall.

"It must be that green mage!" shouted the other.

"Matthew! We know it's you! Come out of the light!" the first roared, his words echoing in the dark cave.

The two barbarians froze, listening. From somewhere in the dark, a faint glow flickered, like the breath of a dying torch, hidden behind a jagged wall of stone.

"He's hiding behind that stalactite," one muttered, tightening his grip on his axe.

"Move closer. But careful. That green mage is a tricky bastard, I heard."

They fitted their torches to hooks near the axe handles, light quivering against the cave's slick surfaces. With the orange glare wavering across their faces, they advanced slowly and deliberately, blades raised.

The light moved.

A small glimmer darted behind another stone. Then came a sound, tap, tap, tap. Small pebbles clattered down from the ceiling.

"It's just a rock," hissed the first barbarian, annoyed by how jumpy his companion was becoming.

But when he turned back toward the stalactite, the glow had vanished.

Behind another rock close to the river's edge, Thane crouched. Mana shimmered faintly around him like vapor. In his right hand was the battle mage's staff, its tip buried in sand to conceal its light. On the other hand, a dagger gleamed faintly red.

"Hmm," he whispered. "Time to test what I learned."

His breath steadied as he remembered the endless hours of lectures and theories that had burned into his mind, the Body of Mana, Mana Basics, and all the mad brilliance of Edwin Maginstrate. The theories swirled now in his head like a second heartbeat.

"Master," Libra's voice whispered inside his mind, tight and uneasy. "Is this truly the appropriate moment for experimentation? You had the element of surprise. Three more strikes and they would both be dead."

Thane smirked. "Because I'm planning to leave a survivor this time. You never leave without a witness to spread the legend." He raised the dagger, its blade flickering faint orange.

"Besides, I think I'm getting the hang of it. Look, Contain magic."

Flames began to crawl across the dagger's edge, wrapping it in thin ribbons of fire. The light pulsed irregularly, unstable but alive.

"What the... How?" Libra gasped.

Thane grinned. "I'm using the staff's core as an external source. It's a mess, but it works."

It was indeed an inefficient process. Instead of channeling mana through his body's core, something he did not yet possess, Thane used the staff's crystal as a makeshift Mana Core. The energy trembled, wild and unrefined. But with Edwin's teachings still echoing in his head, he began to form a makeshift chain. From his right hand to his left, threads of mana began to link, forming luminous arcs that hummed with his Spirit.

He imagined it as Edwin had described, a living chain of light, each link singing with resonance. The Spirit inside him pulsed, guiding the flow like invisible breath. For a moment, Thane felt mana wanting to move, following his will instead of resisting it.

Libra's spectral tone quavered. "How? When did you learn this?"

"Huh?" Thane kept his focus. "I've been practicing ever since Edwin talked about Spirit."

"That was nine hours ago! You've been moving your mana for nine hours like that?"

"Yeah! He showed the diagrams. What did you expect me to do while I sat there watching?"

"You were constantly forcing me to show those wretched, infernal feral beavers!"

"Yeah! How do you think my voice grew louder? I've been using mana like how those Feral Beavers did. And I'm starting to get the hang of it. It's slow, but it works. I just need time to delay. Oh! Speaking of...! I could use that trick that those Feral Beavers used! It's weird that I get to save Edwin Maginstrate with the same tricks he taught me. Hey...! This is the first time I'm meeting a TV Celebrity!"

The glow of the dagger brightened, the flame tightening into a concentrated edge. Thane smiled, crouched low, and turned toward the main cavern where the barbarians crept forward. He took a deep breath and compressed his Spirit into his throat, another trick he had stolen from the Feral Beavers. They had used Power to roar and create shockwaves. He had no Power Core, so he shaped his Mana instead, wrapping it in Spirit.

"To what honor do I have the Red Chains disturbing this humble hermit's peace?" he called, his voice deepened and scattered through the air.

"And wasn't that Edwin Maginstrate I just saw?"

His words echoed through the cavern, rebounding in a dozen directions. The sound seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.

The barbarians jerked around, axes raised.

"Show yourself, Matthew!"

"Matthew? Who's Matthew?" Thane's voice boomed again, now from above them.

"You Red Chains haven't given up, I see. First, you awaken the magma monsters and disrupt my home, and now you trample these halls again. Your barbarian brutes and battle mages were eaten alive for their foolishness. Leave now, or you will share their fate."

The pair froze. His voice wasn't just echoing; it was moving, flowing around them like a living thing. Even the torches wavered in the strange pressure his Spirit voice created.

"Liar!" one roared. "Your green magic won't fool us, Matthew!"

"Green magic?" Thane scoffed, his tone changing to arrogance.

"I am no forest conjurer. I am a Battle Mage. Would a mere green mage throw an axe with such strength that it pierced your comrade's skull?"

The barbarians hesitated. Few battle mages could throw an axe like that and pierce a helmet. The story didn't make sense, and yet doubt crept in.

"Who are you?" the first demanded.

"I am the Hermit of the Cave," Thane declared, his voice splitting again, forming overlapping echoes.

"You are not worthy of my name. Leave now, and let Edwin Maginstrate go. For I am indebted to his teachings. But if you persist," his tone dropped, rumbling through the stone like thunder, "then face my wrath."

The cave fell silent except for the dripping of distant water.

"Ca... Captain," one stammered. "Maybe we should leave. The green mage isn't here. That fool Edwin must have followed the wrong trail."

"No," the captain hissed. "The device didn't lie. He's close. Even if Edwin misled us—"

"Then die!" Thane's voice erupted like lightning.

A fiery dagger streaked from the shadows.

"There!" the captain barked, swinging his axe to deflect it.

He struck it, and the world exploded.

BOOM!

The blast hurled both men backward, searing the air with heat. One barbarian slammed into the wall, the other dropped to his knees, dazed. A thick haze filled the cave, choking and bright.

"Argh!" one screamed, clutching his arm.Then a heavy thud followed, and an axe buried itself deep into the captain's chest.

Blood spattered the stone. The man's eyes bulged as he stared at the weapon, realization fading to horror.

"He... help, it's... poi... son..." he gasped before collapsing.

Libra's whisper reached Thane, pleased and cold.

"Soul-poison. Effective as always."

"Calling my Soul Sealing art as poison is a bit insulting, master..." Libra sighed.

The second barbarian stumbled forward in panic. "Captain?! Captain!"

He spun, searching wildly, and something flashed.

A dagger lodged in his eye.

He screamed, dropping to one knee, blood spraying against the cave wall.Thane's voice came again, calm and cruel.

"Go tell your leader. I will hunt every last one of you down and feed your corpses to the magma beasts."

Another dagger struck his arm, pinning the hand to the wall. The man shrieked, wrenching free and fleeing toward the river, stumbling into the dark with wild terror.

Silence fell.

The air still hissed with heat from the explosion, faint embers glowing along the cave walls. The smell of iron and ash hung heavy.

Thane exhaled slowly, flicking soot from his cloak.

"Containment magic sure is powerful. Did you see that blast? Even I didn't expect that."

"It took you nearly a minute to finish it," Libra replied, tone half-impressed, half-scolding. "Still, effective. The darkness helped."

"Yeah. A win's a win." Thane tapped his dagger against the staff. "At least it worked."

He moved quickly through the dim light, stepping over the charred rock until he reached the river's edge. Using Supreme Perception, he could see faint heat signatures, one still alive, one extinguished.

Ahead, a flicker of movement. A man crouched behind a rock, holding his shoulder, panting heavily.

"Edwin Maginstrate?" Thane called softly, lifting a torch he had grabbed from the fallen barbarians.

The man looked up, startled. His bruised face caught the firelight, exhausted, confused, yet unmistakably the same one from the TV.

"A... boy?" Edwin asked in disbelief, voice rasping. He slowly left his hiding spot, clutching his side.

"I heard cries. Are they... dead?"

"I left one alive," Thane said, giving a lopsided grin. "Had to make it look believable. Needed a witness."

"I heard the explosion," Edwin muttered. "Your magic... that wasn't ordinary. You have my thanks, but now they'll come for you."

"That's the plan." Thane sheathed his dagger. "I'll draw them away. You and Matthew need to stay hidden."

Edwin's expression darkened at the name. "Matthew...! So he is here! I didn't know. I thought they were only hunting a rogue green mage. Verdok, the captain, made me build those detection devices. I owed him a debt. But had I known he was after the late king's son—"

Thane raised a hand.

"Relax. You didn't know. What matters is, we turn that to our advantage."

Edwin blinked. "You... have a plan?"

Thane smirked. "Always. It starts with confusing the enemy."

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful," Edwin said, still catching his breath, "but these are the Red Chains. They won't stop. You managed to poison Verdok, yes, but among the Red Chains are those who are strong! Although I can't believe Bolgard is dead... he was a monster."

"I killed him, too," Thane said simply, as if stating a weather report.

Edwin froze. "You... what?"

Thane nodded, adjusting the staff on his back.

"All five of them. Poison, traps, faith, the old 'made you look' trick, particularly worked on Bolgard. Whatever worked. As long as I fight like this, I'll manage."

Edwin stared, caught between disbelief and awe.

"You're either a miracle or a madman."

"Why not both?" Thane grinned. "Now come on. We have to move before the survivor brings friends."

He offered Edwin a hand.

For a brief moment, the mage hesitated, then grasped it. His palm was trembling, weak from overexertion, but Thane's grip was steady and strong.

"Let's go to Matthew."

The two slipped into the river tunnel's shadows, the torchlight dwindling behind them, swallowed by the dark.

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