The unfortunate part about being in the same team with Taeli was that she was almost always rude. Dreg was yet to meet an employer that she actually liked. The best he had ever gotten from her was tolerance, and that was only when the employer proved to be significantly stronger, which was rare.

Regardless, employers were always weaker and Taeli had a habit of walking all over them. So, when Lord Lacheart had accused her of doing something wrong, he did not doubt him. But Dreg was the leader of the team. Unless there was proof, his place was to support his teammates.

Still, he knew that Taeli must have done something. But as terrible as it could've been, it would not have endangered the group. She was of poor character but she was a mercenary. It was in her blood.

As for Elami, Dreg did not know what to think. They'd gone looking for a [Healer], claiming that their task was going to be dangerous enough and he had been the first to turn up. A single demonstration of his skill was all it had taken for them to say yes. More interestingly, he had asked for a pay lower than most [Healer]s would've asked for. His defense was that he was joining for research purposes.

As Elami healed Oncot, Jang Su, the man with too many swords at his hip, walked over to Lord Lacheart.

"What about the moss?" he asked.

Dreg was so accustomed to the employers asking him such questions that it had taken him aback slightly. He shook the feeling, reminding himself that Lord Lacheart was well traveled. Considering that he had also been the one to point out that they stood amidst Life moss not Death moss, it was understandable. The difference was so subliminal that too many people had lost their lives to it before realizing what had happened.

Lord Lacheart walked forward.

"Life moss is easy to deal with as long as you are outside its reach," he said. "All you need is fire."

Fire was also what was used to deal with Death moss. Elami looked up from his task with Oncot, not needing to watch the man as his skill seemed to regrow shredding flesh and muscles. He watched Lord Lacheart with curiosity in his eyes as the young lord walked over to the edge of the remaining Life moss.

Pulling something out of the soldier belt he wore upside down—an unorthodox way of wearing it—he tossed the item into the path of Life moss. The Life moss did not react. Its glow did not change.

Everyone waited, expecting the item to explode into a burst of flame. It had to be enchanted after all.

Dreg paused. Hold up.

A frown touched his lips. Lord Lacheart used a bow and arrow while being able to use a sword but they did not know his class. It was the luxury of the employer to not disclose their class.

Still… Dreg could not help but put a few things together. Lord Lacheart's bow was enchanted and his quiver was also enchanted. Now he was using an enchanted item.

Is he an [Enchanter]?

It wasn't a rare class, but seeing an enchanter that could fight like he was was definitely a rare occurrence. Those with the [Enchanter] class liked to open their own shops. With the right connections, you could make a comfortable life for yourself with the class selling enchantments.

[Battle Enchanter]? He thought. That would explain his combat proficiency.

After a moment of waiting accompanied by the absence of an effect from whatever he had thrown, Lord Lacheart raised his hand, waving everyone back. Confused, nobody moved except Ted and the man he tended to call V or Dan. Dreg still wasn't entirely sure what the man's real name was.

Jang Su gave the young Lord a confused look.

"I need space," Lord Lacheart explained. "I want to try something."

With the explanation, each person moved back. Elami and Oncot were far enough that they didn't have to move.

Space given, Lord Lacheart stood in place. The air around him thickened somehow. The process was abrupt, reaching out then condensing into a small sphere around him. It was barely perceptible. Dreg only noticed it because his perception was exceptionally high.

His back turned to them, he spoke once more. "Ted?"

"I'm listening," Ted answered.

"In case what I'm about to do fails, be ready to have Elami heal me."

Ted hesitated. "Should I be worried?"

Lord Lacheart's shoulders tensed for a moment in preparation. "Yes."

Ted looked down at Elami and Elami nodded. Dreg did not like how quickly their [Healer] had switched sides. He had been planning on negotiating with the man once this task was done, convincing him to take up a more permanent role in the team.

Lord Lacheart sucked in a deep breath and brought his hands together. Standing behind him, Dreg could not see what he was doing. What he did see was worrying enough. Lord Lacheart sucked in a deep breath, his chest expanding so much that his torso seemed to widen almost impossibly. Then he let the breath out.

Vesta, Nesa's sister, walked up to stand beside Dreg.

"Any idea what's happening?" she asked.

Dreg looked at briefly before returning his attention to Lord Lacheart. "I thought you were obsessed with our employer's teammate."

"Nesa likes him," she answered with a shrug. "I'm just making sure she doesn't get too attached. So, what he's doing, any idea?"

Dreg shook his head. "Our employee has proven to be quite enigmatic."

Lord Lacheart took in another deep breath.

"That's quite the lung capacity," Vesta noted. "It's almost impre—"

The space around Lord Lacheart ignited in a burst of flame that disappeared almost immediately, shocking Vesta into silence.

The roared with a force that shook the air. It was like the sound of an explosion. A terrifying wave of fire erupted from him. It roared forward, ripping Life moss and burning all of it to cinders. He roared, leaning forward, burning the air and everything in his path. The cave grew hot enough that Dreg had to cover his eyes for a moment for fear that they would shrivel from the heat.

When Lord Lacheart was done, the flames continued to roil forward, leaving behind nothing but ruination in its wake.

Everyone stared wide eyed. Dreg noted the hanging jaw of the one called Jang Su. Even Dan looked flabbergasted yet not very surprised.

Ted laughed, visibly impressed and excited. Elami frowned.

What the young Lord had just done was new. New even to his teammates. Dreg watched it all happen in worry as Ted walked up to his brother with glee on his face.

Dreg felt a tremor go through his hand. It can't be… right?

There were only two explanations for what Lord Lacheart had done, and the less terrifying option was that he had the [Mage] class, because the second option only existed in myths and legends. Dreg did not want to be under the employ of a man with a class that was not supposed to exist anymore. He did not want to believe that Taeli had picked a fight with a mythical class.

Please gods, he prayed. Please.

Ted threw his arm over his brother's shoulder.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, chuckling as they watched the flame continue forward, lighting their path as more things burnt.

Lord Lacheart grinned at him. "I think I just learnt how to breathe fire."

Dreg paled and his hand trembled so badly that he almost lost his hold on his bow. Gods, no.

There was no known class with a skill that allowed you breathe fire. Even the [Mage] class couldn't breathe fire. You needed a combination of spells to use fire in such a manner and it still wasn't breathing fire.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

But Dreg had been watching throughout. Spells created symbols and sigils. They lit up the air when activated. They also left behind traces and residues of mana. Lord Lacheart had activated nothing. Dreg had witnessed it all.

It gave support to his fears. Why couldn't you have been a [Mage]?

He fought to hold his fear in check as he turned and looked at the others. Taeli watched in terrified awe. He saw her knees tremble before buckling beneath her. She sat on the ground, weighed down by her fears.

Dreg could not blame her. If there was no trick going on right now, Lord Lacheart had just proven himself to be a mythical class—a class that was supposed to be since extinct, existent only in the myths of ruined civilizations that far predate them.

Taeli had every right to be so generously terrified. Why wouldn't she be?

After all, she had just made an enemy of a friend to a dragon. A [Dragon Knight].

…

Aiden was still smiling. He could not help it. He could breathe fire. Well… technically. But what did it matter? All that mattered was that he had achieved the necessary steps required to breathe fire.

Tarot's going to lose his shit, he thought, chuckling to himself.

What was more interesting was the fact that he could actually use something stronger. There had been a lesser enchantment in there somewhere, used for the sake of caution. What would happen if he used only the actual enchantments not their lesser variations?

He could feel his fingers twitch. He wanted to try it. Like a child with a new toy, he was giddy.

Calm down, he cautioned himself as they walked through the cave. They were coming up on the next turn. If Taeli missed it, then he would know that she was working against him.

They'd been in the cave for a day now which meant that they had roughly twenty four hours before the crystal spawned. Then it would be a race against time.

He had no worries about the crystal. It was well in hand already. No one had the ability to get to it before him even if Taeli tried to sabotage their direction. The race against time was for the [Heart of Nosrath].

The problem with the heart was that it respawned at the same time as the crystal. But the locations were too far apart. Once they respawned, like in his past life, the kings and queens will be on the move to claim it, sending their strongest teams for the very purpose.

We might have to steal it, he thought, after much contemplation on how quickly they could move from Trackback to the location of the heart.

The thought of stealing the heart became a new issue. It would be a taxing ordeal. He would first have to find who had the heart and in what direction they went.

That's if whoever gets it doesn't absorb it immediately.

Like the [Crystal of Existence], the [Heart of Nosrath] could not be absorbed into a storage space of any kind.

But in the event that whoever got it did not absorb it immediately, there was only one place he could get a piece of information that was accurate enough even in real time.

Agents of the Order.

The problem was that the Order didn't sell information. They traded it or gave it for free with intentions the receiver would rarely ever be able to fathom. Once upon a time he had given a prince a piece of relevant information that had led the prince to fall in love with another prince from a different kingdom which had led to a war between both kingdoms.

In the end, the Order had stepped in. in exchange for brokering peace between both kingdoms, the Order had received a gift from each kingdom.

Sometimes, the Order agent offering the piece of information did not understand why they were instructed to offer the information.

What do I have that they will want? He wondered, pausing as the answer came to mind. The question was if the information would be worthy to them.

He was certainly not exchanging the location of the [Enemy of the Order] for it. It was too valuable, and he still needed to use the man's services.

The location of the [Crystal of Existence] will have to do.

It would be tricky, but he could figure a way out of any quagmire that came of it.

"You should really stop smiling," Ted said from beside him.

Aiden paused. "I'm not smiling."

"You're grinning from ear to ear."

Jang Su pulled up beside him. The twins were absent. "He's right," he said. "You're smiling."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Can you blame me?"

"I can't," Jang Su agreed. There was a worried look in his eyes. "Was that a skill?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"Explain." Elami popped up right beside them. "Please."

Aiden's brows furrowed. He hadn't heard the [Healer] coming.

"You have achieved a mythical feat, Lord Lacheart," Elami continued. "I wish to know how you did it… please."

It seemed the word 'please' was not a regular part of the man's vocabulary. Then again, [Healer]s, much like [Mage]s, knew their importance and were often prone to arrogance.

The thought reminded Aiden of another problem they would have to deal with. The Mage Radiants would want to understand what could be special about the Heart and the crystal that would make them spawn too early. This meant that he would have to actively avoid the Mage Radiants as well.

That would not be a real problem.

Aiden looked back at the others as he heard Valdan approach. Everyone seemed curious about what he had just done. Perhaps he had been too hasty.

None of the mercenaries met his eyes, not even the ever scowling Taeli.

"They are afraid of you," Elami said, as if reading his thoughts.

Aiden looked at him. "Even Taeli?"

"Especially the dwarf spawn," Elami confirmed, even though Taeli was certainly not a dwarf. He was likely just making a comparison. "She is the one that has drawn your ire the most and is deserving of punishment. She worries for what you will do to her."

Aiden did his best to conceal his scowl. Elami spoke like royalty, but not just any royalty. He spoke like intelligent royalty, those prone to giving important pieces of advice. If he wasn't royalty, he was most likely important to one.

That might be a problem. Aiden was not unaware of the fact that the team did need a healer.

"Because I can breathe fire?" he asked, understanding dawning on him. There was only one known class on this side of Nastild that could breathe fire, and it was thought to be extinct.

The [Dragon Knight] class. What people didn't understand was that the other side of Nastild had actual species in existence that could breathe fire because of assistance from their traits.

Still, the fear of a [Dragon Knight] was the beginning of wisdom.

"So," Elami repeated. "How did you do it?"

Aiden gave him a curious look.

"I have enough knowledge to know that…" Elami's voice trailed off and he lowered it to a whisper. "I know that you are not, in fact, of the mythical class. That was a trick. A sly use of enchantments in some way that I do not understand. You had your back to us to conceal your actions."

Aiden could not help but be impressed. Elami was either quite smart, or very paranoid.

"It was a skill," Aiden said in the end. "A skill of my class."

"The [Enchanter] class has no such skill," Elami argued as they walked. "Neither does the [Battle Enchanter] class."

"And there is your mistake," Aiden said simply. "You have made wrong assumptions. Perhaps, in all your vast knowledge, there are things you do not know."

He turned his attention away from Elami as they walked and Ted took up the [Healer]'s attention. His thoughts hovered over the combinations that had created the fire breath. [Walking Canvas] was a given. It was the only way he could use a weaving that would affect the world around him and not just him.

There had been flame, endurance and strength for his lungs, then gas. He was sure he could find a better order for it. What would happen if he used the gas weaving without [Walking Canvas]? Would he fill up with gas? Would he turn to gas? Would his lungs be the only thing to fill up with gas?

If the last option was correct, then he could better control the direction of the fire.

A better question came to mind. What could he create with just the right combination of weavings?

He had just unlocked a whole new aspect of his class. The only problem was that he couldn't use these skills in high paced combat. The hand signs required to pull them off took up too much time. He would be cut down before he finished.

"You did not use it against my master," Jang Su said.

Aiden shrugged. "I did not."

"Why?"

"Perhaps because it would've burnt down the entire room."

"You did not know how to do this at the time," Jang Su said, implying that he was in no mood to be toyed around with. "Did you level up? Is this a skill that you have gained from it?"

"Jang Su," Aiden said as politely as he could. "We are temporary teammates. What we have is not permanent."

"My master could wish it so."

As tempting as the offer sounded, Aiden had since realized that no matter how favorable a [Sage] might seem, he was not ready to have someone that answered to any [Sage] as a teammate. Jang Su was no exception.

"If you follow me, you will not survive," he said simply. "As such, I will not be agreeing to make it permanent."

Jang Su blanked. "You would refuse the decisions of my master, knowing who he is?"

To that Aiden couldn't help but laugh.

"Dude, I have one of your master back in my kingdom, remember? They are not omnipotent or omniscient or omnipresent. They are not gods. Just very powerful beings."

"Beings that can strike you down in one blow," Jang Su argued.

He had a point. Aiden opened his mouth to answer just as his eye caught the next bend, the one that would determine if Taeli was on their side or not.

He slowed his steps down intentionally. It forced the others with him to slow down as well. Behind them, Dreg and his group seemed reluctant to follow.

Aiden eventually came to a stop. He looked back at them. Dreg and his crew hesitated to meet his gaze while Oncot was being carried a step behind them on the shoulder of Ted's summoned gorilla.

"You know," he said with a sigh. "You guys are the guides. It makes no sense that you are the ones walking behind." He gestured to the front. "Can you take the lead once more?"

He wasn't even going to talk about how their arrangement had been thrown askew. At least he knew that in the event of another fight, they could fall into position quite quickly.

It took only a moment that felt like forever for Taeli to return to the lead. As she did, the entire party intermingled once more. The twins moved to Jang Su's side as usual, but nobody spoke.

Dreg, on the other hand, had something to say.

"You could have told us," he said in a low voice. He walked beside Aiden.

Aiden fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Told you what?"

"Told us your class."

"I'm the one making the payments, Dreg. I hold the benefit of not sharing my class."

"A [Dragon Knight] is a class courtesy demands you inform us of," Dreg returned in a sharp whisper, his annoyance and worry spilling out.

So that was what they thought he was. A [Dragon Knight]. It was good to get some kind of confirmation.

"Courtesy demands nothing from me, Dreg." He stopped so that he could look the man in the eye. "Taeli has been an ass that I have spent most of this expedition trying to not put down. You have been a leader incapable of controlling said ass. Courtesy, Dreg, demands nothing from me. And that is the last I will hear of it. After all," he turned and looked at Taeli as she slowed down coming up on the turn, "we stand on the precipice of the moment of truth."

Taeli hesitated when she reached the turn, like a child who had done wrong and wondered if it was a secret only they knew.

She looked back at Aiden and Dreg as if she was checking up on the team. Aiden kept his eyes on her. He waited.

Taeli took the turn.

Aiden almost laughed.

I guess fear trumps hate and arrogance every time.

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