Extortion

A young blond boy who seemed to be about the same age as Adam slowly walked towards the clearing in the woods. He was wearing lavish silk clothes and fancy ornaments and had an arrogant smile on his face.

"Indeed, it is the peasant warrior."

"Haha, look at his damn rusty sword. I'm afraid it'll break if the wind blows."

The two boys walking behind the blond youth also chimed in as they mocked Adam.

Ever since the beginning of the journey, the three of them had constantly picked on Adam. After all, he was the only commoner in the traveling party. They despised the fact that a mere commoner would try to become a Magus!

One had to know that it was almost always children of noble birth who had the chance to become a Magus. Adam was very fortunate to have received the grace of wandering Magus a few years back. The Magus had later confirmed that Adam had an aptitude for spell-casting.

Thus, it was extremely rare for a commoner to even dare to embark on the path of a Magus. Not only was talent a crucial factor, but more importantly, one needed large amounts of resources.

Adam looked at the blond youth walking toward him and gritted his teeth. This boy, Jeffrey Palmer, was the son of a Duke from the Cormier Kingdom. Being a noble of high birth, he naturally looked down on everyone else, most of all commoners like him.

Until now, Adam would always silently endure all the insults thrown at him by this group because he didn't want any unnecessary trouble. 

However, after watching the black-armored Magus fighting off thousands of Magi single-handedly, Adam felt a little hot-blooded. For once, he decided to stand up for himself.

Besides, they were far away from Cormier Kingdom. Adam was sure that Jeffrey's influence wouldn't reach so far away from the kingdom. So he looked at Jeffrey dead in the eye and asked, "What do you want?"

Jeffrey was taken aback. "Oh? So you do know how to talk."

"Oi, what's with that look?"

"You dare talk back to Jeffrey?"

The two lackeys stared daggers at Adam. Clearly, they wanted to be on Jeffrey's good books. Adam simply ignored them and stared intently at Jeffrey. "If there's nothing, then get lost. Don't bother me from now on. I'm warning you."

Jeffrey was stunned, thinking just what had gotten into this peasant to have suddenly grown a pair of balls. But soon he was furious and he growled, "You low-life, how dare you talk to me like that?"

"Jeffrey, leave this bastard to us. We'll teach him his place." The two lackeys walked toward Adam with unkind intentions. One of them suddenly rushed toward Adam and swung his fist.

Adam calmly side-stepped, easily dodging the punch. He then raised his fist and struck the boy's face. His movements completely caught the boy off-guard. The boy never imagined even in his wildest dreams that Adam would have the balls to retaliate.

The fist landed squarely on the boy's nose and he fell to the ground screaming in pain. "Arghh!! My nose… it's broken!"

He looked at Adam with hateful eyes. "You motherf—"

BAM!

Adam stomped on the boy's face and knocked him out. The other boy who was approaching him suddenly froze in his footsteps, shock etched all over his face. Even Jeffrey was dumbstruck.

"Come, what're you waiting for?" Adam looked at the other boy with a smug smile. He felt really good beating the bully.

"Huh? Uh…uh… Ahhhh!" The boy nearly peed his pants as he struggled to even answer. In the end, he simply turned around and ran back to the campsite with his tail tucked between his legs.

"You coward come back here!" Jeffrey roared, but the boy fled even faster.

"Son of a bitch!" Jeffrey couldn't help but curse. He turned around and saw Adam crouching down and picking up a pouch from the unconscious boy lying on the ground. "You thief! Stop what you're doing!"

Adam grabbed the pouch and looked inside. Upon seeing so many gold coins inside, he whistled in surprise. This was more money than he had managed to save back in his hometown in Cormier Kingdom.

He then looked at Jeffrey and demanded, "Hand over your money pouch."

"You!" Jeffrey was dumbfounded. This peasant dared to extort him, a noble son of a Duke? The sheer audacity!

Overcome by anger, Jeffrey ran toward Adam while screaming, "You bastard, I'll fight you! How dare you—"

BAM!

Adam easily knocked him out with a punch to the face. He crouched down and grabbed the money pouch from Jeffrey. This pouch was made of fine silk and was twice as heavy as the first one.

Feeling the weight, Adam smiled in satisfaction. "Consider this the fine for bullying me."

He got to his feet and walked toward the campfire, laughing heartily. The monetary problems that he had been worrying about for so long had been alleviated so easily. Naturally, he was in a happy mood.

Of course, he wasn't afraid of any retaliation from Jeffrey. After all, the Cormier Kingdom was far from where they currently were. Moreover, the mercenaries guarding the traveling party wouldn't intervene in a scuffle between kids.

Adam walked to the place where one of the mercenaries was distributing food. He got in line and patiently waited. A few minutes later, he grabbed his dinner—bread and meat stew—and sat on a patch of grass a little further away from the camp.

While eating dinner he thought back to the scene of the grand battle he had seen earlier as well as that mysterious white place he had visited. He couldn't help but involuntarily rub his forehead where the lotus insignia had hidden itself.

Just what was that place… Adam thought to himself as he recalled the countless motes of bright light in that mysterious space. He wondered how he could access that place again.

He absentmindedly finished his dinner and then lay down on the grass, gazing at the myriad stars in the sky. He recalled the scene of the black-armored Magus fighting and had a look of yearning in his eyes.

I wonder if I'll ever be able to be like that Magus…

The scene of the battle kept repeating in his head, and slowly, Adam fell into a deep slumber.

In one of the carriages by the campfire, a man wearing an olive-colored cloak was sitting by the window and reading an ancient-looking book. Suddenly, he raised his head and his bright blue eyes stared at the sleeping Adam.

The man's gaze then fell on the few bulging money pouches on the youth. A moment later, his gaze swept through the clearing inside the woods and fell on the two unconscious boys.

The man's eyes narrowed, but in the end, he simply sighed and shook his head ever so slightly.