confrontation

Seth did as the system instructed and requested Memenok's inn and room address after brief thought. He'd weighed his options and had chosen to rely on the system at that moment. Mesok frowned when he didn't hear an immediate 'Yes,' but he bid the young borderlander good night before departing with his squad.

Seth watched them disappear behind a bend, and only then did he heave a sigh of relief. The streets were bright and empty, and a sudden chill swept up from the north of the city. Seth summoned a coat and wrapped it around himself as he made his way to the Winding Wyvern. As he walked, his mind pondered on the system and the new feature he'd just unlocked.

He wondered why out of all the questions he asked in the past, it had finally chosen to answer him now. Everything about the system felt wrong. The new h

"What's changed? Why did you choose to help me now?" Seth asked.

[You met the requirement to activate the guide feature. It gives suggestions and detailed answers. Offering practical advice on how to grow and achieve your goals. The guide will start as messages, but as you gore and evolve, you will unlock more features and eventually an incorporeal guide.]

'What requirements.'

[Survive three threats from beings higher than yourself, and request for the guide's help by addressing it in the first person.]

'Those requirements were extremely stringent and nearly impossible to guess casually. Why would the system require such a feature before activation? He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

[Most blood mages know the activation sequences and ignore it, choosing to face their foes head-on. Only the most cowardly of mages use the personal guide.]

'That's just great,' Seth mumbled. 'Since your job is to offer me practical advice, who do you think I should trust?' He found it strange that he confided with the system, given their history. It was shady, to say the least, and there were numerous things he was yet to understand about it and its creators. Still, as it organically interacted with him and offered advice he very much needed, he found it hard to abandon its advantages fully.

[No one. The host is currently too weak to control his fate. Either party can choose to force their wills upon the host.] The system replied with a floating bloody screen—[System advises the host to hunt and grow in strength to ensure his safety. The host's sister was captured for a reason. Her captor doesn't intend to kill her.

When the host grows strong enough, finding her captor and rescuing his sister will be a minor task. The system has already created the optimum projected path for growth in the shortest time possible.

The path is similar to what the host has envisioned and addresses the host tainted light conduit, and guarantees that that host will be stronger than every mage and magic knight the host has interacted with, even Mesok Memenok. The System offers the host the strength to besiege cities, flatten mountains, and ride the winds. Will the host accept?]

Seth's heart quickened as he read. The strength the system described was unimaginable. It was the strength to crush Ren, Brick, Germo, and every mage he'd met up met with a single attack. It was the strength to kill the two blood mages he'd met with a casual swing of his blade. His fist tightened. It was the strength not to get betrayed by the red hornet, rescue Tessa, claim all the merit points, and restore his house. He'd do almost anything for that strength, but…all that strength would be meaningless if he couldn't save her.

Having strength that rivaled deities would be naught if Tessa Ryall wasn't alive to carry on the family's name. The royals would never accept him after what he did. Only she could redeem the family name. He had to remind himself that everything is for Tessa. Even if he wanted the strength to split mountains, he had to refuse the system. Tessa couldn't simply wait decades while he gained power. The system could be right, and they might keep her alive, but there were worse things than death. "No, I've come all this way. I can't give up on my sister without trying my best. I ask you again if you had to choose a side, which would you recommend?"

The system was silent for seconds after he spoke. It seemed to be in deep thought. [If the host is convinced that he needs to rely on others, the system recommends that the host chooses Red hornet,] It finally answered. [They will be easier to deal with than a senior magic knight and a team of Iron guards.]

He agreed with the system's logic. Choosing the weaker side could prove to be more advantageous, but he still but doubted Mesok wouldn't simply go around him to get what he wants. He let out a frustrated sigh, and his mind returned to the system's offer once more. A path to near-limitless power. It would be lying to himself if he said he didn't wait long for it, but alas, this was the path he chose.

He wouldn't acquire the strength the system described for decades to come, but he could acquire some strength by fuelling his new body and leveling up. To do that, he needed to hunt as the system had suggested.

'Hunt, huh?' he rubbed his chin with his cold hands. Armed with LifeSense and his two new spells, he was sure he'd learn to cast that very night, he could hunt for beasts and level up. Memenok was still waiting for an answer, and Seth would delay for as long as he could to buy time for him and Brick to act. 'Five days is the limit,' he thought, 'I can only delay him for five days at most. If we seek out the blood mage before then, that would great, but any longer, and I estimate I won't be able to dissuade him' During those days, he would hunt and level up as quickly as he could. He would also scout the caves and the battlefields and watch other team battles with the blood mage.

Seth walked down an empty street and finally stopped in front of a large inn with stacked tile roofing. Its outer walls were blue and of wood. It had large arcing frames and a sliding wooden door. A plaque hung from the door with a winding azure beast, breathing frost.

Seth slid the door open to a large open waiting room, decorated with paintings and illustrious pottery. Mana lanterns hung off its ceiling and gave the room a jade tint. Several wooden chairs lined the inside of the waiting room, and a central table, nearly as tall as Germo, sat to his front. The table had serpentine inscriptions scratched into its woodwork, and a bespectacled young lady, with an oval face and a bowl cut hair, sat before him.

"Welcome to the Winding Wyvern esteemed mage." She greeted with a warm smile. "Your team has been expecting you. You will find them on the second floor, first door to your right."

"Thank you," Seth said.

"Would you like a guide since it's your first time here, or would you rather find your way?"

"No, I'd rather find my way," Seth answered with a smile. She directed him to a passageway to his left that Seth swore wasn't there a few minutes ago. He climbed the long wooden stairs and slowly made it to the designated room.

He found Germo and the rest of the team waiting for him. They all sat in front of a large redwood table with their leg crossed, on low chairs. Two maps spread before them. The team all wore plains robes with loose belts.

"Take a seat, Seth," Germo instructed. Seth did so, and then Germo began to speak.

"Sera told us of your performance at the mapmaker store," Germo smiled. "You did good work."

Seth shrugged, "The man was a cheat. Even if he weren't, I would have still done the same. We needed that map."

Germo nodded, "I'm glad you understand. We might make a mage out of you yet."

Seth's lips formed a thin smile as he accepted the compliment.

"She also tells us you met with a powerful Magic knight. She couldn't gauge his strength, so she assumed he was at least first class intermediate or perhaps even a senior magic knight." Germo questioned Seth, awaiting his reaction, with both hands folded. Seth noticed that all eyes were on him. Every person in the room watched him with the same eyes. Lying was not an option, not in front of this many mages, but he could always bend the truth a little bit. After conferring with the new system, he began.

"It was a senior magic knight. The same one who gave me information about the Black Wershe, the same on who scanned my mana core and told me that I might have a few years to fix it."

Germo severe eyes relented a bit, "What did he want from you?"

"He wanted to aid me. He promised me a few knights to aid in my quest of rescuing my sister." Sera shot him a surprised look; everybody did. Even Raylee raised an eyebrow at his words. The tension was palpable in the air, and Seth could feel it.

"What was your answer?"

"I didn't give him one. I asked for more time to think?" Seth shrugged.

"What will your answer be?" Germo pressed. He understood if the kid wanted to part ways. They'd already gotten everything they needed from him. If he left, he wouldn't be able to turn him in for a reward anymore, but his absence would free his team of all potential responsibility if Seth's conduit were discovered in the future.

"I will turn him down, of course," Seth answered almost immediately. "But not until five days have passed. I think he came to me because he wanted my sister for something. I can stall for five days. We need to carry out the mission before then."

He'd decided to tell them the truth, or at least part of it. They owed him. They all did. They were criminals in his eyes, but they weren't all bad. Sera, Tula, and Ren seemed decent, Germo was practical and domineering, Brick was an ass, and Raylee. Raylee was a mystery.

Germo nodded, "Naturally, we plan to attack before then." The youth's plan didn't clash with his. Though confronting the blood mage will prove more challenging than he'd anticipated, delaying would only add to their opponent's strength.

Promising they'd strike within five days was a simple matter. Besides, establishing an amicable relationship would lower the boy's guard, blinding him to the betrayal that was to follow after they'd acquired their price.

He didn't look forward to deceiving a child, just stepping into adulthood, but he couldn't deny that his mind didn't ponder what rewards awaited him upon his success- a new bow perhaps. A thin smile formed on his bearded face at the thought.

"Now that we've confirmed that we are still on the same side," Germo continued. "Let's discuss what information we gathered while you were busy swindling the map maker."