CHAPTER 4

Radcliff POV

"Hello Elise," I blurt out. At first I thought that I was hallucinating because of all the colorful lights and the nauseating feeling that accompanied me because of the crowd. But before I knew it I blurt out without verifying anything only to looked at her shocked and surprised face.

"Elise wait for me," a feminine voice calls out as she pushes her way through the crowd, her face unseen through my vision.

Elise looks back to see the source of the voice. I take advantage of her disturbance and invoke a short distance teleportation with the last bit of mana I had left.

"Shit," I curse at my stupidity. Because the teleportation I made was completely sudden I had forgotten to encode any specific location, so my stop would be absolutely random. However, I sigh in relief when I arrive before a before a huge red gate with a sign board on top of it. I was relieved that I was still in the middle of the city.

The red gates guarded, perhaps a four storied building, that had a majestic look towards it. My first impression of it was that it was the mansion of some noble or a local wealthy family. It was only due to the presence of the signboard did I understood that it was perhaps an organizational building. Besides this large building were various other shops and small single storied buildings, however all paled in comparison to what was behind this red gates.

I look up to try and read off the sign board but suddenly fall down on my knees as my legs give in. I caress my forehead that had started to hurt due to the splitting headache caused by mana deficiency. I try to rhythmise my breaths however am able to do so as I lacked the concentration since the face of shocked Elise kept flashing on the back of my mind.

I try to get up but falter. I was falling down again before a set of rough and big hands help me up.

"Easy there, boy," he says as he pushes open the red gates and guides me inside.

"Bring some blogniss syrup," he commands someone, probably the receptionist with his coarse deep voice. For some reason I had found his voice incredibly familiar. It was almost as if I had heard his voice somewhere before.

I hear heavy steps that were soon followed after his commands going by and very soon coming towards me. Someone passes me a glass. My eyes were shut because of my headache so I could not see. I couldn't run mana sense because of my mana deficiency. Almost by habit I try to invoke a poison check on the syrup before remembering that I had no mana. It smelled alright, if medicine smelled alright that is. Believing that no one here would have any interest in poisoning me, I take a sip.

With the first sip of the frothing concentrated syrup, my insides rejuvenate and my headache disappears. With the second sip my vision clears and with the third my strength comes back. it was only after my vision came back did I saw what I drank. Appearing a dark green it gave me the feel that this syrup was made from some sort of insect. Although it did not taste like insect, not that I know what insects tastes like, I still kept getting the chills because of what I thought of it to be.

"No, this isn't any sort of insect," I say to myself trying to relieve my worries, "just some odd plants." Besides this did take care of my side effects of mana deficiency, so this cannot be anything related to insects.

As of almost reading my mind the man sitting in front of me, probably the person who helped me, laughs out loud.

"Don't worry," he cries out with an amused look, "it's just a bunch of plant substance whose names I doubt anyone, except the pharmacists who make it, even know. Although it's far from filling your mana like the mana stones this syrup can ease the pain that is caused by mana deficiency."

Now that I look at the face of my savior, I can see by the way he walks and dresses himself, he must be either a seasoned warrior or a hunter. I knew that he was far from a knight because from my experience no knights, unless retired would be so far away from the capital. Besides there weren't many known nobles in this town. What's more nobles were even ignored and unwelcomed here ever since my family broke their trust. However, even with his withered face and coarse black beard and unkempt hair I knew that this middle aged man was not to be underestimated. It was by instinct that has been coded in my blood ever since I have been learning martial arts and assassinations, I knew that he carried himself like an apex predator would before his prey.

"Young man, I don't think I saw you here before, are you a tourist?" he asks.

"Yes sir," I reply politely, can't offend someone who walks like an apex predator, "I have been teleporting here and there and had absolutely forgotten about my mana reserves which had ran out. What's more bad luck is that I left my mana stones in the inn I am residing in." I make up a blatant lie in the spot. Looks like learning the arts of assassination is paying off even when I need to fool someone.

"Hooo!" he expresses his face still looking amused.

"Since you will be staying here for some time, guess we will be seeing each other often," he exclaims, "by the way I am Rusoc and you are..? "

"I am Rad--just Rad," he almost caught me by surprise as I was going to almost blurt out my real name. Thankfully I stopped at the last moment and told him the name that no one except my sister uses. Of course, back in my childhood Elise used it too but I don't expect him to know it since Elise herself probably forgot that name, I think perhaps, and of course told no one about it.

"I see so it is Rad," He says with his voice softened and a small smile on his face. A smile that showed that he was relieved.

"Ahem-," another man in his twenties, probably the receptionist who handed me the syrup, in a deep black suit and a high collar that did not match his stout small neck, yet with a long face and an aquiline nose, befitting that of a merchant interrupts us.

"I am sorry for the interruption, Master Rad and ol' Rusoc!" he grins. I wonder what was wrong with his grin. It looks seriously scary. Just like one of those money extorting vendors in the capital, who are usually twice his age.

"That will be two silvers," he says pointing toward the glass in my hand that still had a few drops of blogniss syrup left.

I nod and move my hands towards my pocket where I kept small changes.

"Wait," Rusoc stops my hands from reaching my pockets, "put it in my tab," he says while eyeing the other person.

"But Mr. Rusoc I barely know you and besides I even owe you for bringing me here," I try to interrupt him.

Rusoc smiles, his mouth covering almost half of his face. He looked almost sympathetic, almost as if he saw through me and my lies but were still covering for me. He looked as if he knew me before. It could not be possible could it!

"Consider it a gift young Rad," he says lightly, "and just call me Rusoc drop the mister cause I ain't any mister. I am just old Rusoc" he retorts.

And that's how I met Rusoc, a hunter who I should have remembered from my childhood but failed to recall even though he recognized me but kept quiet about it.