First conflict

Capital City Vollen, Kingdom of Florent

As the heart of the Florent Kingdom, the capital city of Vollen boasted the greatest vitality in the entire kingdom. Its high walls encircled the city, serving as the last line of defense for the capital. Historically, it's noted that Florent's main enemy, Arkmenom, had attacked the capital several times when the frontline defenses collapsed.

The city had a relatively comprehensive waste disposal system, a result of its history. Vollen had once suffered from floods due to inadequate waste disposal, causing various viruses and bacteria to spread, resulting in massive outbreaks.

Numerous buildings here were constructed using stone. This was due to the frequent mage battles in this area, where stone was deemed stronger and more durable.

Of course, it had been 170 years since the city was attacked by Arkmenom, so now many buildings in different styles had been constructed.

Two horses pulled a black carriage behind them. The black carriage moved faster than the others, weaving through the streets of Vollen.

The black carriage finally stopped in front of the Mage Association's office. The door opened, and Alphonso stepped out. He then turned and said to Adam, who remained in the carriage, "Don't wander off, wait here, Son."

"Okay, Father."

Adam sat waiting, observing the headquarters of the Florent branch of the Mage Association. According to data from the International Mage Association, only 1% of humans awakened mage talents. With an estimated population of around 20 million in the Kingdom of Florent, roughly 2 million individuals possessed mage abilities.

However, F and E talents accounted for 60% of all mage-gifted individuals. Additionally, including deceased mages, wild mages, and those still in the Academy, yet to graduate, the total number of Florent's mage association members amounted to around 600,000. Among these 600,000, about 250,000 mages were inactive, like his father.

Alphonso de Brown, Adam's father, remained a member of the Mage Association, although inactive in assisting the kingdom or undertaking missions from the association. Knowing the substantial number of mage members, it was unsurprising they had a large headquarters in Vollen.

Adam snapped out of his thoughts as his father approached with a man wearing a thick jacket, a weary face, and an unkempt beard.

"Cases like this should've been resolved quickly. What are the teachers doing?" complained James to his old friend, Alphonso.

"The Vollen Academy couldn't neglect its duty like that. We both know how stringent the academy is. I sense something behind this case. That's why I need your help to find my daughter," replied Alphonso.

"Don't worry, nothing can escape my observation."

Both of them got into the carriage. James, observing the boy inside, asked, "Your son?"

"Yes."

"Hello, Kid, you can call me Uncle James." James extended his hand to Adam.

Adam shook his hand and answered, "My name is Adam, nice to meet you, Uncle James."

The carriage then took the three of them to Mount Palvas.

After the kidnapping incident, the Vollen Academy evacuated the other children back to the Academy. Three teachers were assigned to this camp. Firstly, there was Morris, a male teacher with the talent of steel projection; secondly, a female teacher named Vania, with the talent of smoke spreading; lastly, a middle-aged man named Zenith, a mind reader.

In the small village nestled near the mountain's foothills, these three teachers now met with several representatives from the families of the kidnapped children. Alphonso, James, and Adam were the last group to arrive.

"Welcome, hm? Senior? and you, scroundel! What you doing here!" said Vania while glaring at James.

Vania was the only female teacher present. She had collaborated with Alphonso several times when they were both active in the Mage Association.

"Vania, any news about the kidnapping?" Without preamble, Alphonso immediately inquired about the main topic.

"I've spread smoke around the mountain; basically, I didn't sense the kidnappers, and the children passed through that smoke, so they should still be on the mountain. However, we haven't found their hiding place yet. I suspect there's a mage with an ability that can counteract my smoke," Vania explained the progress of the search for the kidnapped students.

"Huh, can't you handle wild mages at all?" James snorted, sneering at Vania and her companions.

Vania felt irritated by James's words, but Alphonso quickly pacified the situation.

"Both of you, calm down. Forget the past and focus on this issue," Alphonso said, separating Vania and James. They had dated in the past but broke up several years ago.

The three then joined Zenith and several representatives from the families of the kidnapped children. Without delay, Alphonso, Vania, James, Zenith, and three other mages who were also family members of the kidnapped children began their search in Mount Palvas. Meanwhile, Adam waited in the village with Moris and the others.

In the mountain forest of Palvas, James squatted and reached out his hand to the ground. He briefly closed his eyes. 

The earth he touched began to tremble, and the vibrations spread in all directions.

After a while, James shook his head and said, "Unreachable, we have to try another area."

James's power was vibrations. One application of this mage power was releasing vibrations on the ground to detect anything in contact with it, including humans.

Alphonso and Vania knew that the effective range of James's vibrations was limited, so they quickly invited Zenith and the others to move to another area.

Subsequently, James led the others to the next area, examining each one by one. Unfortunately, they yielded no results.

With determination, finally, after some time, the vibrations sent by James successfully located where the eight children had been kidnapped.

"I found them!" exclaimed James.

"Where?" asked Alphonso.

"3 o'clock direction, about 5 km from here, in a cave beside the waterfall," explained James.

In an instant, a blue flash spread across Alphonso's entire body; he immediately darted towards the direction indicated by James, leaving the others behind.

"I sense anger in his mind, how strong is he?" Zenith looked at Vania and James.

"Uh, Senior is very skilled in using his abilities in various situations."

"He hasn't fought in a long time; maybe his abilities have decreased, so let's go after him," suggested James, which was then agreed upon by the others.

Meanwhile, inside the cave, a robed woman sensed someone's arrival. She furrowed her brow, feeling the person zooming towards her at high speed.

She recalled moments ago when she felt slight vibrations spreading here. The woman quickly connected the two clues and concluded that this location had been exposed.

She immediately said to Denis, who was eating rabbit meat, "Denis, they've found this place; take the girl with the 'S' talent, leave the others here."

Denis bit into the grilled rabbit meat and tossed the rest away. He then asked, "Can I kill the others?"

"No, they are the pillars of the state," replied the cold, black-haired woman.

Denis snorted, "Huh."

He then walked into the room where he held the eight children. He saw all of them were extremely weak. Despite Denis trying to feed them, they suspected him of poisoning the food and drinks, resulting in none of the children consuming anything.

That was one of the many things that infuriated him about these children. Denis was the type of person who detested children, considering them a nuisance.

Footsteps woke Katarina, and she saw Denis approaching. She hissed, "Let me go, you scoundrel!"

An enraged Denis quickly grabbed a syringe from his pocket and jabbed it into Katarina's neck.

Katarina then passed out after Denis injected her. He then released her from the iron restraints, laying her on his right shoulder.

Denis's actions woke up some other children, causing a commotion once again.

"What are you going to do to her?!"

"Let her go!"

"Don't hurt Katarina!"

The children yelled angrily at Denis.

An infuriated Denis stomped on one of the children's feet until they screamed. He then grinned and whispered, "Be glad, you survived this time."

After warning the children, Denis left the room, carrying Katarina on his back out of the cave.

Outside the cave, the black-haired woman was already waiting for Denis.

"Let's go," she urged.

Denis nodded. They both promptly left the place.

A little while later, Alphonso, who had just arrived, rushed into the cave. He then burst into the room where the children were held captive.

Alphonso immediately freed the children but noticed Katarina was missing.

"Where's Katarina?"

"She was just taken away, uncle, please save Katarina!"

Alphonso led the seven children out of the cave. He entrusted their care to James and the others who were about to arrive. Meanwhile, Alphonso followed the trail left by Denis and his accomplice.

After chasing for a while, Alphonso finally spotted someone. However, at that moment, he was suddenly thrown backward as if hitting an invisible wall.

"Your talent is blue lightning, isn't it? Like father, like daughter," guessed Denis.

Several blue lightning sparks appeared around Alphonso's body. His gaze stared sharply at Denis.