When A Mage Revolts

"Am I going the right way?"

Benjamin stopped walking once he reached a bustling little town and asked the System.

He learnt that the Church was not searching for him from the information he heard from Howl. That was why he stayed a couple of days within the valley, helping Nina and the rest to look after the potato field before taking off.

Time was precious, it was best not to waste it by loitering.

Of course, his damaged Spiritual Energy has not recovered enough for him to rush to take the road, since it was easy to encounter danger. He took precaution by asking Howl of the nearest area to purchase a gun prior to leaving.

He would not be able to use his magic temporarily but at least he would be able to defend himself with firearms.

Howl’s reply left him with a pleasant surprise. He told Benjamin that there was a hidden cave beneath Mount North. The leader of Mount North band of thieves fancied gun power and kept a lot of ammo and ammunition within the cave. After the Church annihilated the thieves, these items were left in the cave.

As for Howl, he does not know how to fire a gun and posed no interest in them. Therefore, he told the exact location to Benjamin.

The location of the cave was not far from Mount North and it only took him half a day to scour the cave. He discovered the aforementioned guns and bullets.

There were not many, but it was enough.

Benjamin was thankful to be re-equipped with combat ability. After he obtained the guns, he went to woods at the other edge of the valley and activated the shooting interface. He managed to hunt a few deer and even a bear, to which he gifted to the three as his appreciation.

The trio were happy to receive the gift but were quickly dejected once they found out about Benjamin’s decision to leave.

During his departure, they even came to the entrance of the valley to send Benjamin off.

"Are you really leaving?" Sandy was getting familiar with Benjamin after days of acquaintance. She sulked, "Your shooting skills are awesome. If you were to stay, nobody will ever go hungry."

Benjamin let out a laugh and kneeled down, "But I still have matters more important than feeding to attend to."

Sandy nodded although she did not fully comprehend.

She did not speak any longer but instead hid behind Nina, secretly wiping away her tears.

"Please don’t be sad, you’ll never know... Maybe we will meet again in the future." Benjamin felt helpless and could only think of ways to comfort her.

Nina patted Sandy’s head and turned around to eyeball Benjamin.

"What are you dilly dallying about? Just go if you want to go. The wind here is very strong, what if we all get sick because of this? You’re so much older than us and yet you are not sensible enough?

"..."

And so, Benjamin was chased out of the valley.

He took a deep breath, picked himself up and headed towards the Perseus Lake.

Michelle had already told him in detail about the underground pathway from Perseus Lake to the Valley of Broken Armies. He had let the System to record this. He could use this passageway to quickly reach the borders of the Kingdom of Helius and go abroad.

What was there outside the borders, Benjamin was unsure of. What he did know was that the magic within the Kingdom was desolate.

It did not matter whether or not the Church would give up on pursuing Benjamin. The Church would always be the Church while a Mage would always be a Mage. If he were to stay within the Kingdom, the most he could become was like those Mages in the Silent Academy, living in darkness. Unless he possessed power great enough to overturn the Church, there was no meaning for him to stay there.

Now if it were abroad, things would be different.

At the very least, out of the Kingdom of Helius, magic was not banned. The Church’s influence may be great, but it would be hard to expand to the world outside of the kingdom. As long as Benjamin presented himself as a Mage, he would obtain respect.

To be honest, if one would like to defy the Church, only by going out of the Kingdom one would be able to achieve that. It would be as in his previous world, where the tag line to "expel the Northern barbarians and revive the Chinese" started in Honolulu, Hawaii.

He also remembered prior to Michelle’s "death", her last words were: "If you were to survive, head to Fereldan and search for a person named Morris. He is my teacher."

It was not to say that he wished to carry on with Michelle’s death will, but rather, he was curious about Michelle’s teacher.

For a person who was able to lure a Holy Knight to become a Mage and to teach someone like Michelle, what kind a person would this Morris person be? Benjamin felt that if he were to really escape out of here, he had to meet this person.

Of course, this was under the assumption that he would be able to succeed in escaping to the Kingdom of Helius. What if he were to meet with any accidents on the road or make one wrong move? Then all the planning would be in vain.

Just like the situation now, after around five days on foot, Benjamin followed the System’s direction and made it to a village near the Perseus Lake. He even managed to kill off some wolves that attacked him along the way.

However, judging by this "village", Benjamin could not help but have an odd feeling.

Aren’t there a little too many people in this village?

House that were built in various shapes and sizes, crowds walking in multiple directions, streets filled with numerous sounds and a brick pathway that was overcrowded. There were also all kinds of faces in the crowd and you could see there was no lack of rich people around. It did not look as though it fit the "village" profile.

And that was why he asked the System that very question.

The System replied in all certainty, "This is the best route to take after going through data compilation of over a thousand maps, artificial intelligence automatic positioning and sophisticated system calculation. It will not go wrong. After this village is Perseus Lake."

"... Alright then."

Since the System said it itself, it couldn’t be wrong.

This village named "Pearl" was actually quite the opposite of the village in the Kingdom of Helius. This village here was such a scenic site and tourism has brought upon the development of trade here. However, judging by the situation now, Benjamin estimated that it could be due to the "plague" incident.

Many that escaped the Imperial capital had sought refuge here. That would explain the population.

Benjamin raised his head and scrounged his face at the thought of this.

It was evening time as the daylight turned dim. If he were to pass the village and be on his way, the possibility of him being attacked by wild animals would be high. Moreover, the dry food that Nina packed him had already finished. He was already out of food supplies making his way here.

What if there was nothing in the underground passageway and it just an endless long road? If he only required water, he could bear that cracking headache to summon fine ice pieces to quench his thirst. But if it were food, he could not summon anything.

He really has to think of something.

The possibility of being recognized was slim since the effect of the herbs that Michelle had him eat has yet to completely fade, plus his hair was like a bird’s nest after taking that long hike. The way Benjamin looked right now, although he no longer looked like an albino, at least he did not look like a noble anymore.

Well, there should not be anyone who could recognize him — no matter his identity as Benjamin Lithur nor as the albino he escaped as. After he hesitated for a bit, he joined in the crowd and took off to the direction of a less occupied bakery.

His intention was to ask if he could use the wolves’ skin that he had killed in his journey to trade for some dry condiments. However, the moment he reached for the torn wolves’ skin, the shop keeper quickly showed a disinterested look.

"You’re a hunter with the worst craftsmanship that I have ever seen."

In the end, Benjamin traded four pieces of wolves’ skin for a half of a bit of tiny dry bread and was promptly asked to leave the bakery. He wounded up in front of the shop in the midst of the hustle and bustle, looking at the bread that was no larger than the size of his palm and crying inside. Who would have thought that there would be a day he struggled for food?

While he was struggling to figure out a plan, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"... I want to return to the imperial capital. Hasn’t the plague ended yet? Why did father insist that I stay in a place like this?"

After confirming with the System, Benjamin was sure that the voice belonged to no other than Dick Fulner.

He made it here?

As a matter a fact, those who escape the imperial capital due to the plague were primarily peasants. The aristocrats were able to secure more information and basically stayed put. The Fulners was the capital’s major noble family, why would they end up taking refuge here?

That being said...

A thought suddenly entered Benjamin’s mind that he laid his head low and let out an evil smile.