'As for that unknown race child, I have no idea who she is. She appears in some dark prison and is on the verge of the death door. Is she a threat or hope?' Confusion appeared inside his mind.
'For now, I should concentrate on the current process-' He stopped thinking abruptly and noticed a change in his mind.
'Somehow, I understand how to cast that mysterious spell model now. Is it because of the white petal-like divinity?' A smile crept on his face.
Moreover, he felt that his soul was connected to the fountain through a strange link and furrowed.
'Azolla, I think I know how to activate the time spell now.'
'How did you figure that out, kid? Interesting. As long as you improve this skill, you can become a powerful seer one day.' Azolla said in a surprised tone.
'Can you tell me more about the seers?' Abium was more curious about the seers and asked in anticipation.
'Seers and diviners are capable of predicting futures and even writing prophecies. But from the looks of it, there seem to be more secrets.' Azolla gave a short explanation.
'Diviners? Who are they?' Abium got surprised by the new term and asked with a frown.
'Diviners are unique people who could predict the future with the help of divine power. Diviners can see a glimpse of a future if they are in the area of a particular god's domain. But they wouldn't be able to predict a possible future if a higher being intervenes or they walk out of their god's domain.' Azolla's words left him to ponder deeply.
'God's domain?'
He thought of his unique spell and asked curiously.
'Are you saying I could see a glimpse of a possible future even if some higher being intervenes?'
'Maybe, but I'm not sure. Futures change from time to time, so it is impossible to grasp one's future. The only person who completely grasped the Time Power was Udnir, but no one knew where he went after the Ancient war. If you want to learn more about the time power, you must increase your strength and search for him.' Azolla said with a sigh.
'Azolla, have you met him before?'
'No. These are the things I heard and read in the royal library books. The only god I met after my creation is Lady Nyara. Even that was due to your intervention.' Azolla's words left him more clueless.
With a nod, he moved towards the carriage while rubbing his forehead and waited for others to wake up. When the time they woke up from their sleep, it was almost 7.30 A.M. Soon, the group resumed their journey and moved towards their next destination.
...
At the eastern shoreline of Alastall woodlands,
A Group of bandits stood outside the black magic tower and appeared ready to set out somewhere. All of them stood in an unorganized manner and held different weapons in their hands.
They were Keith's bandit group. Aliza also stood among the group of bandits and was in the middle of discussing something with a fatty old man.
Just as Keith was about to say something, he saw a hooded figure walking out of the tall tower and arriving much closer to them.
"Greetings, My Lord." He instantly bowed his head and greeted the Necromancer Murius with a polite smile.
But Murius didn't even look at him and shifted his gaze towards Aliza.
At that moment, other bandits also stopped talking and looked at the necromancer in anxiety.
"Good Morning, Teacher. We are ready to set out." Aliza took a step forward and bowed her head.
Meanwhile, Murius nodded his head and asked in a husky voice.
"Did you manage to memorize the nether language book?"
"There are only a few pages left, Teacher. I might finish it within the next two days." Aliza said in a solemn tone.
As they were discussing, Keith stood a few meters away from them and stared at Aliza in jealousy.
'Even if I work under this necromancer for another decade, he won't even look at me. Much less allowing me to walk on the path of necromancy.'
Unlike mages, there was no restriction to becoming a necromancer. And the reason Keith agreed to work with lord Murius was because of it. Even though he had to fear Light Church's inquisition, he would still live longer by hiding somewhere. But his dream was shattered after this girl's appearance.
'I wouldn't be surprised if the necromancer had completely forgotten about the promise.' The more he thought about him, the more he got angry inside.
"Good. Once you finish the book, you can start reading the mana technique and make an imprint in your soul form," Murius explained.
"Okay, My lord." Aliza nodded her head repeatedly and asked some doubts.
After giving a few pointers, Murius turned his gaze towards Keith and then towards the dozen of burly men.
"Listen carefully, everyone. You are the ones who are going to participate in this mission under Aliza's leadership. Your work is to go to the secret passageway and eliminate the goblins hiding in the passage first. After that, cross the mountain through the secret passage and prepare an ambush in advance on the other side."
"Who are we after, My Lord?" Keith frowned a bit as he realized they had less knowledge about the enemy and asked.
"It's an ignorant elf and his followers. Although the warriors from the kingdom will finish them off beforehand, I'm sending you guys as a backup force. Aliza will give you more information about the enemy later."
Murius paused for a second and continued. "Keith, if you see the situation becoming unfavorable for us, withdrew from there. I'll take care of the elf later."
'I already sent a message to the apprentice necromancer Bilet, so there won't be any danger in this mission. As long as these bandits are there, I don't need to worry about Aliza's safety.' Murius thought inwardly.
At that moment, the bandit named Rudie nodded his head and asked a question.
"But who will guard this magic tower if the pirate group dares invade?"
Although the undead skeletons were strong, he didn't think they could defeat the pirates from pirate town.
'If not for boss Keith being a fifth-tier warrior, the pirates would've invaded this place and snatched this tower from this necromancer.' In his perspective, the Necromancer Murius wasn't a physically strong person and primarily relied on the skeleton's strength and strange magic spells to scare others.
At that moment, Murius also looked thoughtful and shook his head.
"Don't worry; the pirates won't come after this tower. You can go now."
Meanwhile, Bandits nodded their heads and started walking into the woods. Keith soon took the lead and moved towards the west through a narrow paved pathway, leaving the necromancer Murius to guard the tower.
Of course, their destination was the abandoned tunnel, which connected the Alastall woodland and the Peral kingdom.
The woodland was filled with greenery like Amaryllis plants, Black walnut, Atlas cedars, red mangrove, and other rare trees.
As they were moving closer towards the west, Aliza suddenly felt uneasy.
She felt something was off and soon realized that they were moving south!
"Why are we moving towards south, Mr. Keith?" There was a hint of nervousness in her voice. She was the only woman in this group; more than that, she still didn't start to practice any path and only had some knowledge to lead these bandits.
Although she had accompanied Keith and others into the woods to gather materials in the past and trusted them a little, she still felt something wasn't right and got more anxious.
At that moment, the other bandits also noticed the anomaly, looked at their leader one by one, and gave him a questionable look.
"Boss, where are we going?" Rudie's caramel-colored eyes squinted.
"Shut your mouth and follow my order, Rudie." Keith's tone went harsh, causing other bandits to narrow their eyes even more.
"Boss, if Lord Murius finds out you're disobeying his orders, he will turn everyone into skeletons." Rudie panicked by Keith's sudden actions and spoke in a nervous tone.
Slap!
A loud slapping sound echoed inside the woods as Rudie abruptly fell after losing balance.
"When do you get that much courage to talk back to me, Rudie?" Keith gave a kick at Rudie's big belly and asked with a sharp tone.
"S-Sorry, Boss." Rudie rubbed his red-colored palm-printed face with a fearful look and slowly sat up with his fat body.
"If I hear one more word from your mouth, I will chop your head. Got it?" Keith sent a death glare at Rudie and shifted his gaze towards Aliza.
"Boys, take the ropes and tie her hands and legs now." His voice appeared eerily colder.
But to his surprise, all other bandits moved an inch and remained standing on the ground in shock. Alas, he wasn't surprised by their reaction, though.
Keith let out a chuckle and added.
"You don't have to be afraid of that necromancer anymore. Even if the necromancer found out about Aliza's situation, he will not come after us."
"What do you mean by that, Boss Keith?" A tall bandit asked.
"Haha, you'll learn soon enough. Now, tie this lass. She is a precious treasure that will change our miserable life forever." Keith gave a confident smile and revealed his real intentions.
Although the other bandits didn't understand Keith's words, they didn't dare to talk back and obeyed.
Slowly, they turned their gaze towards her and tried to encircle her.