66 The Sunse

When the Archmage Micah returned to the City of Vera, he quickly went to see Geoffrey.

"Geoffrey, can you find the other Lords and tell them to come here in an hour? I have important things to discuss.", Micah said in a serious yet pondering tone.

"It must have felt bad in there, huh?", Geoffrey guessed.

"Yeah. Things are getting weirder as day goes by."

"We live in such times. We can do nothing about it. Anything more you want me to say to the other Lords?"

"Nothing else. I'll go get the other Archmages, you go get the other Lords. We convene here in an hour."

"Alright.", as he said that, Geoffrey vanished in front of him. Although normal people might have been unable to see him, Geoffrey just ran incredibly fast. As an Archmage, Micah was able to detect the little tricks Geoffrey displayed.

"Hmph. Show off. We can't do anything about it huh?", Micah snorted as he gazed at the ball of fire in the distance while it illuminates the forest that was outside the city; dyeing everything in the shade of red.

The sky that was once blue and peaceful was turning bloody and dark as the sun sets into the distant desert. Darkness threatens to cover the land and it will soon turn day into night.

Micah turns his back against the window and walked away while sighing.

At the same time at the village of the Poda Tribe.

Every tribesmen that participated in the fight against the insects were being checked.

Those who were seriously injured has their conditions stabilized by the local healers. They were all given aid from the 13th division Squires which helped in decreasing the tasks for the staffs. The healers were just tasked to check in on them a few more times to make sure everything if was okay.

As Alex only has bruises and a bunch of cuts, he was among the last batch to receive treatments from the healers. There were only a limited number of staff in the village, so they prioritized in helping those who needed it the most.

Then a group of people approached the last batch of the slightly injured.

The healer was an old man who named himself as Gil. The old healer Gil looked like most grandpa, just that he looks wiser and stronger than those his age.

He has a braided white hair and white beard that covers most of his neck. He has a look that is kind yet strict. Many would think that this old man has gone through a lot in his prime.

"Are you done looking?", the voice of the old man snaps Alex from his reverie. He looked at Alex with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah! S-sorry, I'm sorry. It's just that I was thinking when would I ever have a beard like yours.", caught red handed Alex immediately thinks of a lie.

"Hmmm. My beard grew when I was 17, so yours might grow soon.", Old Man Gil said, then he added "Or not.", he grins.

"What!?-"

Alex slowly bowed his head in acceptance. His current appearance pleased the old man and flashed a triumphant smile as if saying 'That's what I thought'.

The Old Man Gil held Alex's wrist and tried feeling his pulse.

Alex had a questioning look on his face as the old man was holding his wrist. Old Man Gil would be able to easily tell his condition by looking, yet he tried feeling his pulse? He wanted to stop the old man, but the old man's grip was firm.

"Eh!", Old Man Gil exclaimed loudly. "Your body is weird, it's becoming fragile. It's indeed much worse than the outside. Have you been using a skill that harms you?"

Alex was extremely shocked. Then it dawned upon him that this old man was really a healer and was also quite knowledgeable.

"Yes. It harms me in some way, but I don't think it harms me as much as you portray it to be.", he replied. He didn't try to hide it as it was already known by the old man.

It was just that he didn't think that his body's condition would be as worse as the old man says.

"Hmph. What do you know? I've travelled to many places, seen many things. Skills like that will only cause nothing but harm. Listen to me and don't use it."

"Okay." In on one ear and out on the other. Although what the old man probably says is true, the skill [Madness] has and will, definitely help him whenever he's in a pinch.

Alex can't just discard a useful skill. It would be a waste to do so.

"Sigh. Anyway, I'll ask that bald chief to give you something."

The old man knew what Alex was thinking and he didn't try to persuade him. Just a little warning was all that he could say.

Old Man Gil then raised his palm facing upwards, then conjured a tiny tree. He then plucked all of its leaves and gave it to Alex.

"Here, just grind it and apply to where it hurts. Come find me if you need more."

Alex stopped the old man from turning and immediately asked, "Wait, you're a mage?"

"And what of it?", Old Man Gil asked back.

"Why didn't you try and helped your fellow tribesmen? You could've ended the fight with the least amount of casualty!"

"That is where you are wrong kid, I already helped my tribesmen minimize the losses. You see, there are things people are good at, and you should know yours too, little mage."

Alex was strucked dumb. He was unable to say anything for a long time. The only thing he saw when he came to, was that the old man has already helped most of the patients.

He went to the old man and the staffs, said his thanks and bid them farewell.

Alex walked slowly and set his gaze at the setting sun.

"I don't even know what I'm good at. The system is still updating, who knows how long it will take for me to improve. As he said, my body is weak and I'm only strong because of this sword."

He knew that all those swordplays he exhibited during the spar against Rezhul wasn't his. Not to mention that he only won by using the skill called [Madness].

It was like he cheated in a spar of skills.

"I want to become stronger! But first, I should absorb the cores first and get rid of the update."

He looked one last time on the sun, smiled and said, "Sunset still makes a person happy despite being sad itself."

He turned around and moved his weak body with the help of the stick. Then he slowly makes his way towards the Big Baldie's house.