Chapter 60 - Village In Erandel (4)

"When we asked them what had happened they claimed that demons had started attacking the village. After they reported the incidents to the lord he seemed more than willing to help us out this time."

"The experts sent by the lord claimed the fields were corrupted, and that was what caused the famine, so he ordered the soldiers to burn the fields to the ground. Our people were malnourished and many of them had already died."

"The light mage I came with decided to take a look as well, but what she found was contradictory to what the experts had claimed to be the issue. She said it was the soil that was poisoned not the crops. She used tier 6 light magic to cleanse the soil and found that a demonic essence was mixed into the soil."

"After reporting this incident to the lord he sent us supplies and food to cover up his embarrassment and punished the experts who had wrongfully given the information. Of course, he didn't execute them because experts are rare to come across, but we didn't care much. We were just happy about going back to our lives again."

"Arya what I'm trying to tell you is that, of course, it's good to have dreams but don't turn out like my wife. Be skeptical of those who offer power for free, and don't try looking for shortcuts. All of us were born with a specific purpose, you just need to find yours." said Rende as he placed his hand on Arya's shoulder in a fatherly manner.

"Tell me something I don't know old man. The day I trust another human will be the day I end my life. And shortcuts are meant to be taken, don't blame me just because your wife was a weakling who took a shortcut without first looking ahead." thought Arya.

But he actually said, "Thank you Rende. I'm sorry about your loss.". "You lost people important to you as well, it's nothing that is too big for us to overcome. Anyway I will still tell you what I know about magic and magical institutions just for enrichment, it wouldn't hurt to know a bit about it," said Rende as he straightened himself out.

"I know that mages are divided into classes depending on their strength. The strongest class mages are 5-star mages, though there are only a few of them. Most of them hold high positions or are part of elite forces, they are very much sought after."

"After 5-star mages are 4-star mages and so on until 0 stars. From what Dina once told me 0-star mages are novices who can't even cast tier 3 magic. Within every class there are tiers, signifying how close the mage is to a breakthrough to the next class."

"In the Kingdom of Erandel, the biggest school of magic is Belgard. A whole county dedicated to the practice of magic. It's said to be one of the greatest cities in all of Merrum, but only mages are allowed in though, so no non-mage has ever seen it." continued Rende.

"Apart from Belgard there are a few minor magic schools that I've heard about around the kingdom, maybe the most notable would be in the capital though I can't be too sure. So is this enough to quench your thirst?" asked Rende as he finished talking.

"Yes thank you very much. Just out of curiosity, where is Belgard from here? I know I can't enter it but maybe I might be lucky to meet a mage someday when I'm older." lied Arya through his teeth.

"Belgard is at the far north of the kingdom. It used to be the border town of the Dragonborn kingdom, but now that area is ruled by the church and it acts as a sort of stronghold. But I wouldn't know much, most of what I've told you is just tavern talk." replied Rende.

"No thank you anyways, it's just enough that you could tell me this much. So where will I be heading tomorrow? You spoke of some village council or something." asked Arya as he became warier of his current situation.

"Oh, we will be going to the nearest town from here, Iretor. The village council members were appointed by the lord of this county and live in that town," said Rende as he pointed to the south, in the opposite direction from where Arya was planning on heading.

"No way, I can't spare time to take this detour. I have to get stronger as soon as possible. I'll have to make my escape as soon as he falls asleep." thought Arya as he nodded at Rende. Rende continued explaining things about the kingdom such as what the most grown crop was, or what the national state of affairs was like.

"Surely this old man doesn't think a child my age would find any of this interesting. Perhaps it's because I give off such a mature presence that he is treating me as such. Actually no, I'm sure this old man is just dull." thought Arya as he faked fatigue by giving out a loud yawn.

"I think I should go to bed. Anyways thank you for everything, Rende. Although we've only known each other for a short time you've probably been the greatest help to me since I lost my family." said Arya. This time it was the truth, Rende had been the most helpful person since he had been separated from his family.

Teressa was more like a burden than a help and the old man from Calburg wasn't as impactful to Arya as the information he had acquired about Belgard and magical elixirs from Rende.

"Why are you acting as if you are going to leave right now? We'll still see each other tomorrow. After all, I'm the one taking you to Iretor.." replied Rende a bit surprised by the way Arya worded his sentence.