Chapter 275 Manufactured Coincidence

The words of assurance spoken by his Master did little to relieve the stress accumulating within Markus. His mind was in flux, preoccupied with a myriad of thoughts, though nearly all of them boiled down to the singular question: "Will I be able to handle all those people until Master arrives?"

Markus's greatest fear was disappointing his Master. While his Master vehemently asserted that he could do no wrong, that simple statement actually amplified the burden bearing down on his gut. It was the burden of expectation. Markus feared that he wouldn't live up to his Master's perception of him. Markus didn't believe himself to be as capable and authoritative as his Master believed him to be. He didn't think he was competent enough to teach those barely a few years younger than him properly. What if he taught incorrectly and ruined their basics?

Such thoughts swam through his mind, causing the already unpleasant and bumpy ride to grow increasingly tumultuous. The early stretch from the Capital to the forests was headache-inducing, given the unbearable traffic. However, as they reach the periphery of the Central Plains, the caravans and carriages started to disperse along different paths as their final destinations diverged. After the carriage entered the familiar path, Markus let himself dissolve into his thoughts and allowed his overactive imagination to process through all possible situations he could experience during his time training the new recruits and bringing them up to speed.

What to do when someone refuses to obey and acts rebellious? What if someone has difficulty reading and writing, like Kano? What to do with the blind boy? He remembered his Master talking about a tactile writing system that could be used by people that were visually impaired - he would have to visit the Sect's Library and brush up on that topic. What to do if the recruits become dissatisfied and choose to leave? What if-? What if-? What if-?

Surprisingly formulating a solution to all those "what if's" actually alleviated some of Markus' anxiety. Just knowing that he was prepared for every scenario, no matter how absurd, filled him with some confidence. After a point, the "what if's" started to barrel out of control and Markus had to take out a few pages from his Grimoire to jot down his plan of action with more detail. His handwriting was abysmal thanks to the bumpiness of the ride, which got so bad that Markus dropped his "counterattack" strategising spree and started to brainstorm possible solutions to cushion the vibrations of carriages such as this one without having to rely on expensive enchantments.

"Maybe springs?" But that would agitate the carriage further. The purpose of this device should be to dampen the vibrations. "Maybe some form of hydraulics?" There were no bad ideas in brainstorming, and true to that motto, many absurd ideas started to occupy real estate on the sheet of paper.

This process extended for a while as Markus lost track of the time. But he was immediately pulled out of his inspired state when the carriage halted with a sudden jolt.

"What's the matter?" Markus inquired the driver while peeking through the grill at the front of the covered carriage.

"The path appears to be blocked, Sir," the driver responded.

Markus furrowed his brows as he descended from the carriage. As the driver said, the path truly was blocked. A massive tree had collapsed and completely shut off the usually trodden path. Markus climbed over the fallen log and was shocked to see utter carnage extending as far as his sights could reach. Trees uprooted, the ground wrecked to kingdom-come, and suspicious damage markers caused by a feline beast claw and human weapons of various kinds.

"What in the world?" His eyes caught movement in the distance. Flashing lights, a loud rumble, and then the ground physically shook. After meditating and letting his ears hone in that general direction, he managed to catch the muffled sounds of metal hitting something hard but not exactly metal. He was intrigued and definitely interested to see what exactly was happening that caused this mini-disaster, but Markus' survival instincts took precedence.

"We cannot go down this path. I could clear the wreckage, but it would be unwise to intercept a fight between what appears to be a group of mages and a Magical Beast," Markus commented while approaching the carriage. "Do you know of an alternative?"

The driver scratched his chin contemplatively before suggesting, "There is another path that cuts through the denser parts of the forest, but I wouldn't suggest it. I've heard that some bandits have recently set up camp in those parts."

"Are there mages amongst these bandits?" Markus probed.

"I don't think so..." the man responded more certain than uncertain.

"Well, I can't afford to delay my arrival. I say we take this riskier path," Markus declared. "I'll compensate you for the trouble."

"This detour will only affect the hazard pay. Please sign the contract in the box underneath your seat to agree that any changes to said hazard pay are at the driver's discretion," the driver responded.

"You have a contract prepared for THIS instance?" Markus blurted out incredulously.

"Boaz Transports are always prepared," the man droned in a practised manner. With a loud "Hiyah!" and a crack of his whip, the driver got the carriage lurching and expertly performed a U-turn within the tight space.

After backtracking for a few kilometres, the carriage went semi-offroad through a path less frequented. The ground was far more uneven compared to the ones they trod earlier, and it curved excessively around jutting rocks and trees.

"How much of a delay do we expect with this new itinerary?" Markus probed.

"We're covering good ground. By my estimate, we will reach half a day earlier than expected," the driver answered.

"That quickly?"

"This way actually cuts through a lot of territories. The only reason it hasn't been developed is that in doing so it would be skipping three towns. The townships lobbied heavily in every instance they proposed such a development," the driver expounded. "Besides that, there are a lot of beast haunts in these woods. Why take the initiative to disturb sleeping dogs?"

Markus wanted to continue the conversation, but his attuned senses caught a sound cutting through the eerily silent woods.

"Did you hear that?" Markus asked involuntarily.

"Master Mage, my hearing is lacking compared to yours," the driver shot back with a bitter smile.

"It sounds like..." Markus' voice diminished into a mutter as he honed his senses once again to tune into the noise. It was the sound of hasty footsteps, light, belonging to a youth or a petite adult. It was followed by overlapping sounds of men screaming and their heavy footfalls as they chased the youth.

At this point, Markus was faced with a decision. Should he descend and investigate this disturbance?

Truthfully, he wouldn't have been in this position if, by sheer coincidence, a group of rogue practitioners (mages unaffiliated with any organisation) led by an expert in the Core Condensation realm hadn't intercepted a Deathstalker in the middle of its hunt. It was a coincidence because Deathstalkers are nocturnal - they even lack biological visual sensors and rely purely on sight, scent and heat signatures to stalk and bring death upon their prey.

Deathstalkers resemble jackals in frame but grow up to be as large as horses. They lack eyes but have exceedingly large, fan-like ears and long whisker-like protrusions on their faces that can move independently of each other. Their claws grow to the size of large knives, and their four tails are twice the length of their bodies. They stalk their prey on land, or through the trees. They attack by first whipping the victim with their tails that secrete and coating themselves with a fast-acting neurotoxin.

This particular Deathstalker was also in the Core Condensation realm. It had been tracking a large Tauren (standard evolution of a bovine that has achieved a magical breakthrough and stepped into the Core Formation realm) through the night. Just as dawn broke, when the Tauren grew tired and the Deathstalker prepared to strike, the playing field was tampered with by a group of annoying mages. The Deathstalker did not take the upset lightly and immediately moved to kill the interlopers. If it could not eat tasty Tauren meat, it would make do with these humans!

The Stalker was lithe and agile. It neutralised four out of the ten humans using its neurotoxin within seconds of first contact. The remaining started to fall one after the other, but one amongst the group was far too resilient. The Stalker recognised his cultivation to match its own. The fight overturned trees, and bled into the caravan paths, destroying a large swatch of it in the process.

The mages weren't tracking the Deathstalker at all, they were feeling adventurous and chose to cut through the forest to reach their destination more quickly. Unfortunately, that decision pitted them against the second most feared beast in the forest (just below the Manticore).

A series of coincidences placed Markus in such a position. He could very easily ignore the troubling sounds and continue his journey. But he hated bystanders the most. Every time people bullied him, bystanders looked on and let it happen. When his family faced difficulties and infrequent verbal abuse, bystanders looked on and let it happen. When his Master suffered such disrespect and disparagement from people who thought themselves entitled, bystanders just looked on and let it happen.

And here, another was potentially in life-threatening danger, and he wasn't going to just be a bystander and let it happen.

With a leap, he descended from the carriage and rushed in the direction of the sound. The trees blurred past him, as his form flew and wove through it all. The sounds grew clearer, and he realised that the person in trouble was a girl, white-haired, and possibly a year or so younger than him. The instigators were a group of rough-looking men - bandits.

He managed to only catch the tail end of what appeared to be a conversation, as one of the men pounced on her and proceeded to perform an unthinkable - disgusting - act!

All Markus saw was red. In place of the girl, who was holding strong and not showing an iota of weakness, he saw his sisters. He saw Dora, he saw Marie, he saw Jean!

Markus' hand moved towards his wand. He extended his hand. A rageful symphony of spell circles formed all around him.

And then bodies turned to mulch as they crashed against the ground.

None survived.