Kael walked carefully, making sure not to set off any traps or magic barriers placed by the mage user professors for protection.
Kael moved carefully through the dimly lit greenhouse, his eyes scanning the area.
"They say this place isn’t being watched closely... just a few detection spells set up by the second-year students," he muttered to himself.
He paused in front of a thick vine with twisted roots and strange red bulbs growing from it. This was Lurker’s Bane—a rare and valuable plant used to make stamina potions and energy recovery tonics.
Kael wasn’t skilled in alchemy. He couldn’t make potions like the others, but he had read about this plant in the original novel. He knew how important it could be in the days ahead.
And he knew these plants are mainly for the students.
But he left that area.
(I need to gather all the resources as much as I can)
(Because I am not as strong as other heroes.)
"I may not have the strength they do," he thought. "I can’t fight like a hero or win battles head-on. But that’s fine... I’ll prepare quietly, set traps, and use strategy. I’ll win in my own way."
"But why did I come here to the greenhouse area?"
He turned and vanished into the shadows once more.
After leaving the greenhouse undetected, Kael made his way to the terminal gate.
After leaving the greenhouse undetected, Kael made his way toward the Terminal Gate.
Most students were asleep, recovering from the exhausted training.
Soon, he arrived at the portal terminal, paid the gold coins and went towards Elaris city.
Kael pulled the hood of his cloak closer around his face, hiding his features from view. The streets were quiet this late in the evening, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
Instead of walking through the busy main squares of the eastern market, he slipped into the narrow back alleys — places where fewer people paid attention and fewer questions were asked.
He walked with purpose, weaving through crooked paths and shadowy corners, stopping only at shops that looked older, quieter, and more hidden from the crowd.
In each shop, Kael carefully handed over gold coins he had saved for the important moment.
In return for these rare coins and artifacts, the shopkeepers gave him items no ordinary people would think to use:
– Elixirs of stamina.
– Minor recovery potions.
"These are the kinds of things most proud students don’t even bother with," Kael thought as he tucked another vial into his pouch. "They believe power alone is enough. That being born strong or having talent will protect them."
But Kael knew that wasn’t the whole truth. He didn’t have overwhelming strength or flashy magic like the top students. He couldn’t take down a beast with one strike or hurl fire with a wave of his hand.
So instead of trying to be like them, he chose a different path.
He would prepare quietly, in the background where no one was looking.
Things that wouldn’t win battles outright, but could turn the tide in just the right moment.
With each shop he entered, with every odd merchant he bargained with, Kael’s cloth pouch grew heavier. But so did his sense of purpose.
He wasn’t aiming to compete like the heroes.
"These aren’t weapons," Kael whispered to himself as he slipped another vial into the folds of his coat. "But they’ll help me live. And maybe... help me grow stronger."
Kael carefully tucked each bottle into the inner pouch. He made sure the glass didn’t clink as he moved. Stealth was part of the plan. Always.
As he adjusted the flap, his fingers brushed against a small scroll hidden in the lining. He pulled it out slightly to check.
It was a plan — old and a little torn at the edges, but still easy to read. It showed how to set a basic trap that worked using mana. Kael had copied it from an old book hidden in the academy’s restricted library.
He smiled to himself.
The trap was simple, but smart.
If used properly, it could shock or freeze someone just long enough for him to run away... or finish the fight.
"This might be useful," he thought, rolling up the scroll and putting it safely back into his cloak.
He adjusted his cloak and walked into the next alley — not knowing that someone had been secretly watching him.
Not far behind... a shadow watched.
Wearing a light black cloak, she leaned casually against the old stone wall outside a small, hidden shop.
She was curious and she knew it was Kael.
She had been following Kael since she saw him quietly leave Arcadia’s main gate and from the terminal.
At first, she thought he was just going for a night walk. But then she noticed the path he took — quiet alleys, hidden streets, and old shops with no signs. Places only someone careful or in trouble would go.
"What are you up to, Kael?" she wondered, watching him slip into another dark corner. He was being very careful, unlike most students.
She tilted her head and eyes locked on him judging every movement.
"What on earth are you doing?"
She hasn’t stepped forward yet. Didn’t reveal herself.
Instead, she remained still, hidden in the crowd of moving strangers and flickering lanterns — watching, waiting.
She had no idea what drew her here tonight around kael. But she also came for the elixirs.
(And here he was, sneaking through Elaris, buying strange things in secret.)
Kael went deeper and deeper and Elysia followed him from behind.
He reached the edge of the dark Forest.
Without hesitation, he stepped into the dark, misty wood.
Elysia arrived just moments later.
"He entered the forest... at this hour?" she muttered. "Is he insane? Or does he know something I don’t?"
She waited a few seconds, listening for beasts. Nothing.
Inside the forest, the light from the city faded behind them, swallowed by the thick canopy. Pale moonlight filtered through in narrow strands, and the sound of nocturnal creatures echoed from every direction. The deeper she went, the more unnatural the silence became.