Seeing an opportunity to take the initiative away from Asta, Lucas pushed him a bit, "Lead us to him, I want to see him.", Asta nodded as they stared daggers into the man. Seeing no room for negotiation, they moved forward.
Entering the village they were greeted with the angry and dissatisfied looks of the villagers. Walking to what seemed to be a bar or inn, they entered it. The smell of cheap booze and overcooked meat entered their noses.
Scanning the room, Lucas noticed everyone hanging around a single man. He sat with his back facing the entrance, joking around with the people close to him. His hunched back displayed his age.
Hearing someone enter the inn, the man slowly turned around. Parting his lips, a gentle and kind man appeared. "Ah, you must be the mages Jacob told me about. What brings you here?", a low yet warm voice greeted them. Despite the angry visages of the villagers, his was one of peace and calm.
Asta stood in silence, giving the word to Lucas, who had been trying to puzzle Asta's plan together. "We're here on orders from Commander Kasto to defend this outpost."
"I see, then I have some good news. This place won't get attacked anytime soon, there's nothing here to fight over after all.", his words, spoken with a relaxed smile as if he had no worries.
"Malek, that's not true! Our village is a beacon of light in these parts, we should be proud of our independence.", one man called out.
"Uncle Mal, these are the bad people! They have to leave!", a smaller child spoke with her cutesy voice as the man picked her up. "Oh Mel, these aren't bad people, they just follow orders.", putting her on his lap, he looked up at Lucas. "They don't have an option to stop, that's what it means to be a soldier."
While he sounded kind, there was an underlying tone that showed Malek knew what it was like, being a soldier.
"I can't help you guys anymore, I've lost all my powers. The only reason people still call me a Rank 3 is to protect the village. But since I lost them in the first place, there's nobody here to fight in the first place. So please, listen to my request. Leave us in peace."
The people around Malek all nodded in unison, they truly believed his words. Lucas knew he wasn't going to get these people to budge, nor did he seek it. Laying their eyes on Malek was enough for now.
"We'll see what we can do.", Asta said before turning around to leave the inn.
"Have you seen him?"
"I have, but before we get into that, I want to know what you're scheming. It's hard to puzzle all the pieces together especially since I'm clearly missing some intel.", Lucas hated not knowing what was going on. He was the one who forged great plans, not partook in them.
Asta laughed out loud, "Hahaha, yes! My revenge was successful!", his joyful laughter only confused Lucas.
"Revenge?", Lucas frowned, he had never hurt or gave Asta a bad deal, they even saw each other as friends.
"Do you not remember the national competition? I was left in the dark, grasping at straws trying to figure out what you were going to do. Now, you're following my carefully crafted plan. I'm just returning the favor."
"No thanks. I'm not going to continue if you don't give me at least a hint.", feeling Lucas's frustration, Asta was glee with happiness.
"No worries, I'll tell you. This village will be attacked in a few days."
"How are you so certain?"
"I leaked some intel beforehand and pushed them to attack this place. I'm certain a small force will arrive here shortly."
Lucas didn't think a single second about the safety of the people here or their lives. The first thing that popped up was whether he would survive or not, but since Asta was confident, he was too. The second thing he tried to discern was the overarching goal, luring forces here couldn't have been for no reason.
"Do we get more points if we push some forces back?"
"Exactly, the intel I leak was that a few Rank 1's were going to be stationed here. So an appropriate force will come, taking those down means a larger group will come and so on. For each Rank 1 we defeat, we get half a point, for a Rank 2 we get 3 points and Rank 3 is 50, but I don't plan on fighting one of those."
"So by playing it safe, we can farm some points from the enemy forces? Does that mean we'll have to send some back to inform them?"
"That's not a bad idea. Yes, I expect that we'll be able to pull a few groups before it becomes too difficult, then we'll leave. Oh, we'll need the cores as proof we killed them."
Lucas nodded to himself, it was a relatively safe plan that could result in them getting quite a few points. By the time the strongest forces arrive, they'll long be gone, and two weeks would've definitely passed, so they'll have completed the mission.
All in all, it was definitely worth it. "I hope you mentioned in the leaked intel that the Rank 3 is out of business?"
"Of course. I wouldn't make such a mistake. Now all we have to do is wait.", Asta was happy with his plan, it was simple in execution, low in risks and escaping was extremely easy.
And while Asta was happy with it, Lucas couldn't fully follow him, he left Asta behind to visit Malek again. He didn't know the man all that well, but he had to speak to him again.
'He lost his aura and therefore his powers, so our aura is coupled with our strength?'
'If that's what that uncle says then it is like that, yeah.'
'What are the chances we'll also lose our aura?'
'Nihil.'
'I don't know about that.', staring at the Scarlet Moon in his dome, he certainly felt extreme emotions, but would that stay consistent? Simon also mentioned it once, but would he always feel so angry over a certain event no matter how much time passed?
Having some questions and doubts, he had to check with Malek. Entering the inn, he found Malek was gone, apparently he went back home, so Lucas followed the directions to his place.
Knocking on his door, it soon opened, with Malek behind it. "I see you've left your compatriot behind? What can I do you for?", his question was asked lightly, but Lucas was about to take advantage of that.
"I want to discuss something with you."
Malek shook his head, "I have nothing to do with the war, and I can't teach you anything since I lost my powers."
"That's what I want to discuss. I'm similar to you.", Malek froze for a second before staring at Lucas. Opening his door fully, he gestured for Lucas to come in. Stepping inside his little home, it smelled of herbs.
There were a few pieces of furniture, but it was clear the man lived pretty minimalistic, only having plants as decoration. Taking a seat in his rocking chair, he loosely pointed to a sofa nearby.
Sitting down, Lucas stared at the man rocking back and forth, he didn't look that old, around 45 years old perhaps with a few strands of gray hair mixed in with the brown. His face only had a few wrinkles, but since the man was a Rank 3 mage, his age could've been above the hundreds, mismatching his appearance.
"Can you explain what happened to you?"
Closing his eyes, he rocked back and forth some more. It was slow, the momentum carried him slightly. "I was born a commoner in a small village. Life was peaceful and happy, until some bandits raided the place, killing everyone in it. They took me as a slave and dragged me around to potential sellers."
Lucas felt the need to pay close attention because his life was practically the same. Instead of bandits, it was monsters, but the pain, anger and desperation felt similar.
"Through a stroke of luck I was awakened to magic and started to study it in secret. I didn't get far before they found out and punished me. After a long and awful journey I managed to escape and find a wandering teacher who taught me almost everything I know now. On the path I managed to make it pretty quickly to Rank 2, my aura based on my powerful emotions I felt when I was a child."
Lucas didn't see anything wrong with it, he was also lucky to find a good albeit lazy teacher.
"I grew powerful, and my aura was a symbol of strength. I conquered cities and castles in epic battles, but then I got hold of a mission to take care of a large bandit group, the same that assaulted my hometown. I took it without hesitation and slaughtered all the people there in an instant, but the moment I did that, I felt relieved, free, satisfied, and most of all happy."
Lucas could understand taking revenge on someone being extremely satisfying, but could guess where this was going.
"The moment I felt that happiness, my trauma and revenge were solved and settled, making me lose the foundation of my aura. It quickly broke down over time, leaving me powerless. I still have a core and mental sphere, but they're all inactive. Once I noticed that I wouldn't be able to survive in that harsh world, I settled down in this place and have been happy with my life."
"Anger is the foundation of your aura, doesn't that mean that as long as you stay angry, you'll keep your powers?"
Malek looked at Lucas with a dumbfounded look, "Well, that would work in theory, but it won't last long since you need to be actively angry all the time. That's not a life I want to live. I was angry at first realizing I lost my powers, but came to accept the inevitable and found peace in that. Having my mind plagued by rage for the rest of my life wasn't something I wanted."
Lucas took his time to think things through. If he wanted to go down the same path Malek went through, he would have to first defeat the Scarlet Moon for his foundation to break down, which... wasn't really something he could do. Perhaps relieved he heaved a small sigh.
Seeing Lucas think about his own life, Malek gave his thoughts, "You might be powerful now, but the moment you accept what happened in your past or take revenge, you'll lose it all. And you might think you'll never be able to achieve it, so you're safe, but what happens when you reach Rank 6? Will you then still be too weak? If you stop chasing after it, you'll also lose motivation, and you'll have the same thing happen."
Realizing the predicament he was in, Lucas pushed it away. By the time he would be Rank 6, decades if not entire centuries might've passed. He'll surely have found a way to deal with it later.
Hearing the tone Malek spoke in did set him off, he felt angry at himself for choosing such an unstable aura. Then again, he didn't have much of a choice. His rage was also directed at Malek, for the most petty reasons.
"Thank you.", standing up, Lucas left Malek's home with a feeling of resentment. Meeting Asta in the open area nearby, he looked pissed off.
"What happened to you?"
"Let's upgrade your plan."
"Hmm?"
"Let's hunt a Rank 3."
---
Lucas and Asta stood next to each other, looking in the distance they found a group of around 50 men approaching them. "A small force, you said?"
"They are all Rank 1 and a few Rank 2, what's there to worry about?"
"I hope you do realize that we're also Rank 2, with me being on the lower end of it?", while Lucas said that, he was indeed nowhere when it came to upgrading his mental sphere or the runes on his core, but his body was strengthened to the absolute limit of what was possible in his Rank.
"No worries, these are soldiers at the bottom of the barrel, no way they are going to amount to much. We just need to appear to struggle with the Rank 2's. Then we'll be fine."
After talking things through with Asta some more, Lucas was able to get a glimpse of how the strength worked in the army. There were plenty of Rank 1's en 2's. Rank 3's were considered captains or commanders, Rank 4 was already at the top of the army, while Rank 5 were the lieutenant generals of the entire armed force of a country.
Rank 6 or above rarely appeared in an army, only The Holy Kingdom had multiple Rank 6's as forces, making them the strongest country on Aurora. The higher the Rank the more resources were put into them and the more precious they were.
Meaning that most of an army's forces consisted of Rank 1's and 2's. There were also quite a few Rank 3, but those were reserved for the main front, not a backwater village.
As Asta and Lucas were observing the oncoming group on top of a hill, Asta finally spoke, "Lucas, let's do down there and get rid of them."
Not answering right away, he found a better idea. Turning around, "I'm going to fetch an actor.", Lucas said as he then came back not long after with Jacob in tow. Asta frowned for a moment, before Lucas explained.
"Jacob is the perfect actor for this. He's weak, doesn't look like he has much stamina and will get hit a lot.", displaying such a harsh truth right next to the person in question royally pissed him off, not that he could refute much.
"Whatever you're planning, I'm not taking a part in it.", crossing his arms, his stance closed up. Lucas and Asta ignored him as they stared at the coming group. They were all on horseback, which confused Lucas somewhat.
"For small forces, they can't afford to give them all flight, so they are given horses. Only more elite soldiers get to learn flight and only large groups can use something called teleportation, making them move from one place to another in an instant."
"That sounds impossible."
"Well, you'll be in for a surprise later then."
"Either way, Jacob, those enemy soldiers are here to fight against your village, better prepare yourself."
"What?!", Jacob rushed to their side to see the small group in the distance slowly move closer. He tried to estimate their strength and found a few on his level! There was no way for him to take them all on by himself.
"This is impossible! Why would they suddenly attack? You!", realising the cause, he pointed towards the duo, "You brought them here!"
Asta chuckled slightly, "I don't think that matters at this point. Unless you're going to negotiate with them, I suggest you get ready."
Lucas was glad Asta picked up on his idea, "Indeed, we'll take care of these ones, but they won't stop here. Let's go Asta."
Walking down the hill, Lucas prepared his own defenses. Asta, who walked alongside him, conjured a few spells that seemingly didn't do anything.
"I've prepared a few traps on the battlefield, if you're interested?"
"Sure, get rid of the weaker ones. I'll focus on the Rank 2's."
"Let's get to it then.", Asta and Lucas closed on in the group who were on horseback. Seeing the duo approach, they pulled on their reigns and let the leader speak up. Since Lucas and Asta didn't attack, they should at least converse.
"Halt! We are the 52nd squadron of Commander Rylo serving the Great Prince of Frigus! We do not seek unnecessary fights! Just give up the village behind you, and we'll make sure that peace remains and there will be no bloodshed.", the leader was a Rank 2 who felt confident in his powers.
He had trained his group plenty and had a lot of trust in them. Facing two Rank 2's while having 5 of their own, there was no reason to panic. Not only that, but their arrival should be sudden and unpredicted. To top it all off, they all held a very simple and basic artifact capable of releasing a simple shield that will block most elements.
It was a one-use-only artifact, so they shouldn't use it carelessly, but even so. Their preparations and troops were plenty.
Asta had a deep smile on his face while Lucas had finished his preparations, "Can't have that, can we?", Lucas asked as he stared at the leader.
Chuckling slightly, Asta agreed, "Indeed.", snapping his fingers an array lit up under the horses. The leader quickly recognized the predicament they were in.