167 Four parts. (1/2)

Their leader was inspecting the wooden box without paying any attention. There was no need to since it was just an ordinary task for them.

*Thud...*

However, he could not help but look behind when he heard two bodies fall to the ground instead of one.

”Wha-” Before he could even say something, Ozul swept the black blade, and the man was silenced forever.

*Thud*

His body fell to the ground as Ozul made his way towards him to pick up the box.

They were just three Rank-5 Mages. He did not even waste his words on them before instantly finishing them off.

As he picked up the wooden box, Ozul realized that there might be other people together with these three as well, so he went back to his room through the window.

Leaving the dead bodies in the alleyway, probably no one will find them since many stray dogs and cats are ready to pounce on some extra food. Even if someone did stumble on the rotting corpses, he would be long gone from here by then.

Closing the window, he sat down on the bed and examined the box in his hands. It was made up of ebony wood and only a palm long.

He opened it and found a small branch that suddenly released a dense whiff of Mana. The small and weak looking branch had only five leaves—two on each side and one in the middle.

Ozul could sense an even denser Mana oozing out from those leaves as he observed them. After a while, he closed off the box again to stop the Mana from being released.

He had realized what this branch was at first glance. These were called the Harmony Leaves used to cure one of the most lethal poisons on the continent. Almost anyone who knew about these would pay a fortune just for a single leaf.

Ozul knew about this since it was only recently when he had started reading the book, and this herb was properly discussed in it. If it wasn't for him reading that book, he might have had to consult a professional.

'This was rather unexpected,' Ozul thought since there was almost no information about where these Harmony Leaves grew at. He planned to exchange it at some auction house.

He did not have any use for it, so he placed the wooden box on the table beside his bed. The box was probably enchanted since it did not let even a tiny bit of Mana out of it.

He went back to the bed and closed his eyes, not even bothering to do anything about the bodies outside.

——————

This was their final stop before the Neutral Lands. So, the group left early in the morning.

They did not think that the person who killed them would be so fearless to keep around.

However, he did not care about them finding him since they wouldn't be able to do anything anyway.

Together with the group, he left the city not too long after.

Ozul glanced at Clara, who looked completely different from when she was with her maid and her bodyguard. Also, she had used up all her spare clothes, and her current dress was the last she had.

It seemed that it was her first time taking care of herself. Clara did not look so cheerful either. She wanted to get back to her home as soon as possible.

On the other hand, Cyril and Mark were exactly the same when they had joined. It was usual for them to travel long distances. If it were not for Clara, they wouldn't have needed to slow down their speed so much either. At most, it would have taken them a couple of days to reach the Lands.

They did not mind spending a month here since the Mage had more tolerance the higher they advanced.

'Another week to get to the Neutral Lands,' Ozul's thoughts wandered to everything he knew about their destination.

As the name implied, these lands did not have any definite ruler. Although called neutral, there was everything but peace in it.

He remembered what Count Oliver had explained to them about this place.

. . .

*Flashback start.*