What I Know

"Survival?" Remien looked somewhat confused. "Oh, you mean that minor disturbance outside? I can solve that if you consider it a problem."

Remien shook his head, disturbed by how the mage before him was getting worked up over nothing. The young man himself wasn't bothered by the commotion in the slightest.

Remien took off his boots. He pulled his feet to his thighs, assuming a lotus position. A dagger appeared out of nowhere and was now lying in the palms of his hands, still sheathed. The hilt lit up, giving off a dark red hue. Simultaneously, the atmosphere in the hallway began changing. The noise behind the door seemed to subside. Gradually, the screams became quieter until they were all gone. An eerie silence fell upon them.

Alika noted this sudden shift in the mood in the air. The mage raised her eyebrows. She didn't try to hide her utmost surprise as she switched to magical vision. She did so just in time to notice the weapon in Remien's hands sucking in a strange power from the hall straight through the wall.

It had to be a kind of mental magic. She didn't know the details, though. Alika was astounded by how he manipulated so many people. Besides, those were not ordinary people, mind you! Most of them were certified mages! Plus, the man did it with such ease! None of her actions went unnoticed under her guest's watchful eyes.

"H-how?" she mumbled with a deep frown.

"So?" Remien continued in his composed and relaxed manner. "What defines a person? Is it their history? Maybe it's their current intentions? Or perhaps it's their past actions?"

The adventurer repeated the same question again. Alika struggled to decide what to do. Should she flee from such a powerful being as fast as possible? Would it be better to consider herself a hostage and comply with his orders? At that moment, she had just one goal in mind. That was sheer survival.

Why did she make that decision to take the risk and stay? She hated it with all her heart now! The mage crossed her arms over her chest. She so should have followed Sametta's advice and escaped. Now it looked like the "dark mage's" choice of this year's victim fell on her. Remien saw her shock and let out a sigh.

"Look, there is nothing to be afraid of," he said, attaching the weapon to the belt on his waist. Alika noted it wasn't glowing anymore. "I don't force anyone to do anything. I believe a person should only face the consequences of their personal choices and decisions. My abilities have some unwanted side effects. However, I assure you, there is no fun in having a bunch of mindless puppets around me."

Did that statement calm her down and make her feel any safer? No, it did not! Not at all! But at least it provided her with some insight into what the "monster" considered unacceptable. Yet, despite all his assurances about valuing free will, he had just ignored that same freedom of choice.

All those who remained in the hall were influenced by the large-scale mental ability. Yes, it might have been done for her own sake, not just for his. However, it didn't change the essence of the problem! Alika was even willing to assume it was for the fans' sake, too. Still, it changed nothing!

Alika always considered herself the sole person responsible for her own life. How she behaved and what words she used were all up to her. Remien's obvious demonstration of how little any of that meant to him threw her off balance. It left a very unsettling feeling in her heart.

Alika couldn't help remembering last night's conversation with her friends. Alarming memories of the rumors about "the dark mage" flooded her mind. Supposedly, all his partners gave up their lives of their own free will. One after another.

However, was it really their own resolve? Alika had severe doubts about how true that was. The last time she felt so pitiful and helpless was… many years ago. Her hands had been clutching her bag for what seemed like an eternity. They trembled as she failed to hold back the emotions. Remien went back to flipping through the pages in his folder until he reached the last one.

"An unwanted orphan with no friends or relatives, unable to provide for herself, low intellectual abilities, and no magical skills. The student has one hundred percent chance of dying in the first dungeon she dares to enter," Remien read in a flat voice. He went silent, scanning the lines of text a couple more times. "What sort of idiot wrote this?"

The man put his boots back on. Remien left the snugness of the armchair and walked around the room in a circle. He read it one more time, closed the folder, and threw it over his shoulder to the floor. The papers landed with a soft thud.

"What…" Alika's eyes widened. She couldn't believe her ears. Even stranger was Remien's statement that all of it was absolute rubbish. Of course, it was true! It was total nonsense, but how did he know?! "Exactly how much do you know about me?"

Somebody was violating her personal space, her past. She had been running away from her former life for many years. That was a violation she couldn't tolerate one bit. She let her fingers slide from the bag handles and rushed to bend down. She picked the folder up to study the pages.

Oh, great. Alika recognized the handwriting. Oh, it was Megaera's. The mage had no doubts about it. Even if she was woken up in the middle of the night, she would recognize this style of drawing out the letters to be hers.

What Alika saw in front of her were student profiles. They contained quite an impressive amount of data on all of this year's academy graduates. Yet, nothing was mentioned about her real past.

"You're quite right. I know very little about you." He nodded, deep in thought. He looked like he was contemplating what to make of the mage's tone, trying to guess what it might hint at.