The Village

They had arrived at the edge of the treeline to the village. Retrieving Ragan's sword had been quick and easy so they immediately set off for the village. It would be Emre's first time entering a human village since entering this world. It was getting late, so he knew the atmosphere probably wouldn't be great, but he was still excited nonetheless.

They walked the rest of the way through the clearing. The closer the village got the more excited he felt. It was just a simple village but he hadn't been able to see a large group of humans in over a month now.

As they passed beside some buildings Ragan grabbed Emre to stop him. Emre looked back in surprise.

"What?" He asked.

"Can you lower your aura?" Ragan asked.

His aura? Glancing at his body he hadn't realized he was emitting much aura. He focused and attempted to suppress it. It only took a moment but he could see Ragan relax a bit as Emre looked back at him. Come to think of it, Ragan had also lowered his own. He felt more like someone who was just above average rather than his usual strong aura.

Emre had tied his bluish-black hair into a half-tie and hoped that his shabby clothes wouldn't make him seem too outstanding. He was handsome but his face wasn't completely perfect so everything should be fine now that he had lowered his aura to be more average as well.

"There might be adventurers in the inn so it's best if we lower our auras for now." Ragan informed before starting forward again.

There were swords on each of their hips, Ragan now having his original sword and Emre using the spare he had. Of course, it was just for show since Emre didn't know jack about swordsmanship.

It was sunset so all the storefronts and stands outside were already closed down. There was one large building, however, that was very lively. The door was open a crack and the windows were wide open, casting a bright orange light on the darker dirt streets. It was very loud inside, Emre could hear laughing, talking, and cheering from across the plaza that they entered.

It was quite a large building for being in a small town like this. It was likely the largest. It seemed to be three stories tall but wasn't as wide. They were heading toward the entrance and entered through the cracked door casually.

People barely noticed them as they walked in, too busy with their own conversations. Emre almost felt suffocated by the strong scent of alcohol and food. What only made it worse was the mess of mana that wandered about the room. At least three groups had large amounts of mana, and others didn't have as much.

Even so, he tried his best not to look around and kept his eyes on Ragan's back. It would be better for him to not pay attention to the interested eyes and mana flowing all around him. It was hard not to feel overwhelmed since this was the first time he was experiencing something like this.

So he simply followed behind Ragan silently. Approaching the bar, the bartender, who was an older man with greying brown hair, quickly came to tend to them after handing someone their drink.

"What can I do for you two?" He asked jovially.

"Do you have one room with two beds available?" Ragan asked as he fiddled with one of the two pouches on his hip.

"We do, indeed! That'll be one silver!" The barkeep responded, holding out his hand.

Ragan easily placed the silver piece on his palm and the bartender quickly went to grab one of the many keys that were hanging on a plank behind him. Handing it to Ragan he smiled before quickly moving off to handle another person who had walked up to the bar.

Ragan took a look at the paper tab that hung from the key before turning and looking around the main floor. There were barely any spots empty, but there was a small spot in a corner with no one there. He led the way over to the table and Emre glanced at the people they were passing.

Most were just drunkards or people just enjoying some drink and a meal. But there was one group they passed that looked like a well-suited group. They wore leather armor or half-plate, each with a respective item on their person. Emre couldn't help but also observe their mana.

One seemed to notice him looking and their eyes connected but Emre simply smiled and turned his head back away. He didn't even allow himself to get a better look at them as he sat down with Ragan. A waitress immediately swooped by and took his and Ragan's order for a meal.

Only then did Emre glance around the room to get a better look at things. It really did just seem like a lively tavern despite knowing about the looming danger. This amount of energy was causing his heart to beat faster than usual but Ragan looked calm and normal like he always did.

Emre had been in bars often in his past life. They were usually more reserved but that was only because not everyone knew each other. Here, everyone was talking with one another mostly. After having not been in somewhere like this in over a month, not to mention the extra chaos of the flowing mana, he knew he just had to get used to it again.

"What do you think?" Ragan asked as he gazed out at the tavern.

"It's loud…" Emre answered. "There is so much mana, it's kind of hard to see."

"Are you able to have it so that you can't see mana? It's fine if you can just sense their auras. Most of these people barely even have an aura."

Emre nodded and focused on his Dragon Detection. Although it was a passive skill for him to see mana, it usually only looked like a small mist. Here it was extremely dense as there were several stronger people who used it like Ragan and Emre. Of course, he wouldn't be able to tell their element types unless he actively used Dragon Detection. But he figured he could turn it off too.

It was easy for him to make sure that Dragon Detection wasn't being used. Soon enough, the mana that he'd seen roaming around drifted away and his vision cleared. Instead, he started to focus on the auras of the people around the building. Everyone seemed pretty weak aside from the three parties that looked adorned for battle.

They were surely adventurers. Ragan had explained to him before that adventurers were basically mercenaries that dealt with monsters, beasts, and anything dangerous that wasn't a human for profit. They could sell the materials they earned from killing these beasts, as well as earn money from commissions.

Emre recalled one of the first things Ragan had mentioned to him about the corruptions. The villagers had been trying to get adventurers here to kill the dark creatures in the forest because they were killing livestock and overkilling game in the forest.

These three groups probably came here for those types of commissions. Emre hadn't seen any of them in the forest, but he only came from one direction. That direction was Ragan's house. There was still a giant forest surrounding the village on all sides so there was a lot of room.

The question was how many corruptions these groups had run across and if they were formidable against them. Ragan was a previous higher-ranking army official, and although he was older than before, he still struggled a bit against larger numbers. Of course, he was alone when he was fighting those seven smaller creatures and he had killed five without any help.

These three groups had, at the least, four to five members. Surely they must be accustomed to fighting together as a party. It was probably easier for them to take on seven of the weaker corruptions with little to no injuries. Even Ragan had only gotten scratched up a bit and he was alone.

Emre did not believe his wind magic abilities were too much lower than Ragan's at this point. He had also finished forming his second layer and had started on his third layer only after sparring with Ragan the first time. His magic capacity had increased since then. The only thing he felt he was lacking was strategy aside from needing to learn more magic and strengthening his core.

Strategy, however, was easier when the opponent was as dumb as these corruptions. While the big wolf-type corruption he fought in the cave did have enough intelligence to respond, have feelings, and also retain some information, they still weren't smart enough to realize that his attacks had been being prepared behind them.

As long as no corruptions appeared that were very intelligent, he should be okay to test out his strategy in the future without too much detriment to the battle. The 7-foot corruption with the tusks that he had seen in his vision was the most likely going to be his worst headache. It seemed the bigger the stronger.

However, his thoughts were pulled away as the waitress returned with two plates and two mugs in her hands. She gingerly set everything down and Ragan tossed her a coin. She gave a small bow before turning to tend to anyone else.

"Seems like there are some stronger people here." Ragan mentioned as he started to dig into the hardy meal.

Emre started to eat as well, although less vigorous. "Three groups of people." He noted to Ragan.

"Yeah, they are probably adventurers that came here for jobs." He stated with his mouth half full.

Emre's assumptions had also been the same. "I wonder if they've fought some dark creatures." He let his previous thoughts be known.

"Given how many there are in the area, I wouldn't be surprised."

"They must be somewhat strong then since they all look cheery and happy."

While Emre would feel happier about being in a somewhat familiar environment, the knowledge of the dark creatures kept him from feeling more than a bit happy. He felt that he needed to learn faster every day. It felt even more urgent now that he knew a bit more about the corruptions.

Ragan would find a way to send out the letter tomorrow since it had already been too late for a courier of sorts to be out and about. He didn't know how long they would be staying in the town, or if they could even train here without prying eyes. Emre did want to see Anne and Audr again though, even if they had just parted.

He wasn't sure how he could go about it with his new form though. While he wasn't worried about Anne, because she could not speak of him to others, he was worried Audr might end up too excited. Even then, he still did not want to put an oath on the child. While Anne knew the weight of an oath and knew better, he wasn't sure Audr would be able to keep his mouth shut and end up dooming himself due to a child's ignorance.

If he made an oath as he did to Anne, and Audr ended up speaking of his identity by accident or otherwise, the kid would inevitably have to deal with the consequences. Emre wasn't entirely fond of the idea of dooming a child in that way. If anything, Emre would have to come up with something less detrimental to his health.

Yes, he could do that. Of course, he would have to talk to Anne first about it. But then a question popped into his head.

'Voice, can I remove a Divine Oath?' He asked internally.

[ Answer, yes, as long as the oath was cast by you ]

If his identity did end up being revealed one day to the whole world it would be unfair to them if he had forced that oath onto them and they could not speak of him at all. For now, while he hid as a human, he wouldn't allow them to speak of who he was truly.

Emre nodded to himself slightly as he thought about this. Ragan had already finished his meal and Emre was close to finishing.

"Once I send this letter out, I'll teach you all about swordsmanship." Ragan said as he patted his full stomach.

"How long did it take you to learn?" Emre asked with interest.

"I'm still learning! You never stop learning and getting better. But if we're talking about when I was able to wield a sword without looking like a dumbass, I would say a few months. As long as you work harder than all the others, you'll get through it." Ragan said. "Of course, since you have magic, you'll have to divide your training as I did. But knowing both is very good."

"We probably don't have a few months—"

Ragan cut him off as he leaned in toward him. "There is probably already a force on the way given that we lost a village."

"Even so, what if they are not here in time?"

"Then we fight." Ragan shrugged and sat back in the chair.

Emre looked at him with a blank look before his eyes narrowed. "We aren't enou—" He was cut off again.

"So what? Are you just going to let these people be killed?" Ragan sat up, his feet planting on the floor as he emphasized the word 'you'.

Emre couldn't help but rub his face with his hand as a sigh escaped him. Of course he couldn't do that. There were a ton of innocent people here that he couldn't just let die. Not because of some duty that Tirian might have given him. He would not run away or stand idly by when he knew he could do something regardless. He simply wasn't that type of person.

They were lucky that the inn was too loud for people to hear their odd conversation in the corner. If anyone heard what they were saying they would probably create an uproar demanding to know what they were talking about.

"No." Emre finally answered as he reached for the mug.

"Ah, that's alcohol." Ragan quickly informed him as Emre took a big gulp.

It was harsher and more gritty than the alcohol that Emre used to drink at bars, but he was no stranger to the taste. Ragan even looked surprised at Emre's lack of a reaction and simply sipped from his own cup in response to the bold actions.

"I wouldn't worry too much Emre. We'll just have to face it without hesitation when it comes. Just like we've been doing." Ragan said.

Emre nodded, all the other fights that they have fought have been with little to no hesitation. Although there was some little consideration before they attacked the corruptions in the cave, they did not hesitate to attack when it came to the moment. They both played their roles and got through it. The same would happen again.

There was very little chatter between them for the rest of the night as they headed up to their rooms to sleep. Their room happened to be on the third floor so the rowdiness of the bar below didn't disturb them until they woke the next morning.

In fact, the tavern that they expected to be drowsy and slow that morning was the opposite. While they had least expected this to happen so soon, they could hear yelling outside.

"It's the army! The King sent the army to protect us!" A loud voice was shouting.

Emre stopped mid-yawn and hurried down the stairs with Ragan quickly following after him. Exiting the tavern, they could see a large gathering of people on the outskirts of the village as the sound of metal marching could be heard in the near distance.

They both joined the crowd to see what was going on, only to see a man in that familiar white armor, an extravagant white feather flowing on the top of his helmet. He rode on a horse, along with several men following behind on horses in marching order. As they exited the treeline Emre was able to see foot soldiers behind the cavalry. Only this wasn't an army.

No, it looked to merely only be about 300 hundred men as they started to fan out around the village. Emre couldn't remember the number of corruptions he had seen in his vision, but there were hundreds. He was sure of it. Not to mention the larger ones that would probably be leading them.

It seemed the King had only sent a company. Perhaps he was expecting this to go like the last time this happened? He had sent out Ragan's company to help the village to the northwest. However, Emre knew that this time it would be worse.

'The King is underestimating the dark creatures.' Emre's words entered Ragan's mind.

'That's why I needed to write this letter…' Ragan responded in kind.

'What now?'

'I'll talk to the head of the forces.'

Emre glanced at him with a look of interest. He wondered how this would play out. Ragan was a former military man. While Emre didn't know what his rank was, he knew that they had tried to promote him and give him a higher title. Surely Ragan was not unknown among the ranks as the man who helped fight off an invasion of dark creatures in the past.

The villagers moved out of the way as the leader of the company entered. In the middle of the store plaza was an older man, probably about the same age as Ragan, if not a bit older. The leader dismounted his horse and removed his helmet to reveal a man about the same age.

His long, tied-up hair seemed to be mostly dark brown with gray streaks, save for one band on the left side of his hair which was mostly grey. A scar marked over his lip and he had slanted-like eyes. It almost made him look a little evil even as he smiled toward the other man.

"Village Head, my name is Carlowe Hayes. I am a Knight and Lieutenant of this company. We've come upon order from the King to help protect and reinforce against the dark creatures that may invade this area." He held his hand out toward the man.

"My name is Eras Lopal. Lieutenant Hayes, we are very grateful that you have come. I will make sure the villagers do not disturb your duties. I can also provide a place for you to stay." The Village Head shook the Lieutenant's hand with a smile in kind.

"It's quite alright. We will be setting up tents outside the village. We'll do our best to protect you all." It was a short and to-the-point conversation.

The Village Head dipped his head as the Lieutenant turned back to his horse. The villagers seemed grateful and were only muttering good things. Then the Lieutenant stopped at the sight of someone. His eyes had landed on Ragan, who was standing with Emre on the outskirts of the plaza among the villagers.

The smile he had with Eras changed. Although it was a subtle change, Emre noticed it as his look seemed to become more sly. Emre had to resist the urge to scowl as the heavily armored man gently pulled on his horse's reins and began to head toward them.

The villagers quickly began to part as to make way for him but Ragan didn't budge, and naturally, Emre did not as well.

"Lieutenant Denbow. It's been a while." Carlowe's tone sounded sweet but Emre felt as if there was some venom behind it.

Emre could tell that he was talking to Ragan, despite having not known his surname prior. Glancing over, he could see Ragan's stoic expression.

"Lieutenant Hayes, I'm sure you are aware that I am not a Lieutenant anymore."

"Ha!" The man let out a small laugh. "That's right, sorry, it was a force of habit. I thought you were living in a forest? Have you moved into this village?" He asked with an innocent tone.

"I haven't. I came by to send a letter but it seems that I can deliver my message by mouth now. Though, it should be in a more private setting." Ragan stated, glancing around the area where the villagers were all staring and watching.

The Village Head started to shoo the people away and was telling them to get back to their jobs as Carlowe's face became a bit more serious. Emre didn't know what did it, but it seemed Ragan's words had changed for him to stop messing around and become more reasonable looking.

"Very well. Once my tent is set up I will send someone to come get you." He stated before finally giving Emre a glance.

Emre held his blue gaze for a moment before the man passed them and started heading back to his troops. The troops had covered a majority of the southwestern end of the village and seemed to be already setting up their supplies. Slowly but surely, Emre knew this place would look less like a village and more of a military outpost.

He was a bit relieved though. With soldiers here, he would be able to focus on protecting the innocent villagers inside the village. Soldiers were trained and meant to fight so he wasn't as concerned about protecting everyone. He mostly just wanted to protect the people he knew couldn't fight back for now.

"What's with him?" Emre finally asked after they had been left alone.

"He was a trainee with me. We trained together at first but he became bitter when I was promoted before him. I was stronger than him and he was jealous." Ragan explained simply.

"He sounds like a stick in the mud."