Kent turned his head just in time to see the tavern proprietress, Delis, fluttering her eyes open.
She looked dazed, her gaze hazy and unfocused—a sight that made Kent swallow hard as his mouth watered.
Yet his hands never stopped moving, continuing to rub snow across her freezing skin.
He narrowed his eyes, muttering inwardly, “Good thing this chick has long hair; otherwise, if her ears froze off, it wouldn’t be nearly as pretty.
And her skin feels incredible.”
Delis felt as though she had plunged into an endless, dark void.
She wanted to walk, but her feet refused to obey, feeling as if they were sinking deep into a quagmire.
She had no sense of time; it felt as though thousands of years had slipped by.
Then, she sensed someone touching her body, massaging her limbs with immense strength.
With a supreme effort, Delis forced her heavy eyelids open, only to see a young man’s back swaying back and forth as he busily rubbed her down.
“Y-you… what are you doing?” Delis managed to force out through stiff lips, her voice laced with confusion.
“Heh!
You’re awake?” Kent glanced back over his shoulder, flashing a reassuring smile that radiated absolute innocence.
“I’m just using snow to rub your body.
Otherwise, your legs and arms are going to be permanently ruined.
Almost done!”
“Ah… will my legs be okay?” Memories of the terrifying flight rushed back, and Delis asked with mounting panic.
The mere thought of never being able to walk again sent a chill through her bones.
Stirred by sheer adrenaline, she suddenly sat straight up.
“Don’t worry, everything’s fine—I’ve already healed you,” Kent stammered, licking his dry lips as he stared at her.
“Thank goodness… thank goodness…” The moment the tension drained away, Delis lost her remaining strength.
Overwhelmed by hunger and exhaustion from the grueling escape, she collapsed backward onto the hay.
“Whoa!” Reacting instantly, Kent caught her in his arms.
Looking at her limp, helpless form, any lingering inappropriate thoughts vanished entirely.
Quietly casting a hidden healing spell on her, Kent scooped her up and carried her toward the large wooden tub in the corner, where the young noblewoman was still recovering.
Since light-attribute healing magic required physical contact, using the tub as cover kept things discreet.
“Let’s get you two cleaned up so I can make dinner,” Kent muttered aloud, feigning casual indifference as he approached the tub.
He could see Alice’s eyelashes twitching—she was clearly awake.
With no one else around to help, he had no choice but to push forward.
Using a few precise fireballs to keep the water warm, Kent washed both women with practiced efficiency.
Struggling internally against the sheer temptation—an ordeal that felt like pure torture—he swiftly finished cleaning them both, then gently carried them over to his own bed: a thick layer of straw spread over a canvas sheet, covered with a tattered blanket and more hay.
It was humble slave quarters, but with two roaring hearth fires nearby, the cave was comfortably warm.
Kent hurried to set a pot of grain porridge over the fire, dicing up demon ape meat, a fresh fruit, a dollop of wild honey he had gathered earlier, and some cassava root.
It wasn’t that he was stingy; the survivors were simply too frail for heavy rations.
Soon, a rich, savory aroma filled the entire cavern.
Alice—the young noblewoman—had been discovered to possess magical talent by the Mage Guild at the age of eight.
She had been studying the arcane arts there for over four years, mastering basic spells like poison detection and acid splash.
According to Master Toya of the guild, Alice was on the verge of officially advancing to a first-rank mage, a milestone she had been thrilled about for months.
Yet today’s events had completely shattered her understanding of magic.
The humble slave boy she had known back home could cast magic too!
While rescuing them, Kent had casually tossed more than thirty fireballs into their water tub.
At first, Alice couldn’t believe her eyes.
Using fireballs to heat bathwater?
That is a sacrilegious insult to the noble, sacred profession of mages!
Delis, too, had been utterly stunned.
A standard first-rank mage would exhaust their mana reserve after casting twenty small fireballs—and that was just textbook theory; in reality, most first-rank novices could only manage a dozen due to mental fatigue and the cardinal rule taught on day one: always reserve at least a third of your mana.
Yet Kent showed zero signs of exhaustion or depleted energy.
Could he possibly be a second-rank mage?
Alice wondered in awe.
When Kent had bathed her earlier, Alice had blushed bright crimson, too mortified to open her eyes, eventually ending up tucked in bed beside her cousin.
Delis was actually Alice’s older cousin, who had fled to her uncle’s territory to open a tavern after her family tried forcing her into marriage with a wealthy old man.
The locals knew nothing of her aristocratic lineage, sparking endless rumors about her relationship with Alice’s father.
Lying in the dark, Alice’s mind raced.
As a minor noble, she knew all too well how the aristocracy operated—talent like Kent’s was something lords would fight tooth and nail to recruit.
“Rrumble…”
Just as Kent was wondering how to announce dinner, a soft growl echoed from his bed.
Kent’s lips twitched into a grin.
“Respected Lady, your humble servant has prepared your evening meal,” Kent said, executing an awkward, exaggerated bow toward the bed as he struggled to recall proper aristocratic etiquette.
“Our… our clothes?” Alice peeked out from under the blanket, her face flushed as she spoke in a tiny voice.
“At once, my lady.” Kent quickly fetched their roasted garments from the hearth fire, placed them near the bed, and headed out into the outer cavern to summon Tori and Chuck.
Tori and Chuck had already regained consciousness, though they kept their distance from the inner chamber.
In the past, Tori would have marched right in, but after witnessing Kent’s terrifying display of magical might, he knew better.
Even if something untoward happened, a mere guard—or even his commanding knight—could only stand by and watch helplessly.
The Resh Duchy boasted nearly a thousand knights, but only three court mages (two sixth-ranks and one seventh-rank), while the independent Mage Guild members had little allegiance to the duchy.
A sixteen-year-old first-rank mage was an exceptional prodigy; if he were self-taught, he’d be the first in a thousand years, and if he had awakened naturally, it was a once-in-an-eon miracle.
Hearing the full story from Tori, Chuck’s jaw hit the floor.
“Kent… Kent is a mage?!”
“Yes,” Tori instructed quietly.
“So don’t ever treat him like a slave again.
His status right now eclipses Lord Terry’s.
Be careful and don’t do anything reckless, understand?” Tori trusted Chuck’s loyalty implicitly, making him the only guard he could rely on.
“Captain Tori, dinner’s ready!” Kent called out from across the cavern.
“N-no, thank you!
We’ll eat out here, we wouldn’t want to intrude on the ladies!” Tori stammered, his voice laced with uncharacteristic nervousness.
Chuck immediately lowered his head, casting furtive, terrified glances toward the young mage.
“Well, alright then.
I’ll bring your portions over.” Kent scratched his head, secretly relieved.
To be honest, he was terrified of slipping up and exposing his shallow grasp of this world, though he figured two meetings was hardly enough to raise deep suspicions.
Kent brought out bowls of porridge along with roasted chunks of demon ape meat for the men.
Tori and Chuck didn’t dare ask questions; legends claimed mages were arrogant, eccentric, and prone to killing on a whim—a reputation that often made peasant parents reluctant to test their children for magical talent, even though the majority of high-ranking mages actually originated from commoner backgrounds.
Inside the inner cave, Alice and Delis had dressed and stepped out.
The sight of the two elegant women made Kent’s eyes light up.
Between their aristocratic grace, Delis’s porcelain skin, swan-like neck, and the sheer deprivation of spending months in isolation—where even a farm animal started looking attractive—the two beauties were an absolute vision.
“Here.
This is grain porridge cooked with wild honey, fruit, demon ape meat cubes, and cassava.
It’ll help restore your strength.” Kent handed each woman a freshly whittled wooden bowl.
“Thank you so much.
I’m Delis Rhett.” Delis smiled warmly, meeting his gaze without a trace of tension as she extended her hand.
“An honor to meet you, noble lady.
Just call me Kent.” Kent instinctively pressed a light kiss to her knuckles, marveling inwardly at how silky-smooth her skin felt, prompting him to give her fingers a gentle squeeze.
“I’m Alice Kerr,” the young noblewoman added coolly.
Given the surreal circumstances—their former family slave now holding a social standing far above her own father—she kept her introduction brief before quietly starting her meal.
Watching the two women eat with dainty wooden spoons, Kent sat across from them on a stone block, slurping his porridge with unabashed enthusiasm.
He had been working hard all morning and was starving.
“Eh?
What’s this?” Alice paused mid-bite, noticing several items neatly arranged on the shelf against the stone wall.
A crystal bottle glowing with a faint earthy-yellow aura caught her eye, radiating a discernible magical fluctuation.
She picked it up curiously.
“Oh, that’s refined demon ape blood.
Used for carving magic arrays,” Kent mumbled around a mouthful of porridge.
“Demon ape blood?
Refined?
For magic arrays?
Are you an alchemist too?!” Alice’s pretty mouth dropped open in shock.
Alchemy demanded extraordinary memory, immense spiritual force, high mana capacity, and sheer innate talent.
Out of ten attempts, if an ordinary practitioner succeeded six times, they lacked true alchemical talent.
Across the entire alliance empire, certified alchemists could be counted on one hand—and most were mid-rank mages who had hit a plateau.
Doesn’t this guy know the importance of focusing on one discipline?
Alice thought, utterly bewildered.
“Not really an alchemist yet.
The ape hide still needs two days of soaking, the bones aren’t powdered, and I’m still practicing the array strokes,” Kent replied honestly, burying his face back in his bowl.
“Y-you have a demon ape hide?!” Alice sprang to her feet in disbelief.
Not understanding her dramatic reaction, Kent offered a simple explanation.
“A few days ago, one wandered into the stables to steal feed, so I took care of it.”
“A first-rank earth-attribute demon ape?” Alice asked weakly.
Blinking in confusion, Kent tilted his head.
“Do demon apes come in other elements?”
“Of course they do!
Magical beasts are just like people—different individuals possess different elemental affinities,” Alice explained, her theoretical knowledge vastly outshining Kent’s amateur understanding.
“Wind wolves have cyan fur, fire wolves are red, ice wolves blue, earth wolves yellowish-brown, and gold wolves are golden.
Dark and light-attribute beasts are exceedingly rare, while lightning and spatial types are practically mythical.
It all depends on their natural habitat.”
“Ah.
Right.
It was an earth one,” Kent conceded.
“Open the door!”
A sharp voice suddenly echoed from outside the cave entrance.
Startled, Kent dropped his wooden spoon and bolted toward the entrance, shouting, “Coming, coming!” Niu Niu was far too formidable to keep waiting.
“Cousin… didn’t you say mages have frail bodies?
Why is Kent running faster than the town guards?” Delis asked, blinking in absolute astonishment.
Operating a tavern meant she had seen all sorts of people, but this defied logic.
Ignoring her cousin, Alice immediately rushed over to inspect Kent’s workbench.
The demon ape hide soaking in the wooden barrel and the pile of stripped bones nearby confirmed every word he had said.
A wave of disbelief washed over her.
Killing an earth-attribute demon ape solo required at least a second-rank mage!
Yet Alice hadn’t sensed a shred of magical aura from Kent—until she recalled the combat scene.
Wait… instant casting!
His fireballs were completely instantaneous!
The realization hit her like a thunderbolt.
Outside, Niu Niu casually addressed the massive beast accompanying her.
“Little Qing, come on in.”
Breaking centuries of predatory instinct, the towering two-meter-long wind wolf tucked its tail and trotted inside obediently, casting fearful glances at the tiny sprite.
Kent watched in quiet amusement while Niu Niu explained, “Just give it some demon ape meat to snack on.”
As the massive green wolf stepped into the cavern, Tori and Chuck leaped aside in absolute terror, their legs shaking uncontrollably.
A mid-rank wind wolf renowned for blinding speed could effortlessly slaughter a hundred ordinary men; only warriors wielding awakened battle aura stood a chance against such a monster.
“Right, go ahead and settle in,” Kent said, carrying a heavy pack while Niu Niu perched comfortably on his shoulder.
He never asked how Niu Niu managed her mysterious shopping trips—when a terrifying fifth-rank wind wolf obeyed her every command like a pet, he knew better than to question a literal monster of a companion.
“Kent, we’ll go sleep in the stable and keep watch over the mountain path!” Tori stammered frantically, dragging Chuck toward the exit as they practically scrambled out of the cave on all fours.
“Little Qing, you scared them,” Niu Niu giggled, tilting her head at the trembling wolf.
The proud beast let out a pathetic whimper, burying its massive head between its paws in pure despair—an eerily human display of depression that made Kent shake his head with a wry smile.
Out in the stables, Tori collapsed onto the fresh hay, sucking in huge breaths of frosty air.
“Captain… what on earth was that?” Chuck asked, his voice trembling.
“What was that?
That’s at least a mid-rank magical beast!
Do you have any idea how many tens of thousands of gold coins a mid-rank beast is worth?!” Tori roared to vent the suffocating pressure in his chest, privately wondering if surviving this ordeal meant he was destined to die of fright from working alongside Kent.