Man hunt

Lord Darius was indeed a little bothered by Theian's decision. Usually, he'd try to outsmart the person. But this time, the situation in the north—the lands owned by the Valarians—are really tight. He had to swallow his vicious intentions for a while and let Theian work things out.

He indeed thought there's something fishy. And if the Night Wolves didn't attack the farms, he'd probably be using his higher authority to deal with this enemy, Theian.

"Father?" Suddenly, a young voice was heard behind the closed door.

Hearing it, Lord Darius soon sent the elders out with a slow gesture of his hand. When the elders met Dennis on the doorway, they immediately greeted the youth with politeness before they continued.

Dennis stepped into the room and sank on the chair opposite to Darius in the table.

"Father…"

"What is it?"

"It's bad news. Glin… he's nowhere in Stonewill?" Dennis leaned his back on the chair lazily.

"He left again?" frowned Lord Darius.

"Certainly. We never saw him for four days already. At first, I thought he just have nothing left to do but hide indoors. But this morning, I doubted it so I tried to asked the people around. The gatekeepers said he went out before dawn four days ago, carrying a full traveler's bag," explained Dennis.

"I've told you to keep watch of him." Darius face went dark, placing the tea cup on the table.

Lord Darius highly believed that Glin must be holding two special magic relics. That is why he was very determined to use his dirty means just steal those two things.

In the entire house's inventory, there are only two or three that reached the rank of a special magic relic. Moreover, these can't easily be taken by anyone in the family because it needs the agreement all the elders, not just the house head. With this as a reason, Lord Darius is eager to get Glin's magic relics which he could control however he likes once they fall on his hands.

Undoubtedly, magic relics greatly increase a mage's strength and there are many kinds of these which gives different benefits to the bearer.

Basically, magic relics are categorized into five, depending on the effect, rarity, and specialty.

Those with the most common effects which can easily be reproduced by most Enchanters belong to the lowest category—Common-grade Relics. They are almost everywhere.

Next is the Advanced-grade Relic category where magic relics with greater effects belong. Only Enchanters with good experience and knowledge can create them. To possess one is good enough for a mage who battles beasts.

The three above the previous two categories can already be called 'Special Relics.' If one person possessed a magic relic from these categories, one may either be wealthy or just lucky. These things are mostly hidden by people because they can attract dangers; mostly when in front of greedy people.

Among these special relics, there are Extreme-grade Relics which are magic relics with gigantic and special effects, and are already treated as masterpieces by many talented enchanters. Extreme-grade Relics are already rare. Although some of them can be reproduced, they require very high quality and expensive materials, long time, vast knowledge of an Enchanter, and great efforts.

A category higher than Extreme-grade Relic is called "Divine-grade Relic," basically a godly creation of an enchanter who achieved the highest level an enchanter can reach. Vast experience, vast knowledge, priceless materials, enormous time, intense concentration, and a genius enchanter are what it takes to create such thing.

But while most of Divine-grade Relics are the greatest among all magic relics, it doesn't mean they are the rarest. There is also the fifth category which is called "Peerless-grade Relic." It is not that they have the greatest effect. But it's because they are the strangest and have the most unique effects. They are often referred to as the "real" special relics…

...

After Dennis told his father about Glin who's missing, Darius was thinking how to deal with the problem. Glin who's away is good but Glin who's lost is not good. How would he take the guy's magic relics if he doesn't know where the guy is? But after only a few minutes, he came up with a new plan.

Soon, a handsome young man with smooth black hair and a tidy hairstyle like a sparrow head visited the room. His face showed lively and slightly arrogant appearance. He was wearing black long-sleeved shirt and trousers with golden belt. Above the shirt, there was also a red short robe with the house's emblem pinned on it.

"House head, you asked me to come?" asked the young man, his hands on his pockets.

"Yes, Aeres. I want you to do something for me," smiled Lord Darius.

The young man named "Aeres" was used to talking to him casually. There wasn't much of politeness. However, Lord Darius wasn't a bit bothered by it. The man was very closed to him and he trusted the guy's loyalty.

"Oh? I hope it's not so boring. My previous mission given by the Adventurer Association was so damn annoying! Got no one to beat, my hands were itchy, and I almost died from boredom." Aeres complained loudly, taking a seat.

Lord Darius laughed.

"Tell me what to do."

"Well, I want you to find a guy and rob him. Of course, you can also beat him up however you like but it must be clean."

"Hmhm, that's better."

"The guy left the city four days ago. He seemed to be going to a far place; the Great Woods is a possibility. The gatekeepers said he went the east direction so there are two possible destinations, Silent Valley and 'The Trial.'"

"You mean he's from our house?" Aeres was slightly surprised. The House Head was actually asking him to rob a member of the house? He couldn't believe it for a moment.

Lord Darius continued: "Previously, this guy settled alone in the Silent Valley but I am not certain if he's going back there."

"Is that guy an adventurer?" Aeres asked.

Lord Darius nodded, "I guess he is. Can you do it?"

"Ehm, I might be able to do it." said Aeres while pondering. "But regarding where he is going, we have no choice but to check both Silent Valley and 'The Trial,' and that will be troublesome."

"You've said he once settled in the Silent Valley, starting the search from there would be a good choice. If he is not there, then we'll search for him in 'The Trial' as fast as possible. That said, is he alone or not?"

"He is most probably alone," answered Lord Darius. He laughed inwardly, 'who would team up with a non-mage then go to the Great Woods?'

"Then that makes it easier. If he is alone, then he will be slow. We can still catch up to him if we hurry," Aeres reasoned out with a smile.

"Good," Lord Darius immediately approved.

"Who's this guy you want me to rob anyway?" Aeres finally asked. He was curious why the house head of Valarians will hunt someone from the Valarian house just to rob him.

Soon, Lord Darius showed Aeres a drawing of a person who was familiar, Glin. The drawing was very precise and Glin was easily recognized by Aeres from it.

But for a moment, Aeres did not know what to feel. Before, there was a bit of enthusiasm. But who knew that Lord Darius actually wants him to run after a mere non-mage? Such a talented mage, just for a lowly mission? Why?

Lord Darius seemed to have noticed Aeres' strange reaction so he just explained more.

The mission was to steal Glin's belongings because the guy is probably in possession of a special magic relic. The work must be done cleanly. It doesn't matter how it will be done; the right result is more important.

Aeres finally understood, his mouth floated. 'Then, let's just make it fun on our own way!'

…

The fifth day since departure, Glin has been getting along very well with the other travelers as if he belonged there. Thankfully, there was nothing about discrimination.

"From here, there should be about 50 mountains before we reach the opposite side of Kisan Mountains. After that, we take north route, the lost city of Hansber, then continue to the lands of the lost kingdom Wethinorth, and then enter Eshtris Mountain Range — our final destination."

At this time, Gayne was telling everyone about their path and destination. He drew it on the paper map with his index finger, as he walked.

The adventurer team and Glin were going down the mountain, following a cleared path. The pathway had less obstacles so the travel on foot was smoother. Obviously, countless of adventurers before them had gone the same pathway.

"Glin, you're going to Black Mist Basin so once we reach Hansber, you'll be going through Cold Pass alone," Gayne gave a worried glance at Glin behind him.

Glin only nodded and smiled.

"Are you really sure about that? If not, you can just come with us," Gayne said and smiled at the end.

However, Glin shook his head.

"I told you that because the place you're going to is actually a more dangerous than ours. Even for a mage, it's hard to be confident." Gayne sighed. He folded the map on his hands a few times then inserted it on the pocket of his bag.

Gayne did not underestimate Glin after seeing his talent in sword art, yet he still warned him.

Glin didn't reply though.

"More dangerous? I'm quite confused. Brother Ron, didn't you say demon beasts around Lost Wethinorth Kingdom are one of the deadliest?" Timothy suddenly asked. He hurried his pace and went to Ron's side.

"I did," replied Ron lazily.

At this moment, Gayne who also walked beside Ron laughed and explained.

"In the Great Woods, the more isolated a place, the more dangerous it is. Demon beasts in Hansber and Wethinorth are indeed generally a little bit stronger and deadlier than in Cold Pass and Black Mist Basin. However, a lot of Adventurers and hunters visit the ruins around Wethinorth, while only a few goes to the Black Mist Basin. Bit by bit, demon beast population in Wethinorth are decreased while those in Cold Pass and Black Mist Basin are growing secretly."

Glin nodded again. He was aware of this fact. However, he didn't want to stop. His decision to collect the one hundred treasures was very firm since he left Stonewill city…

Strong breeze kept blowing from southeast. The day was windy and the sound of leaves fluttering continuously was heard by everyone. The winds seemed to follow the gaps between tall mountains, thus everyone felt it as they walked down the slope.

Not long after, a very unpleasant smell lingered on their noses. They couldn't help but complain and press their nostrils closed.

"Fuck this smell!" Timothy cursed loudly as he pressed his nose close.

Gayne, Xanus, and Glin laughed a little.

"It's just some awful fruit. They're very ripe and starting to rot," Xanus smiled.

"I remember five years ago in northwest, me and my previous teammates were lost and stumbled into a forest with high population of those trees. Hahaha, an awful experience. We couldn't eat properly for three days. We even got sick on the second day until we left the stinky place. Fortunately, we encountered less demon beasts," Xanus shared his past.

"It happened? That's crazy," Timothy laughed bitterly.

…