An Unexpected Friendship-3

As time went by, James started to get more anxious. Thus he pushed aside his book and jumped on his bed. He started thinking about the circumstances in which he was stuck. He was not a child anymore and as an adult, he needs to be smart enough while taking his future decisions.

While lying on the bed, James thought a lot about Jarad. And in the end, he came to understand that he made a very bad realization. He should have never followed him in the first place. He didn't know his motives. And the worst of all, he didn't even know whether he is real Jarad or not. The events that the guy in the adjacent cabin told him, could have been recited by just about anyone who was present that day at the party. That doesn't really show that he was the real Jarad. Maybe the imposter had heard about what happened at the party from someone else and used it to lure him here…

James started having scary thoughts about the motives of the man. But in the end, he came to understand that he was overthinking it. He assumed he was overthinking when he started thinking about the motive of his kidnapping. Who would want to kidnap him? He was just a small boy who just shares his surname with a founding family of Faction.

The Tyrion surname may be grand, but for James, it was nothing more than a simple 6-letter word. Everyone knew that this mother and he was kicked out of the complex. Neither his mother nor he has any assets that could be asked for ransom. So there was no upside to kidnapping him. The Tyrion family also wouldn't bat an eye even if someone kidnapped him…

As James was lying on the bed, thinking about his situation, a knock sounded on his compartment's door.

KNOCK KNOCK

Hearing the knock, James immediately got up. He then got up and went towards the door.

"Who is it?" James asked as he got near the door.

"It's me! Hurry up, open the door." Came an old man's voice from behind the door.

Hearing the old man's voice, James started panicking. He didn't know whether he could trust this stranger or not. And while standing there, he started regretting the decision to travel with someone unknown. But the dice had been rolled. If he doesn't open the door then what was stopping that person from barging inside. He is just a normal boy who doesn't even know how to cast a spell.

Thus, after thinking about his situation for a few seconds he opened the door…

"What took you so long?" the old man said while hesitantly entering the cabin.

"I was naked." James blurted out immediately. But as soon as words left his mouth, he realized how dumb his reason is…

The old man looked at James with a weird expression. Then he moved forwards towards the recliner and sat down. James closed the door behind him and sat down on his bed as well…

Then the old man put both of his hands on his face. It was the then the old man's face started to change. His grey hair started turning black. The wrinkles of his face started contracting and eventually vanished. Then the face structure of the man's face started changing. After a few seconds, the old man's face was completely changed and had converted into a very familiar face of Jarad Fullbody that James had met at the party.

"How did you do that?" James enquired.

"Magic. Everything is possible with a touch of little magic." Jarad said while huffing and puffing as if he had just now run a 100m race.

"Are you alright? You look…" James asked.

"I am fine… It is just that this technique that I use requires a lot of stamina. So every time I use it, I start huffing and puffing." Jarad said.

"If you say so? Would you like to drink some water?" James offered water from the jug of water on the table.

"Thanks," Jarad said while helping himself.

While Jarad was drinking water, James started thinking that maybe he is just being paranoid. He is Jarad Fullbody. But for his safety's sake, he would keep his MCD close to him. If something does happen, he would send the SOS to his mother right away…

"Now, let's get back to business. James do you know why I asked you to travel with me?" Jarad asked while putting down the glass of water.

"I know that Miss Hubert wanted me to become a candidate for something. And you wanted to talk to me about that" James said.

"Correct… The thing is that, by the end of this year, Emerald Garden had to get ready for the competition. The competition would be held in Siberia in the last month of this year. This competition would be ruthless and we need exceptional talents like you to be one of the participants in the competition." Jarad said.

"Like me? But I don't even know how to cast a spell. How can I participate in an awakened one competition?" James asked.

"Let me make something clear. You are one of the candidates who could become the participant. I still need to assess you before making a final decision." Jarad said.

"But why me?" James asked.

"Because of your Runic Knowledge. The Junior team that would be going to the competition would need a Rune Engineer. And you have good knowledge about Rune and Runic Circuit if I am not wrong." Jarad said.

"Oh…" James said.

"Yup, and let me be very clear. This competition is not about strength. Yes, strength could help us in getting the upper hand, but it is not a necessary thing to possess." Jarad added further.

"That sounds great… What do I need to do to get selected as one of the candidates?" James asked.

"Well, we have an 8-hour trip ahead of us. Why don't you start by telling me how deep knowledge of Runes you have. And bear in mind, if you really want a shot at becoming a candidate then you have to impress me. So let's start shall we?" Jarad said.

"Sure…" James said and then he started telling Jarad about what he knows and how much he knows about Runes.

James didn't ask about the details of the competition from Jarad at first, because he knew that the competition would be special just because Emerald Garden was participating in it. And their presence alone was enough to prove the fact that this competition would not be a walk in the park.

James really wanted to become one of the candidates. If he participates in the competition and performs well, then he could have a shot to land a decent job as a Runic Engineer in any Mage tower. And this competition could be his first step toward success.

For the rest of the journey, Jarad hung out with James. He asked a ton of questions about the Runes and James was able to answer most of them. And in the end, Jarad finally gave his approval that James has now become one of the candidates for the participants in the competition.