The walk away from Iridius was a quiet one.

  The vibrant and lush forests of Western Eudora surrounded them, and the scent of damp earth, rustling leaves, and animal noises filled the air.

  Abell exhaled, gripping Genevieve’s broken blade his mother had given him before he left. He examined it closely and noticed the letters A and G engraved on the handle. But he thought nothing of it.

  He was without his mother and friends for the first time, venturing into the unknown with someone he barely knew. Glancing at Hugo, he felt at ease.

  “So, how’s your first step away from home?” Hugo asked.

  Abell paused before answering, slipping the blade into his sheath. “Strange, but also exciting.”

  “Good answer,” Hugo said.

  “So, which way to the academy,” Abell asked. “I’m ready to surpass anyone and everyone,” he smirked.

  Hugo’s grin faded slightly. “Umm, we’ve got two weeks until the entrance exam, so we’re taking a detour.”

  Abell turned around dramatically upon hearing that.

  “A detour...?”

  “Yeah,” Hugo replied, stretching his arms. “A detour.”

  “What for? Are we going to a remote location to fight malignants nonstop,” he added with a devilish grin.

  Hugo chuckled, shaking his head. “No, nothing like that, but you’ll see once we're there. Also, fighting is not always the answer. You'll learn that on this detour.”

  “Sounds boring,” Abell said.

  Hugo eye’s narrowed. “Perhaps.”

  A few hours passed, and Hugo paused as they continued to walk in through the lush forest. Causing Abell to follow suit.

  “Why are we stopping?” Abell asked.

  However, Hugo didn't respond.

  Then, a rustle came from the bushes nearby. Something was approaching them.

  Abell readied himself, his hand gravitated to the broken sword.

  Then—two figures emerged from the trees.

  Not people. Not the typical malignants

  Unlike the usual beastlike malignants, these stood on two legs like humans. However, their bodies appeared hollow and distorted, glowing faintly. Their flesh stretched unnaturally over their bones, looking like they could fall apart quickly. Their movements seemed erratic, unstable, and unpredictable.

  Abell’s stomach tightened at the sight of these malignants.

  Hugo reacted instantly. His palm flared with luminous energy, sending a concentrated blast forward. The explosion struck the first creature’s chest, sending it screeching to the ground. The orb in its body shone violently until it died.

  The second one immediately charged Abell, noticing he was the weaker of the two.

  Abell barely had time to process what was happening as it lunged towards him. He held up his broken blade, hoping to block the attack.

  “Too fast.”

  A barrage of swipes crossed his chest, nearly piercing his armor and the force almost knocking him off his feet.

  “Focus!” Hugo shouted.

  Abell sucked in a breath quickly, forcing his nerves to settle. However, the creature was already moving, its distorted face taking upon some smile.

  He gripped his sword tightly. As it lunged again, he moved in closer because of the broken blade’s length—he swung hard.

  His blade met the creature’s flesh, but it didn’t cut.

  His sword just sank into its skin, and the creature smiled before giving Abell a swift punch.

  A solid blow crashed into Abell’s jaw, sending him sprawling onto the dirt as his ears rang.

  “Damn, that thing hits hard.”

  “Aim for the orb! attacking it’s flesh does nothing.” Hugo shouted.

  He began to get back up while the creature loomed over him, locking eyes as if it were savoring his struggle.

  He tightened his grip around his blade.

  Then the creature lunged, but this time, Abell was ready. He rolled, barely dodging the swipe, and sprang to his feet. He drove his sword into its chest in one motion, aiming for the pulsing glow.

  It began to shriek in pain as its body twitched uncontrollably. As its orb imploded on itself, the smile turned into a frightened expression.

  Then the orb shattered.

  Turning the creature into nothingness.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Abell exhaled, holding his aching jaw.

  “Not bad,” Hugo said.

  Abell shot him a glare. “You could’ve told me that earlier.”

  Hugo smirked. “Would you have listened?”

  Abell huffed but didn’t argue. His jaw throbbed, and his side still burned from the earlier hit.

  “Lesson one: always be ready for an attack,” Hugo said.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know now,” Abell replied.

  Abell stood over the ashes of the malignant, chest heaving. “That was… different.”

  Hugo wiped his hand clean. “Get used to it. There’s worse out there.”

  After the fight, they walked for hours without notice until they reached a small village.

  Abell froze.

  The air felt thick, clogged with the stench of blood rot and old smoke.

  The village was in a horrible state. Bloodstains seeped into the dirt. Malignant corpses lay twisted and still, their orbs dark and lifeless. But there were people too, some covered and some not.

  Abell stomach turned

  “What... happened here?”

  Iridius had never seen anything like this. Although his home was safe and sheltered, this was completely different.

  Hugo remained unfazed; as he peeked at Abell, his gaze softened.

  A little girl peeked out from behind a half-burned house, trembling.

  “Are you... Luminaries? Are you here to save us?” she asked softly.

  Before either of them could respond, her mother pulled her away. “Don’t talk to strangers, child,” she said. “And if they are Luminaires, we don’t need their help anymore.”

  She gave Hugo and Abell nasty looks before taking her child and running away.

  “What’s her problem?” Abell asked.

  “It’s alright, Abell. Don’t take it personally, Hugo said quietly.

  He gazed at their surroundings before speaking again.

  “This is the reality. Villages like these don’t get help from luminaries. So, I don’t blame them for being like this.”

  They walked deeper into the village. The silence wasn’t empty—it was heavy.

  The weight of anger, grief, and resignation.

  A thin, frail man stepped into their path. His demeanor was uninviting and quite harsh.

  “Who are you? He asked. Here to take what little we have left?

  Abell crossed his arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’m the village chief,” he said. “What do you want?”

  “We're just passing through. No need to worry about us,” Hugo answered calmly.

  He appeared skeptical, and then his gaze shifted to Abell’s sword.

  “Tch, your luminaries,” he spat. “You can’t reach our village without seeing at least one malignant.”

  “Are you here to finally help us? Oh, wait. Without money, there’s no chance your boss would even consider sending people over here,” he growled.

  “Money?” Abell thought.

  “Don’t luminaries help anyone in need,” he said.

  Helping people?” the chief scoffed. “Don’t make me laugh.”

  Hugo didn’t flinch. “If I could send help, I would.”

  The chief let out a dry, humorless laugh.

  “This country’s gone to crap.” His grip tightened on his walking stick. “Tell your bosses—the Alsaint, right? That we don’t need their help or damned rules.”

  “We made it this far on our own.”

  Abell gazed at Hugo, Lost and confused.

  “I thought luminaries helped people no matter what...” he thought.

  Hugo finally spoke up, apologizing to the old man before nudging Abell to follow him and leave the village.

  Abell looked back at the old man one last time.

  The walk through the village was heavy. Whispers of grief filled the air. People seemed to have lost all hope in life, some cursing the government and the whole luminary system.

  Bandits. Malignants. Hunger.

  Abell heard it all, and they were just a few hours away from Iridius.

  “Hey, Hugo,” Abell said. “Why is Iridius so safe? This place isn’t that far away.”

  Hugo kept facing forward. “Can’t you tell, it’s because of your mother.

  “The old lady?” he said.

  Hugo chuckled at the comment.

  “Yeah. One of the reasons I came to Western Eudora was to examine how Iridius remained fairly untouched. We had theories about why, but it was because of her.”

  His tone changed to something more serious.

  “She’s a top-tier Luminary. Even if she is crippled, she could take on a nightmare-grade Malignant if she had to.”

  “Nightmare grade?” Abell asked.

  “Don’t worry about that yet,” Hugo said. “But her presence alone keeps weaker Malignants at bay to a certain extent.”

  “How is that even possible? Can they sense her power?” Abell asked.”

  Hugo crossed his arms. “Something like that.”

  “Amazing.” Abell thought. “Had she always been that strong?”

  He looked at Hugo. “So… she stronger than you?”

  Hugo laughed. “Let’s keep moving.”

  A large estate loomed in the distance as they left the ruined town behind. It had tall gates, stone walls, and guards standing like statues.

  Abell frowned. “Who lives there?”

  “Some rich landowner,” Hugo muttered. “This region’s full of ‘em.”

  Abell’s jaw clenched as he stared at the untouched building.

  Just minutes ago, they’d walked through a dying village. And here, behind stone walls, the wealthy sat untouched.

  They weren’t even that far apart.

  Hugo kept walking.

  Abell hesitated—then followed.

  By nightfall, they set up camp.

  Hugo tossed Abell some supplies. “Alright, kid. Time to learn how not to die in the wilderness.”

  Abell groaned. Pitching tents. Setting up firewood. Hunting. Every little thing felt like a test. And Hugo? Smug as hell. Abell grumbled, barely keeping up.

  By the time the fire was crackling, his muscles ached.

  “Day one complete,” Hugo smirked, stretching. “How do you feel, kid?”

  Abell exhaled. “Tired. Bored. Wish there was more action. Also, too much thinking for me.”

  Hugo chuckled. “A Luminary’s greatest asset is their mind. Not their fists.”

  “You sound like an old man.” Abell rolled his eyes.

  That’s what my master told me. I was just like you, y’know. Reckless, impatient, dumb as hell.” he said.

  Abell shot him a glare. “Hey—”

  “I said ‘was.’”

  Hugo leaned back, hands behind his head. “Anyway, get some sleep. We’ve got a long trek tomorrow.”

  Abell sighed, lying back. “Where are we headed?”

  “Halion.”

  Abell frowned. “What’s that?”

  "You don’t know the capital city of your birth region?” he asked.

  “No, I’ve only been in Iridius all my life,” Abell said.

  “Damn, Keeko was that strict...,” Hugo whispered. “Anyways, get ready. We’re going there, The capital city of Western Eudora, Halion.”

  “Why?”

  Hugo just grinned.

  “You’ll see.”