On a battlefield dotted by corpses and limping soldiers, a few people stood idle, recovering from the horrors and exertions of the battle. A man on horseback approached their group.

  "Look at that horse!" a soldier spoke to another.

  "Yeah... It's massive."

  "And white, too, even though it isn't an albino. It must have cost hundreds of gold."

  "Who is that guy anyway?"

  "It's the golden boy magister, don't you know?!"

  "I'm new here, remember."

  "Dude, he's famous! Even people in the capital know him!"

  "Huh? I only care for whores and fine swords. I got no time for gossip..."

  The soldiers lowered their tones when Will passed them by.

  Another battle was over, and their side was victorious despite Will having downplayed his hand more than usual.

  He was making free money, basically, even if it wasn't as good as a miracle healer's wages.

  He rode happily down the road, hurrying to meet with his colleagues in his special squad. The location had apparently been changed at the last minute, and the meeting would now take place much closer to the border.

  "Look! What's that!" someone shouted, pointing toward the horizon.

  There was a minor road leading to the far frontier zones. Where it passed through a low gap between two hills, there was a billowing cloud of dust.

  "Riders, I think. Those horses are red! It's the Empire!"

  "But that's where the golden boy just went?"

  "Uhh. True that."

  "Don't worry," a third voice interjected. "That guy is even stronger than we think!"

  "I guess he's gotta be. Yeah. They call him Lord Fifth, right?"

  ---

  "Are you Lord Fifth, also known as Magister Gaylord Will?" the rider in the front questioned.

  "Just call me Will, please," Will replied, looking at the riders whom he didn't recognize. Something seemed off. "Are you with Lord First?"

  "No," the man in the front shook his head. "I'm afraid you're under arrest."

  "What?! What am I accused of?"

  "Uh, sir, you're an enemy combatant."

  "Wait. You're from the Empire?!" Will suddenly stood up straight and raised an arm.

  "Stop! Sir, there's no need for violence. We mean you no harm."

  "You just said I'm your enemy!" Despite his considerable magical powers, Will felt a little agitated.

  He had misjudged the situation in an embarrassing manner.

  Still, it wasn't too bad. There were twenty riders that had already finished surrounding him, but he had a Minor Teleport slotted at fourth level, which he could use to instantly step some 200 yards away alongside his horse. And that wasn't even his only escape method.

  Hell, even if escape wasn't an option, he could easily fight his way out. Even though only a third of his spell slots currently held offensive spells, it should be possible to kill several of the enemy riders and demoralize those who remained.

  Both of those options were something he really didn't want to reveal.

  "I can come with you, but you will not restrain me," he finally spoke in a dangerous tone.

  The man he was talking to blinked and seemed to consider his words.

  "Fine. We can do that," he finally said.

  "Sir," someone else interjected. "Our orders..."

  "Quiet, soldier," the first speaker interrupted the other without even raising his voice. "We have the situation under control. There is no reason to act in an uncivilized manner."

  "You will be a guest that is obligated to stay with us until we release you from that duty. Is that fine with you?" The presumably highest-ranking soldier asked.

  "That is acceptable," Will responded with a nod.

  It would probably be a stain on his honor to break such a promise when he disappeared quietly into the night later, but he didn't care too much about that.

  The situation had been sprung on him very quickly, but the optimal solution to it wasn't difficult to determine.

  Will relaxed again.

  "Lead the way, then. I'm interested in hearing why you are doing this. Was it that prideful kid...? I think he was called Jepoy."

  "Jepoy who? No. I've not heard of any Jepoy."

  ---

  Days later, Will's hands remained free, and as such, his mind also remained empty of needless worries.

  Since he was being treated well, he hadn't felt a pressing need to disappear quite yet. He was neglecting some duties back home, but being kidnapped was likely an acceptable excuse for a little vacation.

  He took in the foreign sights with curiosity.

  They'd crossed the border and continued in a direction Will hadn't traveled previously. The highlands turned into forests again, but then those forests grew sparser. Finally, the landscape changed into a dry wasteland.

  All around them, there were translucent crystal growths that made the place seem really otherworldly.

  "Say, what are those things?" Will pointed at a clump of crystals bigger than his horse.

  "Arcane quartz, very low grade," his highest-ranking kidnapper answered.

  Apparently, the man was a general of the Empire.

  "Where do they come from?"

  "Where do mountains come from?" the general shot back after a second's thought.

  Will almost wanted to ask if he knew of tectonic plates but decided not to annoy the warrior type too much.

  "Fair enough," was all he said.

  They soon reached a garrison town. Even though the town seemed pretty big, there were no major fortifications like in the border towns of Anth-Komi.

  Instead of any castle, there was a small but relatively gaudy marble palace. Will was led right into its courtyard with the general and four of his soldiers.

  "Nice place," Will commented. "Now what?"

  "Now we wait until His Highness makes some time for us."

  An hour passed before the master of the place finally deigned to show his face.

  "Ahh, what a good day, isn't it, general? And you! I really wanted to meet you," the plump man dressed in expensive red silk turned to regard Will after sparing the general a few words.

  "You wanted to see me?" He could only repeat foolishly.

  "You should address his highness properly," the general remarked.

  "No, no. As a fellow grandmaster healer, Lord Will can speak freely, of course."

  Now, Will felt outright alarmed.

  "A fellow grandmaster healer?" Will repeated the words he was hearing once again.

  "Oh, yes. I understand you wanted to hide your identity, but His Divine Majesty's spies happened to uncover it anyway.

  "I must say I was surprised to hear that the rumored miracle healer and his famous patient were one and the same!" The man said with a chuckle.

  Fuuuuck!

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Will felt both surprised and disappointed. Just how had he blown his cover?

  "Although, now that I look at your hand, I can tell that the first case was a publicity stunt," the grandmaster healer continued.

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "Oh please! Here in the empire, we are well versed in the art of healing. We are aware of the limitations. Your hand was clearly never severed in the first place."

  "Uh, huh?"

  "However, the same spies verified that the High Mage's grandniece was truly and well healed. The hands were especially praiseworthy, or so I've heard."

  "You seem to know a lot about me. However, I do not even know your name."

  "Heavens! I forgot my manners. I am called Datu, and I've been burdened with the rank of Marquess since two decades ago."

  Will raised his eyebrows. A healer that was ranked above a Count? High mages in Anth-Komi only equaled viscounts, while the healers were usually unranked mages who would never hold any major titles.

  "It is nice to meet you, Lord Marquess. However, I must say I do not appreciate the manner in which I was...invited."

  "That was an unfortunate but necessary arrangement," the plump noble waved his hand dismissively. "All will be made right, eventually. You need not fret.

  "You see," Datu went on. "The small kingdom to the west of us is not qualified to possess a healer of your caliber."

  "They didn't exactly possess me," Will protested.

  "I know. Your background must be something else indeed. However, we'd much prefer it if you let Anth-Komi mind its little business and dealt with us instead."

  "No, I..."

  "There is still time to weigh your options. His Divine Majesty's Holy Son plans to meet with you tomorrow. You can safely assume that he can offer you anything you desire."

  The new day dawned, and Will had not chosen to escape quite yet. He hadn't even been locked in his room, which was a nice gesture.

  He was fed and watered well, entertained by a couple of young local talents who played several instruments, sung him songs, and tried to find out about Will's origins through some small talk.

  The so-called Holy Son arrived in the late afternoon. Will was hardly even tipsy yet, which bode well for any negotiations he might have to navigate through.

  Most people in the marquess's palace went absolutely crazy when the man finally made an appearance.

  The servants slammed their foreheads to the floor, and even the marquess was bowing deeply.

  "You stand in the presence of His Holy Highness!" a lackey of some sort bellowed while sending a short but pointed glance at Will.

  Will realized the statement was possibly a hint at him, so he performed a clumsy bow to placate the fanatics.

  He then proceeded to study the subject of veneration.

  It was clearly just a human male, albeit a well-dressed and handsome one, and not a young man despite the youthful title. He looked to be past forty, assuming he hadn't been the beneficiary of any longevity rituals.

  "Your Highness," Will began. "I hope you'll excuse me when I do not exactly understand to what I owe all this noble attention."

  "It is simple," the man spoke; his voice deep and resonant. "You're one of the four most capable healers within ten thousand miles. We must secure your existence."

  Will sighed.

  "Look. That is very flattering and all, uh, Your Highness," Will added the proper form of address after receiving another glare from the nearby fanatic.

  "But I haven't asked for any of this. It's a bit of an infraction on my personal liberty, I would argue."

  The man nodded, his face unreadable.

  "Of course. But when you have a country to run, infractions become necessary. Reaping countless lives in a war is one such infraction, as I'm sure you'd agree."

  Will raised his eyebrows. What he had heard sounded a bit like a threat.

  Finally, the man showed a little bit of humanity and hastily added to his previous thought.

  "As for you, we don't consider you an enemy but an honored guest! Your previous occupation is of little consequence in the wider picture."

  "And if I'm not interested?"

  "I..." The man glanced down at the floor. "I cannot allow that as an option yet. You must witness what we have to offer before you decide!"

  "And after that, I can decide to leave?"

  "Of course."

  "I could literally fly away right now, you know," Will said, feeling slightly irritated. Oops. Shouldn't have said that.

  The Holy Son chuckled.

  "A grandmaster healer also claims to be a master of air magic? For some reason, I don't even doubt you.

  "But no," the big human continued. "You could not fly away. Not unless I allowed it."

  Will raised his eyebrows.

  "You think you could stop me?"

  The man nodded. "Doubtlessly."

  There was nothing but steady confidence in his voice.

  It wasn't such a tall claim. Flight was only a third-level spell. There were a couple of counters to it. Dispelling it was an option, too.

  Still, Will felt like it was a bluff. The local mages had a ridiculously high DPS if you gave them the time to spam their spells endlessly, but the power of their individual spells was pretty low.

  Flight (III) triggered.

  "Try me!" Will said and slowly levitated in the air until he stopped to float a foot above the floor.

  It was a somewhat stupid decision, but Will had grown too curious about the boasts from this particular big shot. In any case, Flight was close to being the weakest escape option available to him.

  The Holy Son blinked once more.

  "Impressive..."

  He raised a hand, made a few gestures, and Will felt himself being pressed back down.

  His spell was still going, but there was a gentle but completely unyielding pressure on his shoulders.

  Will frowned.

  Minor Spell Immunity (IV) triggered.

  The pressure slipped past him, unable to affect Will anymore. He floated promptly back up.

  "How about now?"

  The Holy Son's eyebrows shot up.

  "How did you...? Ahem." He interrupted himself abruptly. "Never mind that. Now, let's see..."

  A few more gestures and some syllables later, Will felt the pressure return, redoubled—or more like retripled.

  He fell back down and all the way to his knees before the pressure relented.

  "Oh. Excuse me!" The Holy Son flashed an apologetic expression. "Your previous method was too subtle. I ended up overcompensating for it."

  Will's eyes went very wide. For the other man to overcome his spell immunity, his spell had to be at the fourth level or higher—in proper C&M levels!

  "How did you do that?" He demanded, still almost disbelieving what had happened despite his smarting knees.

  "I command more power than you do," the man said with a shrug.

  "Do you mean it was just a quantitative and not a qualitative difference?"

  The other man considered the question briefly.

  "No. It is both."

  "Damn... Oh. I'm sorry. It's just that that was a first for me."

  "There is no shame in your loss. I am not your average Grand Mage."

  "Does His Holy Highness mean to say that Lord Will is also a Grand Mage?" the Marquess asked.

  The Holy Son glanced at him.

  "Hmm? No. He gets somewhat close, but he isn't quite there. However, his versatility is truly praiseworthy. I seem to remember that he also has fire magic?"

  The Marquess nodded. "That is so."

  "Hmm... Fire and wind go very well together," the Holy Son thought aloud.

  In ASA, there was no way to combine fire and wind spells. Will chose not to point that out, though. It made him seem more of a threat than he wanted to appear as, but at least it was a misunderstanding he could use.

  "So. What do you want me to do?" Will asked, not bothering with the honorifics despite another glance from the annoying servant.

  "Not much. Stay for a month. Sell your services, perhaps. Make yourself comfortable. Lord Datu here is tasked with getting you up to a proper Tupan lord's living standard."

  "I will not fail you!" the Marquess promised.

  The Holy Son nodded in Will's direction, offering his final parting words.

  "Now, I must proceed to my next destination. I look forward to a wise decision from you, Lord Will."

  Staying for a month wasn't a particularly big ask. It would mean neglecting his obligations to Anth-Komi, but Will didn't worry about that too much.

  He nodded back, then thought better of it and performed a relatively proper bow as well. He couldn't afford to act like he was the other man's equal, even though he was sure he could best him with some high-level spells.

  Weeks passed.

  Will healed people at a makeshift clinic that had been set up for him in a nearby, lavish manor.

  Life was easy and luxurious. The Marquess had hired a lot of temporary staff for Will. Additionally, the local lord's own servants made several appearances every day to make sure everything was handled up to the plump man's exacting standards.

  His latest customer, a recently crippled general, moved his new foot around while singing Will's praises.

  "Oh my. It's really good work!"

  "Thank you. A happy customer makes my day," Will spoke back some pleasantries.

  "Thank you, Lord Healer. I was a little nervous given how young you are, but it looks like you may even have Lord Datu beat!"

  With that, the man handed him ten platinum coins.

  "Oh, not at all," Will spoke with false modesty. "I'm confident in myself, but not that confident."

  He'd grown the brown man a gray foot that was as ugly as hell, but it was also functional enough to serve him without major hiccups.

  Judging by similar jobs during the past weeks, this was already considered an outstanding performance.

  The nearly ecstatic customer left, jogging along happily on his newly grown foot. Suddenly, he sprinted to run at a superhuman speed for a while before slowing back down to walking speed.

  Will shook his head and returned to his drawing room to "rest" for the remainder of the day.

  In reality, he wasn't tired in the least and proceeded to practice sixth-level spells with a sense of urgency pressing him on, thanks to his meeting with the powerful Holy Son.

  It hadn't been enough to really make him nervous, but it had proven he had to take the Tupans somewhat more seriously.

  When the month was up, Will had fulfilled the Holy Son's demands. You better not complain now that I've fulfilled your demand, he thought to himself as he walked to his white horse.

  The horse had spent happy and lazy days in the stable, and it had probably gained too much weight. It was a problem for some expert to handle.

  Will pressed his hand on the horse's side and cast the escape spell he'd been sitting on.

  Teleport (V) triggered.

  He appeared instantly a couple of hundred miles away, near the familiar border garrison in Anth-Komi.

  Teleport (V) triggered.

  Another teleport took him a couple hundred miles further to the city of Anth. He could have made the trip with just one spell, but that would have taken some extra concentration and nervous sweating to get precisely right, and Will wasn't feeling like doing risky and potentially painful practice runs at this time.

  It was easier to just use two spells, even if it took a longer time.

  Minor Shapeshifting (II) triggered.

  He decided to disguise himself for the time being, lest the ever-present spies report back to the Empire that Will had appeared in Anth on the same day he disappeared from the Empire.

  He walked the horse to a stall and proceeded to rent a room from a tavern. He made a big fuss about going to bed early, placed an Alarm on his door, and Minor Teleported right back to the streets.

  He never slept without a magical alarm on his doors and windows since the incident with the late High Mage Alfonso. In a snake's den like the capital, he also prepared a fake bedroom each and every night.

  Given how he was already disguised, it was probably overkill, but the same disguise had already failed him once. It must have taken skilled diviners to track him down back then, so it wouldn't likely be a common occurrence, but it was clearly a possibility.

  Will walked to his metal workshop, letting the disguise spell unravel as he knocked on the door.

  "Hello, Owner!"

  A mostly familiar girl answered the door, and Will stepped in. His eyes went a little wide when he took a look at the girl.

  "Wait, how old are you now?"

  "Dunnoh. Sixteen, maybe?"

  "Damn me. I had thought you were thirteen at most."

  "Yeah... These have grown a lot. I think I've been eating too well," Jenna said, grabbing a handful of her suddenly ample chest with both hands and shaking them.

  Will's eyes went even wider. He quickly averted his eyes to observe the timber walls instead of the pleasant but forbidden sight in front of him.

  "Jesus Christ, girl! Don't do that!"

  "Do what, Owner?" she asked with a grin.

  "I need to get you classes in manners and noble conduct..." Will muttered. "Well, at least you have the dog keeping people's hands off you."

  "That's right! Everyone respects Doggy."

  "So, how's the business?"

  Jenna ran to the back of the store and proudly presented him with a little box almost filled to the brim with coins.

  "Thirty gold and a lot of silver," she proudly announced.

  Will quickly estimated the volume of the box and concluded there had to be at least two hundred silver.

  "That seems to be slightly more than expected."

  Jenna happily explained the optimizations she had made to the production process, and Will nodded in agreement at her surprisingly practical insights.

  "Good. All the silver and one of the gold coins are yours. Consider it a bonus for a job done well!"

  Jenna's jaw went slack.

  "But that's so much money!"