The old man was stunned at the sudden question that was asked by this mysterious boy. Not only was he able to detect him despite the inability of even some of the elite guards in the capital, but this strange boy was also even able to identify the speck of dark energy that was inside the bodies of the children.

"Dark energy? What do you mean?" the old man played dumb as he steadied his mind. Though he hadn't shown it in his actions, he was ready to attack this mysterious boy so that he could protect his ident.i.ty.

"Calm down old man." Kazuya obviously noticed the man's vigilance as the strange energies around him had taken a sudden change. "I am not one of those hypocritical people from the church of light that condemn dark magic just because of such beliefs. I am just curious as to why the children had such energies in their bodies." He narrowed his eyes and gave the old man a serious gaze.

The old man might have been ready to attack but Kazuya wasn't just about to back down. Though this meeting was unexpected, just because he wanted to hide his capabilities doesn't mean that he would allow himself to be killed without a fight.

This was not the first time that he had encountered a necromancer. The biggest mistake that this old man made was that he showed hostility within close range. It would have been fine if he had been a lot stronger than his opponent but the old man could not make sense of the abilities of the boy in front of him.  

"(Should I go for it?)" he hesitated as the dark energy he emitted specifically towards Kazuya was showing no effects. "(It does not look like he's lying but…)"

"As much as you don't want your abilities to be discovered, I am the same. I would much rather be treated as a random traveler pa.s.sing by than to be bothered by those who seek power." Kazuya smiled. "I believe that you would have much more to lose as engaging me in battle right now will not only lead to your dark magic to be exposed, you have no guarantee of being able to subdue me either."

Kazuya didn't mention that the old man would also be making an enemy out of him if he did choose to attack. If Kazuya did survive whatever the old man was planning to do, he would be a living witness to point towards the necromancer who suddenly showed his face in the capital of the Zweifel kingdom of all places.

He had chosen this place because it was better to hide in places where his presence was least expected. In a necromancer's case, a capital city that has the majority of its people believing in the church of light was an unlikely place to have already hosted a necromancer for years.

"sigh… fine…" the old man retracted his energy and raised his hands in surrender. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it. The kids call me old Gazardy but the name's Gazardiel." He sat down on the bench. "What about you, young friend?"

Kazuya gave a wry smile. This old man shamelessly went by such a name while being a necromancer. Gazardiel had been the name that the very first hero who had been summoned to Edea was given. The very same hero who had chosen to stay in Edea and founded the eastern countries with his descendants.

With this name, one would see this old man as to have belonged to the family who was devout believers of the church of light. It was said that the hero Gazardiel was the only hero who has met the G.o.ddess of light after all.

"You can call me Kazu." He relaxed but remained vigilant towards the old man.

While Kazuya may have had an advantage against a necromancer in close combat, it would only be taken advantage of if he had the chance. Right now, if Gazardiel had any intention of a.s.sa.s.sinating him, he was in a very good position to do so.

Both of them seemed to have been sitting together and having a friendly chat with outsiders, but these two were currently engaged in an invisible battle.

Gazardiel had no guarantee that Kazuya will not attack and paid attention to Kazuya's movements. He was worth much more to the church of light if he was caught alive so he really couldn't relax despite this young man's earlier claims of not being interested in whether he was a dark magic pract.i.tioner or not.

"I'm curious, how were you able to identify me?" the old man wanted to know if there was a special method to detect him. If more people were aware of such methods, his ident.i.ty might be discovered by people who use the same method.

"You are not the first dark arts pract.i.tioner that I've encountered. As I travel to different places and explore random locations, there have been some pract.i.tioners that attacked me like bandits. They might have been afraid that I would reveal their locations but the fact that they tried to take my life is something that cost them theirs." He gave an indirect warning. "Why are you spreading dark energy around people?" he asked again.

"To look for a successor." The old man scratched his head. "I do not know if you are aware of this but like any other magician, people tend to have certain inclinations to types of magic. People who have the potential to be magicians are rare and those who have talents that would bloom towards dark arts are even rarer." Gazardiel explained.

Kazuya already knew about this even before he began his second life. These were the basics for anyone aspiring to become a magician. He remained silent and listened to Gazardiel's explanation nonetheless. It wasn't only the children who were infected by the dark magic, there were also adults who were suffering from them in the slums as they were incompatible with such magic.

"As you can see, I'm already at this age of my life. I want to pa.s.s on what I've learned throughout the years to a successor that would have been shunned by his peers or denied any knowledge because he or she had shown talent towards the wrong element." He sighed. "If only Uriel had stayed… those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds of the church of light would not be so arrogant as to ignore the hero's declaration that all magics were equal."

"So, you put dark energy in their bodies to see if you could find someone that is compatible with dark magic?"

"Precisely. I couldn't go around telling people how I am looking for a successor now, can I? Not only would I get myself hunted down, but all those who potentially have talent in dark magic would also be shunned or killed because of me. I have to do this quietly so that those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from the church of light wouldn't be able to notice a thing." he grumbled.

"You are aware that those who are incompatible with dark energy have been slowly suffering without them knowing the cause right?" Kazuya's eyes narrowed as he questioned. The children who were nearby playing were also some of the victims that suffered because of this old man's selfishness.

"I am aware of this. This is why I have set up residence close to the slums. This way, I will be able to make some arrangements for those who have shown no talent towards the dark arts. Though the process has been slower than I had hoped, the fact that you were able to remove the dark energy from the people in the slums makes me both glad and troubled at the same time."

"How so?"

"I am a mere merchant here at the capital. Though I do have the ability to remove the dark energy in people's bodies, I cannot openly do it. This is why your help in eliminating the energies from the people whose lives have been greatly affected because of their rejection towards it is greatly appreciated. However, for those who could have shown positive results after the incubation period, I would have no choice but to repeat the process." He looked as if he was at a loss.

"Forcing dark energies towards people who are none the wiser? Don't you think your actions are a tad too selfish?"

"You are a capable young man so you would not understand. These people have been living their hardest in one of the harshest social environments in this world. They all stay here because this is the place where they would have the biggest chance to prosper. I guarantee you that anyone of them would take the chance to grab power if it was offered to them on a silver platter." He confidently declared.

"…" Kazuya remained quiet and did not refute what Gazardiel a.s.sumed about him. What the old man didn't know that Kazuya had been through such rough experiences. He was someone who understood what the people of the slums have been going through.

"I too would have preferred to do this in a straightforward way. As this is a place that is full of danger for me, that is currently not an option. I've even made arrangements for a cleric to visit those who are rejecting the dark energies so you cannot say that I do not care about the fates of those who reject my magic."

"You mean that Jorelle cleric? You have connections with the Church of light?" This came as a surprise. If this old man indeed had connections with the church of light while being able to hide his ident.i.ty, it would seem that Kazuya had many things he had yet to understand.

"You know him?" the old man was a little startled. He would have wanted this young man to go through the various different churches in the capital if he wanted to pry into his business more.

"We met when I visited one of the churches. He's a friendly cleric who was more than willing to show me around. I'm learning a lot about support magic from that cleric." He didn't hesitate to reveal his connection with the cleric.

This man was a necromancer hiding under the church's nose so Kazuya had to mention this or this paranoid old man would have reasons to move against him. He understood one should be careful with secrets they wanted to hide so he had to pacify this old man before things started going out of hand.

"Support magic? Is that the reason why you're at the capital?" the old man tried to clarify. Since this young man had claimed he was just a traveler pa.s.sing by, the faster he would leave the capital, the better it would be for him.

"There were a few mishaps in my journey towards here. I figured I should pick up a trick or two to make my travels easier. I initially stopped by here to get a license to do business in this country. That way, I would have a way to sustain the costs of my journeys." Kazuya casually replied.

"Where are you headed?" the old man continued to ask.

"Awfully eager to send me away eh?" Kazuya grinned. "No matter, it's not like I want trouble for being acquainted with a necromancer. My current destination at the moment is the neutral city of Vane."

"Vane…" the old man's eyes flickered after hearing the nostalgic place in his memory.

"Why don't you go there, old man? I believe that place would treat you much better than this kingdom ever could. Depending on your capability, you might even be able to apply for a position to teach." Kazuya mentioned.

The neutral city of Vane was also known as the city of knowledge. It was a territory that did not belong to any kingdom as it was a combination of the lands that were given to the hero Natsu after his success in bringing peace back in the lands of Edea.

This was also where the ill.u.s.trious Vane academy was located. The school that was founded by Natsu himself. It was a place where the talents of various different races and kingdoms gathered to hone and improve their skills.

"You don't understand, young man. The city of Vane may welcome those who practice the dark arts but there are various forces that have been secretly targeting people like me who want to seek asylum towards that place." The old man shook his head sideways.

"What do you mean by that?" Kazuya was slightly surprised by this. This was not something that he was aware of even in his previous life.

"Do you think the church of light will just let the city of Vane gather and nurture people who are adept in the dark arts? They worked hard on their propaganda of ousting dark magic pract.i.tioners like us so they have set up various measures to prevent people like me from being able to reach the city of Vane safely."

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