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Chapter 3 – Why are you taking dad away?

  On the next day, in the early morning, Adrian's family busily prepared to leave their home. N was no longer wearing his mask and Adrian could see that he was a man with average build in his late twenties or early thirties. He looked like a grown-up version of Adrian, with eyes that were beaming with conviction and focus, the only difference being his Emerald-colored eyes. Adrian's impression of a demon was one of ruthlessness, treachery, and everything that was vile. However, N handled himself as though he was a part of the family, helping them with enthusiasm. "This must be an act to betray us later," Adrian thought, his eyes narrowing warily as he watched the demon.

  After the family conducted a final sweep of the house for any forgotten items, N efficiently harnessed the horses to the wagons.

  "Levitate." N spoke as he manifested three glyphs simultaneously in front of him and skillfully cast the spell on the three wagons. Bob and Tiffany watched in awe. Adrian and Winnie did not comprehend and looked towards their parents for answers.

  "Triple Cast… Amazing…" Bob exclaimed, his eyes wide with astonishment. N briefly smiled, nodding in acknowledgement. "I am flattered."

  "Was that difficult?" Winnie lightly pulled her dad's sleeve.

  "Give it a try on these two branches," Bob answered as he picked up two dry branches from the ground.

  "Divine Spell: Levitate. Divine Spell: Levitate." Winnie attempted to manifest two glyphs at once, but as she focused on the first, the second would fade, and vice versa.

  "The Goddess blessed us with these glyphs, so that we don't need to know how they work when we use them. However, intuitively, we still need to calculate how much power is needed, consider the shape of the branches and etc. It is like playing chess, it is difficult to remember all possible moves in 5-10 moves ahead." Bob explained. The whole family often played chess together on weekends. So, it was a good example for them. "So, if you practiced more, you could cast more spells. But, there is a limit to how much your mind can handle."

  "Does it mean N is really good at playing chess?" Winnie asked curiously.

  "Yes, he must be well beyond a Grandmaster." Bob answered, being impressed with N.

  On the side, Adrian also tried casting two spells consecutively, but he did not do any better than Winnie.

  "Dad, how many spells can you cast at the same time?" Winnie continued.

  "I can only cast two spells at a time. I believe the highest record in the kingdom is four spells without using skills, accomplished by a professor at the University of Silverlake. That person is not a combat oriented knight though." Bob answered as he looked at N.

  "Only cast two spells? Only?" Adrian thought as he failed dual casting again. His father had always been humble about his abilities.

  "No wonder I never win. I don't read ahead." Winnie chuckled.

  "After I am gone, you can keep practicing with Adrian." Bob answered. Suddenly, Tiffany gave a slap onto his arm and gave him an eye signal. "Ouch." Bob let out a sound in pain, clutching his arm.

  Winnie's expression darkened, because it reminded her that Bob would be leaving her for work. Bob was a farmer and Winnie was always free to roam around her dad even when he was working. It was hard for her to accept that her father would be gone for a long period of time. She puckered her lips, sulked and walked toward Adrian as he entered a wagon. Bob felt sorry as he watched Adrian helping Winnie get into the carriage. He took a deep breath, then climbed onto another wagon's driver seat.

  On the first day of their journey, N, Bob and Tiffany each drove a wagon. N drove the first wagon which was mainly loaded with furniture and clothing. Tiffany drove the second wagon that carried Adrian and Winnie, together with some items that would be useful for the journey. Bob drove the last wagon that mainly carried frozen food. It had a huge fridge that was fueled by Divine Power. Tiffany prepared several layers of cotton comforters for the children to sit on, so the ride was quite comfortable. Throughout the journey, Adrian and Winnie played chess on a magnetic chess set. N's Levitate spells did not lift the wagons off the ground, they only made the wagons lighter for the horses to pull. Even so, the horses were able to canter all the way, making the ride faster and more comfortable than that of a regular wagon. They easily overtook several slower moving wagons and carriages on the way.

  As they departed the farmhouse, the scenery unfolded into flat plains, dotted with well organized crops and fruit trees. Forest mountain ranges could be seen on the far east and far west side of the plain. The sight of birds flitting through the air, squirrels darting up trees, and small animals roaming freely, reminded the family of the value of their newfound liberty. As they neared the next town, the mountain range on the west side had become very distant from the main road. The wide plain of the west was occupied with farmlands and dense forests. Some of the farmers working in the field and children playing on it were Bob's family's acquaintances and friends. However, they were busy at work and N's disguise spell made them unrecognizable. "As long as you don't talk to them, they won't recognize you." N told the family before the journey. Merchants also regularly traveled on this road, so the farmers were not startled. As they passed the landscape, Winnie gazed wistfully at it, "I wonder if Minnie will remember me."

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  They took a lunch break in an unoccupied farmland around noon. Around 4-5pm, the first day of travel ended and they set up camp. N and Bob trimmed the grass on a grassland next to the main road for the camping site and checked for vermin and snakes.

  "N, you were incredible. You levitated three fully loaded wagons for an entire day. Are you okay? Are you tired?" Bob was very surprised.

  "Thanks, I'm totally fine, just getting a bit hungry. It wasn't a full levitation, after all." N smiled as he began setting up the camp. A full levitation was lifting an object entirely off the ground. While this was what the spell was meant for, it was more commonly used for decreasing the weight of an object by around a quarter to half for Mana efficiency.

  "You must be as strong as a Holy Knight." Bob, looking amazed, helping with the setup.

  Tiffany leapt down from the wagon, clapped her hands once, and exclaimed with enthusiasm, "Alright, let's celebrate our escape from prison with a great meal. Adrian, would you prepare some firewood and dry leaves?"

  "Got it." Adrian invigorated by Tiffany's enthusiasm, carried an empty bucket and a rope to the forest nearby. After collecting enough firewood for the night, he looked at the bundle of dry-woods and took a deep breath, steeling himself for the task ahead.

  "Divine Spell: Levitate." The spell hit the firewood bundle, which looked large compared to Adrian's height. Then, he carried it on his back and walked back to the camp.

  In around five grueling minutes, Adrian arrived at the camp, sweating, enervated and his face flushed. Maintaining a spell required the caster's Mana, which was equivalent to their stamina. While a twelve-year-old boy like Adrian may not be able to lift the firewood bundle with muscular strength alone, the Levitate spell allowed him to use the energy from his entire body, making it possible for him to carry them.

  Adrian pondered, "The demon levitated three fully loaded wagons for an entire day, while I only levitated a bunch of light dry-woods for five minutes." Although he didn't trust the demon and viewed him negatively, he couldn't help but to feel impressed. Throughout the journey that day, he had thought of handing the demon over to the knights. However, that thought had now completely vanished. "I am too weak." Adrian felt powerless. For the first time in his life, the boy desired strength.

  As Tiffany promised, the dinner was indeed impressive. Using precise control of the Earth Element Divine Spell, "Stone Wall", she made multiple stoves for dinner. Bob and Winnie also helped with its preparation though Adrian was too exhausted to help. They made pizza, ground pork spaghetti, beef stew and rib-eye steak. After N secured the perimeter, the five enjoyed their dinner together. Adrian did not speak throughout the dinner, but Winnie chatted with N about various topics.

  "N, where are you going to take my dad?" Winnie continued to ask N after dinner.

  N's expression softened, "I'm not taking him away, Winnie. We'll be working together at a place just a day's journey from the capital."

  "But why can't Dad work in the capital with us?"

  "Because my home and workshop aren't located in the capital."

  "Why don't we go where you'll be working?"

  "Because you need to go to a school in the capital. It is considered the best school in the country."

  "What are you working on? Why can't Dad work in the capital instead?"

  "I am making medicine to save people and I need your dad to help me in my workshop."

  "Why do you need Dad to work with you?"

  "I need his expertise."

  "Why are you taking Dad away?"

  N didn't answer and looked at Bob and Tiffany with a difficult smile, looking for assistance.

  "I need Dad more than you! You can't take him away." Winnie shouted with teary eyes. Both her parents, as well as Adrian, exchanged knowing glances. They knew that she had been sulking for an entire day and was now letting her frustrations out.

  Tiffany embraced Winnie and said "It's okay, Dad promised to come back, remember?" She gently soothed Winnie as she wept. Bob walked to Winnie and helped to soothe her.

  Typically, Adrian and Winnie would put their dinnerware away themselves. Adrian, seeing what happened, helped Winnie put away her dinnerware before putting away his own. N began to help clear the table. Bob and N made a temporary kitchen counter before dinner. With it, Adrian applied soap, and N rinsed the dishes. Adrian felt as if he was working with his Mom or Winnie in their regular dish washing routine. The two worked in sync with each other without talking at all throughout the night.

  N and Bob created two temporary bathrooms using Divine and Demonic Spells when they set up the camp. After bathing, Adrian and Winnie retired to their beds for the night.

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