Numbers x Casket-Chapter 18: Arcane City

The appraiser jumped off the carriage, no words coming out from him; his gaze was sharp, and the presence he emitted made the bandits halt their advance.

"I'm not in the mood to spill some blood right now; can you please go back and let us pass in silence?" Efraim asked, his voice loud and clear.

However, contrary to his expectations, a man holding a war axe ignored his statement and dashed towards him without a single hint of hesitation.

Upon coming closer, he swung his weapon, aiming for the appraiser's neck, but the next second, his view of the world turned upside down as his head was cut off from his body.

It fell and rolled on the ground while splashing some droplets of blood. It happened in a single blink that no one was able to react. The group of bandits found their hands trembling in fear as they witnessed their companion die in less than a second.

Some dropped their weapons while the others stepped backward.

"T-The l-leader is dead," one of them stuttered as he diverted his gaze to the headless corpse lying in a pool of its own blood.

Afterward, the bandits glanced at the black-haired man, and when they saw him make a step forward, they scurried away with their tails tucked between their legs.

Upon seeing this absurd scene, Efraim sheathed his blades and looked at the coachman several meters away from him.

Beads of sweat emerged from the man's forehead, then he knelt on his knees and lowered his head to the point that it touched the ground.

"P-Please, f-forgive me. I just did it to ear—," he pleaded, but his sentence was cut off as a voice reverberated in the open air.

"Forgiveness is not something that is so easy to give; you put everyone's lives here in danger, and now you're apologizing as if you don't have a choice," a woman wearing a mage robe chimed in.

She went out of the carriage and walked towards the coachman. Afterward, several individuals followed her strides. Based on their clothing, all of them were mages going to the capital.

The coachman received one hell of a beating from them; they kicked him several times until he lost consciousness. Then, they used his own clothes and tied his limbs to a nearby tree.

With his mouth partially opened, Efraim let out a deep sigh; he couldn't believe that the mages could be that aggressive.

'Maybe I should have just let them fight the bandits earlier,' he thought.

Afterward, he saw the woman who first confronted the coachman. She was walking towards him with a smile on her face. Upon closing the gap between them, she came to a halt and extended her right hand.

"Thank you for earlier; I'm Celine Boltz," she uttered, introducing herself with a warm smile.

The appraiser stared at her arm for a second before grabbing it.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on novelbuddy.cσ๓.

"Efraim," he replied with just his name, plain and simple.

The woman tucked the disheveled hair behind her ear and focused her crimson eyes on the appraiser.

"Are you going to attend the festival as well? Would you like to be my escort?" she asked, her voice laced with hope.

The event earlier made him admire the man. The idea of standing against a group of bandits alone to protect people he didn't even know struck her hard. Just by the courage he displayed, he already earned her respect.

'And his swordsmanship is a plus; I couldn't even see him move his sword,' she contemplated.

However, she woke up from daydreaming while her eyes widened in surprise after seeing the man shake his head, rejecting her proposal.

"I'm heading that way, but I have other motives, so if you wouldn't mind, please excuse me," Efraim stated in a respectful manner.

He leaped at the top of the carriage, leaving the woman with a baffled expression. Then he lay on its roof and closed his eyes, ignoring the commotion happening below, and a few moments later, the mages returned back to the carriage after venting their anger at the coachman.

However, it seemed like no one inside knew how to command the twin-headed horse, as no matter how the mages asked for it to move, it didn't respond and just remained standing in its position.

Upon realizing this, Efraim opened his eyes and sighed. The next second, he leaped off the carriage and picked up the coachman's whip.

All of the people's eyes were looking at him, but the appraiser ignored their stares; he went to the coachman's seat and grabbed the rope connected to the horse.

With the use of the whip, Efraim gave the beast a light pat on its behind, making it move forward. Then a series of applause echoed inside the carriage.

. . . . .

The sun was still hanging above the sky when a carriage being pulled by a twin-headed horse passed beside a cliff.

Its coachman, Efraim, was a little bit confused about their destination; after all, he saw nothing aside from a steep terrain, and he couldn't see anything resembling a magic tower, even a shadow of its wall. He tried to ask earlier, but all the mages inside the carriage assured him that they were on the right path.

Given this fact, he continued on the job without saying a single thing, and after passing a few more kilometers, they reached a deep valley with several rock formations underneath.

"Are you guys sure that we are really in the right place?" Efraim asked without looking back.

"Yes, we have now arrived at Celestia's capital, the Arcane City," Celine assured the young equator.

Upon hearing this, Efraim squinted his eyes and even activated his Flair; however, the scenery before him didn't change, nor did a magic tower appear.

He was about to ask again when a middle-aged man appeared at the carriage's side. Efraim looked at him while his left hand reached for the hilt of his blade.

The man smiled and raised his arm into the air.

"I mean no harm; I'm just here to guide the guests," he stated, smiling.

White long clothing with its hem fluttering, deep blue eyes like the ocean currents, and yellow-colored hair. Efraim stared at him for a while before letting his guard down.

Upon seeing the change in his expression, the man nodded and introduced himself. "Greetings everyone, my name is Zeyn. I presume you are all here because of the festival. Am I correct?"

"Yes, indeed," some of the people inside the carriage answered, while others chose to remain silent.

"Then please, can you all close your eyes for a moment?" the man stated.

Puzzled by what he heard, Efraim furrowed his brows and tilted his head, questioning the instruction.

However, the man just gave him a nod accompanied by a smile.

Though he still had doubt, Efraim closed his eyes, and the other people inside the carriage did the same. Then, after several seconds, they heard the man's voice.

"Now, you can all open your eyes," he said with excitement, and everyone's jaw dropped in amazement.

Even Efraim couldn't help but blink a few times to discern if the scenery in front of him was real.

The deep ravine vanished as it was replaced by an enclosed city with towering walls. Intricate texts and scriptures were engraved on its pillars, while a giant orb was placed on each of its tops. Added with colorful magic circles drawn up in the sky, it made the city feel like a place out of a fantasy dream.

Aside from this, there were several layers of transparent, crystallized barriers protecting it from outside threats and invasion, and at the center of it all, a majestic tower stood high and mighty.

The skyscraper was shrouded in a mysterious veil while the magical texts carved on its walls radiated an ethereal glow. Its slender spire was out of sight as its structure pierced the clouds above.

"Let me welcome you all to the capital of Celestia, the Arcane City!" the man stated, his voice filled with pride.

'So Lindsay is up there,' Efraim thought.

Without wasting any more time, the group of mages, along with the appraiser, went towards the entrance. As they passed the first layer of protective barrier, a massive crowd came into their view.

Most of them were mages standing while patiently waiting their turn to enter the city's gate.

"It would take me ages before I could walk inside," Efraim uttered in disbelief upon seeing the long line of people.

He clicked his tongue and started to walk towards the end of the queue when a hand, tender and soft, held his arm. From the presence alone, he already knew who it was, and he was right; as soon as he glanced behind, he saw the pair of crimson eyes staring at him.

"Come with me," Celine stated with a determined look.

Efraim was about to answer, but the woman couldn't wait; she tried to pull Efraim. However, her eyes widened in surprise upon seeing him didn't budge at all from his position.

'Is he this strong?' she pondered, curiosity written on her face.

Then, she confronted the man; she let go of his arm and spoke. "It would take you forever waiting in that line. Come! This way!"

"I can sneak inside, though," Efraim replied, dull and expressionless.

Celine furrowed her brows while staring at the young man.

"Are you dumb?" she asked, furious.

. . . . .