At the edge of the Unbloodied Valley.

Four men stood around a dried stain of blood on the stony ground, the exact place Alaric had escaped death.

Ordinary adventureres chasing money and fame.

One of such men held the leash of a creature as it sniffed the blood with its long, rat-like snout.

A rat hound.

An unholy mixture of a dog and a rat.

A lean body with an elongated snout with which they could follow the trail of a smell even after a heavy rain, their oversized ears twitching, sensitive to the sounds that once were and even sounds to come.

It’s hairless tails wagging lazily behind its strange form.

They had heard rumors that Raika and her group had passed through the valley, following trail after trail, each scent leading to a dead body.

And here they were again, hoping this scent would lead them to their prize of half a million gold coins, the bounty on Alaric’s head.

" It has caught their scent."

The rat hound turned in a direction, its tail whipping the floor with excitement.

" Let’s go..."

...

They followed the rat hound, arriving at the mist-filled forest.

The aftermath of Alaric’s experiment.

" Was there such a place this close to the Unbloodied Valley?" one of them commented, brows raised in confusion.

" It’s times of war, changes are bound to happen," another shrugged, following the creature as it headed deeper into the mist, still hot on Alaric’s trail.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, Alaric and his crew continued their journey, Alaric engaging with Philip anytime he got the chance.

He noticed the fear in Philip’s eyes every time they spoke and could only attribute it to what happened at the lake.

He didn’t know how powerful he was, but from Philip’s reactions, he was sure it wasn’t normal.

Though when asked, Raika said it was normal for the son of the Thunder Princess and Hell Flame to possess such qualities, Philip’s gaze said otherwise.

It was overkill, and he knew it.

" Hey, isn’t it great that your young master is this powerful, he can protect you..." he said jokingly, tugging at Philip’s shoulders.

The latter only smiled nervously.

But now that he thought about it, what was there to fear? Alaric wouldn’t hurt him, and he wasn’t a snob like most nobles.

" Yeah, you are right."

The fear in his eyes lessened.

Alaric was powerful, ridiculously so, but he wasn’t a killing machine he had to worry about.

He eased up around Alaric, the two bonding like they used to.

Alaric smiled, satisfied.

...

Their journey continued without any mishap.

Without a horse and carriage, they hiked all the way through the woods, sleeping on the cold, hard floor with body bags Raika had in her storage ring.

She, though a noble, wasn’t bothered. Neither was Alaric, who was a Navy SEAL at heart.

And as for Philip, he was a coachman. He had been sleeping in the coach box for half of his life.

On one cold night, Alaric took a waterskin and headed further away from the camp, away from the others.

After walking for a couple of minutes, he halted sighing as he senses something.

" Mom, you can come out," he called out, sure Raika had followed him, and true to his thoughts, Raika jumped down from a tree, scratching her head nervously.

" Wanted to see if you had any progress."

" It’s still the same..." Alaric didn’t even argue, he was used to his mother’s antics.

He poured water into his palm, looking at the clear liquid with confusion.

He couldn’t control the water no matter how hard he tried.

" May I...?" Raika walked closer and dipped her finger into the water gathered in his palm, the water evaporating on contact, changing into a ball of steam that levitated in his palm.

Over the course of their journey, he had tried to control the water element, but everytime he came up blank.

He had realized after his control of the mist that there was something missing.

As someone from Earth, he knew of the states of matter and was sure he could control mist because it shared a property with fire, and that was its density.

They were both light.

But water was much denser, heavier.

Though he had this knowledge, he couldn’t control the water element unless it was changed to steam.

" Don’t worry, I am sure you will find a way around this. You are the son of the Thunder Princess and Hell Flame, after all," Raika, noticing Alaric’s downcast gaze, comforted him.

" ... "

Raika turned her gaze sharply, sensing someone locked on them with malicious intent.

Crackle!

She didn’t hesitate, lightning shooting towards the direction of the intent.

" Arrggh!"

A loud scream echoed as the individual was hit.

Alaric, on high alert, quickly poured the entirety of the waterskin out.

Raika, catching her son’s intent, heated it, a whirling mist swirling around him.

" ..." Raika spread her senses, the assailants coming into view: five individuals and a beast surrounding them, one toasted to a crisp.

" Third Resonance, Second Resonance, Third Resonance..." She bobbed her head in surprise. " Such weaklings."

" Son, you should be able to take care of them."

Raika relaxed, noticing they weren’t a threat.

If First Resonance mages needed the presence of the element to control it,

Second Resonance mages didn’t.

They could conjure the element from mana, able to freely morph it as long as it followed the properties of the element.

A fire mage wouldn’t be able to create fire arrows or abstracts that were abnormal to the property of fire.

A fireball, fire wall, or maybe a tornado of flames were possible, but an abstract that isn’t usually seen in nature will be difficult.

Their range of attacks was limited to the natural way of the element.

And for Third Resonance mages,

They were known as architects.

As long as the element allowed it, they could morph it into anything they wanted and manipulate it however they wished, without the physical laws of nature limiting them.

Raika’s lightning dragon was an example of Third Resonance skill.

Unlike Fourth Resonance mages, they didn’t have any variance using the natural form of the element.

" Ok..." A bit tense, Alaric nodded.

" YOU CAN COME OUT..." Raika’s voice boomed.

Yet no one came out, keeping their distance, eyes glowing subtly as they were ready to attack or run at any time.

" I promise on the name of the Raijin Clan that I won’t attack you..."

Thunder clapped at her words, the vow acknowledged by the heavens.

The assailants walked out, with perplexed expressions.

One might think they were stupid for trusting Raika’s words, but the word of one from the Raijin Clan was their bond.

The Thunder God Raijin, whom they were named after, is known to be the God of Judgement and Reproach.

And if one of his kin were to go against their word, immediate punishment would ensue.

They knew of this, as it was common knowledge, and thus walked out.

Their expressions asked why she would do that. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

" You are here for the bounty on my son, right?" The four individuals kept silent, their gazes shifting to Alaric, around whom the steam continued to swirl, his indifferent gaze scrutinizing them.

" Why did they come out...?" he wondered, taking a mentalnote of their stupidity

" You can have him. Kill him only if you are able to. I promise I won’t interfere even if he dies..."

________________

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A/N

I want to try events like other books.

Due to our small size, let’s go with.

10 golden tickets = 1 extra Chapter.

100 power stones = 1 extra Chapter.

Goal: G: 0/10

P: 23/100

And from now onwards, two Chapters a day, and if I am unable, then the one Chapter will be at least 1500 words