Martial Online.

Ambrose followed behind Casper as they wandered through the strange town's nice-looking streets.

He eyed the townsfolk with great interest.

They were all pale-faced, their faces lacking sun touch, but they all looked relatively healthy.

Casper caught sight of a vendor selling some walking canes on the sidewalk and tossed the seller a gold coin.

The seller caught the gold coin and tossed the walking cane to Casper, who grabbed it and started walking with it.

Ambrose, after hearing the clicking of a cane against the cobblestone road, wondered why Casper needed a walking cane but didn't bother to ask as he knew Casper's reasons were his own.

After they walked a little further down the peaceful street, Casper stopped abruptly, and looked where the cobblestone road was heading.

It was slowly going uphill towards a castle nestled on top of a small hill. It was surrounded by the rest of the town, like a guardian watching over its inhabitants.

The castle was grayish, built with large stones, and had tall watch towers with cloaked figures perched on top.

"Before we go talk to our leader, I'll need you to stay quiet about some things." Casper said suddenly and turned to look at Ambrose with his deep eyes.

"Quiet about what?" Ambrose asked curiously.

"About the fact that you are a Deathwalker." Casper said with a hint of warning in his voice.

"Why…" Ambrose asked in a rather naive way.

However, he was very alarmed inwardly.

"They don't need to know." Casper said. "You are now a new recruit to the Black Hand organization. If you keep quiet about Deathwalker, I'll help you find your killer."

"Why do you think I don't know who my killer is?" Ambrose asked skeptically.

Casper stayed quiet for a moment before responding. "Eli said that you were searching after Zane Grimm the Third. You only know the street he is living on."

"That's right, and?" Ambrose raised an eyebrow. "I am sure I can find him myself."

"Zane Grimm the Third ordered your death, but he didn't kill you personally. I'll tell you who was the one who killed you, as that person is also part of the Black Hand. Does that sound good enough for you?"

"What if I just make Zane tell me?" Ambrose asked.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but first of all, I don't think you can even catch a sight of him before you're caught.

"Second, Zane also doesn't know the killer. We don't reveal ourselves to our clients."

"Why would you sell out one of your own?" Ambrose asked with a frown.

Casper chuckled, and his dark eyes had an eerie glint.

"You can try to kill him, but can you? We are masters of the Dark Art."

'Masters of the Dark Art…'

Ambrose thought, feeling a sense of dread creeping up his spine.

He got most of the gist of it, even though his hunch was already quite spot on, but now, at least, he knew about where his killer really was.

Ambrose looked back at where they came from in the beautiful town and narrowed his eyes.

'The killer is somewhere here. From now on, I can't drop my guard, as Casper can betray me at any moment and kill me. I don't think he would just betray one of his own that easily, even if he underestimates my abilities.

'There is some trickery behind his facade…'

"Well, what will be the answer?" Casper asked. "Will the Deathwalker stay within you?"

"Alright." Ambrose turned to him and said, "I won't tell him anything."

"Good, now follow me."

They began trekking down the cobblestone hill, towards the grayish castle where the leader of the Black Hand was awaiting their arrival.

…

The castle's throne room.

It was a dimly lit place, with lanterns hanging from the walls, casting eerie shadows across the stone floor, and pillars holding up the ceiling in a way that made it seem like the room was alive.

The throne room looked like a basement of some kind of dungeon, with a large, ornate throne at the far end.

It was all built from large stones cut from some mountain, and one would think that the place looked rather cold and unwelcoming, but the lanterns that hung from the ceiling gave off a warm and inviting glow.

On the ornate throne, a skinny, wrinkly-faced old man sat cross-legged and looked like he was taking his final breaths before finally falling to his eventual death.

At that moment, the large granite doors swung open and smashed against the rocky walls with a deafening crash, causing the entire room to shake.

Immediately afterwards, Casper and Ambrose entered the room with a few armored guards following closely behind them.

The skinny old man's breathing quickened again, and he stopped looking like he was about to die.

His back slightly straightened, and he opened his heavy-looking eyelids to lay his gaze upon the unexpected visitors.

"Sage Edegron." Casper placed a hand on his chest and bowed respectfully.

"Casper…" Sage Edegron whispered heavily and turned to look at the unfamiliar figures. "Whose this?"

Casper glanced at Ambrose and nodded briefly, instructing him to introduce himself.

Ambrose placed a hand against his chest, bowed slightly, and said, "Name's Ambrose, a new recruit. It's an honor to meet you, Sage Edegron."

"A recruit, I see…" Sage Edegron breathed heavily and opened his wrinkly palm to reveal a small, glowing crystal.

At that moment, the crystal flew towards Ambrose and landed on his hand. It didn't weigh anything and was black in color, with some purple hues swirling inside.

Casper glanced at the crystal briefly before returning his cold gaze back to Sage Edegron.

"What's this, Sage Edegron?" Ambrose asked curiously.

"A mana crystal…" Sage Edegron spoke with great difficulty. "Do you know anything about mana pools?"

"No." Ambrose shook his head.

Sage Edegron nodded and began explaining.

"There is a mana pool inside every living being…

"As starters, it is the size of a small ball, barely the palm's width. That mana pool allows people to do magic…

"That crystal, once eaten, activates your latent magic abilities, allowing you to use your magic more freely. Using magic depletes your mana pool, and once it's completely empty, you can't use any magic.

"However, mana pools always regenerate over time.

"It sounds magical and all, but using mana pools is considered a very evil art. That's why, it has been bestowed the name—the Dark Arts."

"Why?" Ambrose asked with a frown. "Is it because magic is forbidden?"

"No…" Sade Edegron shook his head. "The priests and their followers also use magic, but they summon their power from their Sacred Souls. Their souls grow bigger the more they are connected with their Goddess of Everlove.

"They do not rely on mana pools like us.

"The mana pools are small at first, like I said before, and thus, you can only make one magic spell before it is completely depleted at first.

"That's why we had to find a way to increase the mana pool to grow our size. We did, but the method is the reason why it is called the Dark Arts.

"The mana pool can only be increased in size if you kill a person.

"The mana pool sucks the souls of the dead to absorb their energy and grow stronger."

Ambrose nodded grimly and also had a question of his own:

"Why don't you all use the Sacred Souls?"

"The Sacred Souls are only for the blessed souls." Sage said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "Only one in a million has the blessed soul of the Sacred Soul; that's why there're so few of them."

"I understand…"

"Once you depart from this castle and go to your quarters, eat the crystal and meditate to see the size of your mana pool.

"It will take time to learn, and it might take years before you can even make a single magic spell. Do not feel discouraged; you're still a young one."

"Thank you, Sage Edegron." Ambrose bowed humbly.

"We'll stop interrupting you." Casper bowed as well, before they both left the room.

Sage Edegron closed his eyes and thought. 'He has a scent of death lingering around him…'

…

Creak—Casper opened a wooden door to a humble-looking room that was quite small, with one bed, a desk under the window, and a bookshelf with worn-out books.

"This'll be your quarters for now." Casper said and crossed his arms. "Eat the crystal and get used to the meditation."

"Alright…" Ambrose pushed past him, took off his dirty jacket, and hung it up on a hook by the door.

"Thank you for not telling Sage Edegron about the Deathwalking thing." Casper said, but still didn't smile even the slightest. "I'll come to talk to you about Zane in a couple of days. Just sit tight until then.

"You can try to learn meditation, but don't rush it. It usually takes months to learn it. Learning magic spells takes ten times longer.

"Alright, I'll take it slow." Ambrose nodded, and after Casper left, he closed the door and leaned against it with a thoughtful look.

'Learning meditation… I already know how to do it. I have plenty of experience!

'This might be very good. Maybe I'll be able to learn magic faster than they could've ever imagined, and if Casper plans to betray me, there is a rude awakening coming in his way!'