A massive silhouette moved through the misty forest, quickly retreating from a single point. It would have been difficult for a mere onlooker to comprehend what could have frightened such a huge creature, which was one of the strongest here. However, sometimes all it took was one person to make all the difference.
"Who are you...?" Zayne muttered with a dazed expression looking at the man, who was watching the scolopendra run away with a slight smile on his face.
The man sighed, glared at Zayne, and said, "My name is Klaus, Klaus Wik, to be exact. What about you?"
"Zayne... Zayne Fellen..." Zayne gulped.
The man nodded, looked around, and sat down next to one of the trees, placing his cane in his lap.
"Agh...?" Zayne was puzzled.
"What are you waiting for?" Klaus glanced at him, then closed his eyes and pointed in front of him, "Have a seat. Judging by your condition, you're wounded and you must be tired after the battle against the spiders, aren't you?"
"You saw me then...?" Zayne sighed.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtKlaus shrugged, "Not much. I was just passing by, and you caught my eye, just like you are now. You're lucky, though, and so am I. Today is definitely a good day."
Klaus's ring sparkled as a cauldron appeared in front of him, some coals as well as ingredients that were perfect for making soup, various herbs, some meat, and spices.
Zayne felt strange, but he had no other choice anyway. Klaus saved him, so he could not refuse his request.
"Mr. Klaus..." Zayne wanted to ask something, but Klaus immediately waved his hand, interrupting him.
"You don't have to call me that, just address me by my first name, it makes it easier for me." Klaus smirked as a simple knife appeared in his hand, the cauldron filled with water.
He sighed lightly, directing the purple flame at the coals, quickly heating and making them blush as they immediately became warm around.
"Zayne, what are you doing here? Judging by your reaction, you're not a hunter or anything at all. Are you really lost?" Klaus glanced at him, slicing the yellow mushrooms into small pieces.
Zayne stared at him, "Did you come here for these mushrooms?"
Klaus said nothing, but Zayne understood from his stare.
"This is one hell of a dangerous place. Are these mushrooms really worth risking your life for?" Zayne's face turned serious.
Klaus smirked, silently threw the herbs into the cauldron, and looked up.
"Well, they only grow here, and I'm actually addicted to their taste, so... Why not? Unlike you, there's no one here to scare me, even this scolopendra is powerless." Klaus smirked, making Zayne feel uncomfortable. Klaus saved him, after all.
Zayne shrugged, "I shouldn't have gotten into this forest, especially since I shouldn't have stayed here alone. That's the way the circumstances were, and I can't say I'm happy about it."
Klaus gave him a questioning look with a raised eyebrow while stirring the soup.
"Agh, I was on my way to the Mage Academy and..."
"Oh? You want to become a mage?" Klaus was surprised, "I think you'd be more suited to the Knight's path."
Zayne shook his head, "I don't have that in my plans, I headed here with Mr. Solomon, he has some business for me, but I had to come to Zexiton for that."
Klaus's eyes grew slightly wide, but he did not interrupt Zayne and concentrated on making soup. Its aroma was already spreading around, making Zayne hungrier and more eager to taste it.
"However, we were attacked by monsters and one of them tried to absorb Mr. Solomon's attack, this caused the monster to explode, but its energy teleported them somewhere." Zayne waved his hand in confusion.
"Hmm... So that energy affected Solomon, but not you, right?" Klaus asked with a mild interest in his gaze.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmZayne looked at him, "You know Mr. Solomon...?"
Klaus nodded, "Sure, he and I have known each other a long time, probably more than you have lived, young man." Klaus smiled bitterly, "You asked who I am, right? Well, besides my name, I can tell you that I am one of the professors of the Zexiton Academy."
Zayne was speechless, he understood that Klaus was strong, but he didn't expect to hear something like that.
Klaus sighed, put the knife aside, and put his palm on Zayne's forehead. Zayne blinked a few times, then he stepped back with a slight frown.
"What are you doing?" Zayne looked wary.
Klaus shrugged, "Nothing serious, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. By the way, you're lucky that scolopendra was so slow, if it had been faster I wouldn't have had time to help you."
Zayne smiled, "Well, I was actually lucky. The first time I encountered it, the scolopendra just let me go."
Klaus nodded silently, as his gaze grew deeper. Zayne didn't notice it, but for a moment, two spheres appeared among Klaus's eyes, one blue, the other red, an exact reflection of those in Zayne's mind, next to the arcs of his stats.
'You're out of luck, it's just that the scolopendra that awakened because of you wasn't sure if it was worth attacking someone whose body contains both the hated to it Fate and Chaos.' Klaus glanced at Zayne with a slight sigh as two bowls of large wooden spoons appeared before him.
Klaus filled them completely, emptying the cauldron and handing one of the bowls to Zayne.
"Here you go. We need to eat and get back to the Academy. I don't really want Solomon to send a search party here to find you. They'll trample all the mushrooms that are still here." Klaus said quietly.
Zayne nodded with a slight smile, before enjoying the pleasant taste of the soup that brought the warmth he so needed. He didn't want to think about anything, he just wanted to enjoy this wonderful moment.
Klaus slowly took one spoonful after another, occasionally glancing at Zayne.