Adolin froze when he saw them.
Two figures were sitting on his bed. Dressed in dark robes.
The room was dim, lit only by moonlight spilling through the window. The smell had changed.
A soft, flowery perfume… and tea. The same one he had earlier that day.
Lissandra's.
"Close the door," Lissandra said quietly. Just loud enough for Adolin to hear.
Adolin didn't move.
Why were they in his room? And why was she acting like this?
He didn't like it. This was his time to rest.
Adolin clicked his tongue and stopped two steps from the bed.
"Explain."
"Keep your voice down." Lissandra said, and pointed toward the door. "Close the door."
The figure beside her remained still, head lowered.
Adolin shook his head and turned back, closing the door. He stepped forward again and stopped near the bed, his gaze fixed on Lissandra.
"The church is moving," Lissandra said, watching him. "They came to my home. Looking for Lira." She paused briefly. "I thought they already had you."
Well… maybe he was overreacting again. It made sense. If the church was searching for him, they would look for anyone connected to him. Still, this was his time to rest. Not to be bothered.
Adolin looked at the person beside Lissandra, tilting his head slightly.
"That's the student I told you about," Lissandra said, keeping her voice low. "Revel. He'll be leading the party escorting the caravan with you and Lira."
Revel finally lifted her head and looked at Adolin. "Nice to meet you," she said, winking.
Adolin ignored her and looked at Lissandra, "Lira?"
Revel rolled her eyes.
"She is already out of town. Waiting nearby with the rest of the party." Lissandra said, clenching her jaw. "We need to move you out tonight. Before the priest can find and question you. They brought out Truthseekers."
His annoyance eased slightly when he heard Lira was okay. They were too late for that anyway. The priests had already questioned him. "Too late," Adolin said. "I was already questioned."
Their eyes widened. Revel turned toward the window, scanning outside, while Lissandra stared at him.
Adolin chuckled softly. They were the ones overreacting now.
"What did you tell them?" Lissandra asked, her tone cold.
Revel glanced at her, then back toward the window. "We need to leave."
Adolin frowned slightly. They really were overreacting.
"Nothing?" Adolin said, pausing. He wasn't sure how to explain it. "Nothing important. I just answered their questions." He rubbed the spot where they hit him. "Got hit a few times." It still hurt. He had planned to heal it when he got back. Instead, he was stuck here.
Lissandra's hand shifted slightly, and a staff appeared in her grip. Revel didn't move, her gaze fixed on Adolin.
"What did they ask you?" Lissandra said, her voice low.
Adolin stared at the staff. This world really had convenient spells.
"What did they ask you?" Lissandra demanded.
He looked at Lissandra. There was tension in her eyes now. She wasn't calm anymore. That made sense. He hadn't explained anything. Just said he was questioned and left it at that. Of course they would get defensive. They probably thought he had betrayed them. It wasn't his problem. They were the ones who came into his room when he was supposed to be resting. It had been a long day with too many interactions.
Adolin frowned. "Basic questions. Name. Where I was. If I saw anything." He shrugged. "Nothing important."
They were still staring at him.
Adolin clicked his tongue.
"I got around it. The Truthseeker isn't that good at its job," Adolin said.
Nothing changed in their expressions for a few moments. Then Lissandra spoke.
"How?"
Adolin really wanted this to end. As soon as possible. If he explained it properly, maybe they would finally leave.
"Well, the device works by reading your mana. If you lie, your mana reacts slightly, and the device amplifies that reaction," Adolin said. "If you tell the truth, your mana stays calm. If you lie, it fluctuates." He shrugged. "All I did was control my mana—make it react or stay calm depending on what I wanted the device to read."
"Y-You can control your mana inside your body?" Revel said, her eyes wide.
They couldn't? He didn't understand that. The first thing his master taught him was mana control. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to make any spells work. It was the basics of being a mage in his old world.
"You can't?" Adolin asked, tilting his head slightly.
He really needed to spend more time at the library.
Both of them shook their heads. Silence lingered in the room. After a few moments, the staff in Lissandra's hand disappeared. "…You're not normal."
Adolin frowned slightly. He had never considered himself normal.
"If that's all," Adolin said, gesturing toward the door.
"Be ready," Lissandra said. "Someone will pick you up at the North Gate tomorrow morning."
Adolin nodded and walked them to the door.
"When you return," Lissandra said, looking him in the eyes, "you'll need to explain a few things."
Adolin nodded and closed the door before she could say anything else.
It had been an exhausting day. There was no need for all the drama. He locked the door and cast a barrier over it. No one would interfere with it using magic. At least not without him noticing.
Yawning, he headed to bed.
Did he really need to leave the city? It felt like it would be troublesome. Revel seemed like the type who enjoyed annoying people. He was safe for the moment, but that wouldn't last. The church seemed capable. If they suspected he could fool a Truthseeker, they would send someone stronger. That would be a bother. It didn't seem like he had a choice. Other people made the decisions, and he followed them. Still, it wasn't that bad. His goals were still far off. He lacked a lot of things, and maybe this escort would put him in a better position.
He would need to set boundaries with his party first. That was the most important thing if he wanted this to work. And at least a month-long vacation, once he had enough gold to make it happen.
The pain in his stomach was still there, so he cast a healing spell. Warmth spread through his body, and the pain faded. Much better than the precision healing spell he used previously. He still needed to check his status and his gear. He had to be ready for whatever the journey would bring.
He didn't feel like leaving the bed.
"Status."
The familiar window appeared.
[Status:]
Name: Dareth Wood
Race: Human
Mana: 72/170
Level: 13
Class: /
[Attributes:]
Strength: 14
Agility: 15
Endurance: 16
Intelligence: 17
Constitution: 14
Attribute Points Available: 4
He got four more levels since he last checked. He looked at the new spells the blessing registered.
A few notifications were waiting. He hadn't bothered checking them earlier.
[New Skill Detected: Mana Construct.]
[Skill Tier: 4]
[Level Increased.]
[Attribute Points Available: 1]
[New Skill Detected: Toxin Removal.]
[Skill Tier: 5]
[New Skill Detected: Small Barrier.]
[Skill Tier: 4]
[New Skill Detected: Body Heal.]
[Skill Tier: 6]
[Attribute Points Available: 4]
Every new spell gave him a level. And he hadn't even used that many spells since coming to this world. Maybe if he tried a higher-tier one, it would give him more levels. He dismissed the thought. He didn't want to be left without mana.
It was hard to rely on mana for levels when just a few spells could drain him and leave him defenseless.
Even in the Demon Continent, he had never gone all out. He had always feared running out of mana, leaving himself, or his party, exposed.
And even now, it didn't feel right.
He still needed to try the breathing techniques, see if they could increase his mana. But too many things kept happening. He never had the time.
Even now, he was too tired to try. Maybe later. When they reached an inn. When he had the energy.
One thing stood out.
His mana control hadn't increased. Which meant fooling the Truthseeker didn't require more than Tier Eight. It was around tier five to tier six if he had to guess.
He glanced at the bag near the table, but he didn't feel like getting up.
He drifted off to sleep.