Blade of Ruin- Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage Vol 3

Episode 84: No Telling

*Iah*

I raised my hands and stared at my reflection in the water. Earlier, Noe and I cleaned up the water of harmful contaminants and other stuff. It hadn't taken us long, meaning the quality was pretty good.

I dropped the water back into the lake. Should I continue on my way? Or should I help Vermeil and the others? I'd originally left to have time to think, yet here I am. I should probably go. Plus, it's not like my current strength is enough to help them. If anything, I'll be a dead weight. Maybe I should take the kids with me at least. No, if we get attacked, I wouldn't be able to defend them. Not the way I am now.

I let out a growl and slammed my arms against the water. Water poured back down on me en masse, causing my hair to stick to my scalp.

"Who got His Highness mad?" a singsong voice called out.

I turned my head and saw Hal squatting by a rock, holding my clothes. Noe was also with him.

"Hal, you're awake. Your mom said you had passed out after fighting a giant snake." I smirked. "Didn't know you were afraid of them."

"What? She completely left out some of the context!"

I chuckled. "I'm kidding. Plus, Na and Xao told Vermeil and me the finer details. Your hair turned white and your eyes red as you fought back a Seven-Star serpent."

He turned away. "So, they included that part too."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Why did I get the impression that he didn't want others to know about his palette swap?

"Didn't know you could change your eyes like me. What exactly do they do?"

"Nothing. They're purely aesthetic," he responded, continuing to loom away.

I sighed. Yeah, he was hiding something. But maybe it was best not to pry. My curiosity is what got me to become the unfortunate wielder of the Blade of Ruin after all.

"What about you?"

"Huh? You already know what my eyes can do."

"Not that. Why are you here? You should be with Yen and the others right now."

Why did he single out Yen? Not like I was particularly close to her, unlike her brothers.

I turned the back of my head to him. "Stuff happened and now I'm here?"

"What kind of stuff."

I closed my eyes and splashed water against my face. "Bad stuff. Now, enough questions. Unless you wish to answer the ones I gave you first."

He scoffed. "Fine. Be that way. I'll leave your clothes here. Let's go, Noe."

"Alright," the kid said grabbing his hand. "This way, I think."

Hal laughed nervously. "Don't get me lost."

"Hey, I did get you to the lake!"

"Yeah, but you used your water magic to do so."

That kid, I heard from Na that he barely awakened his magic today. Yet, he could already do so much. He was a real prodigy. At one point, I'd been the same. Before I'd lost my powers the first time.

I gasped. Why did Hal need a guide? Back at the games he moved around confidently despite the terrain being new to him. At least it was as far as I knew. On the other hand, he had been to Sera before, so one would expect him to know the layout of this place. Especially given how he loved to gather intel before a match. It would shock me if he didn't do so for a mission. Especially one with as high stakes as this one.