Daelus shook his head. “You might not have to worry about it if luck sides with the village. Those scouts had seen that migration beyond the Pinotian Range—just north of Raltra Pass—which is like, hundreds of miles away from here. More monsters coming there doesn’t necessarily mean they will come here too in those numbers, but yeah, among the mages and the rangers, there is an acceptance that the general trend is that every winter is going to be more dangerous than the previous one. My master told me that it happens like that once every few decades. So after a few decades of relative calm, it seems the next few years are going to be very difficult for humanity...”

  Alden clenched his fist. “Dammit…!" He was already dreading the day when snow would start falling here in just a little more than two months, bringing monsters along with it. "How will Sarnok survive this..."

  “Well, I can help out a little, if you allow it,” Daelus said.

  “Wait, what? What do you mean by that?”

  “I mean, I had a good idea that the people of Sarnok would have to stay right here in the winter after I found out about the Duke charging for shelter. That’s why I rejected joining Fort Raltra, even though it’s always been my dream to help the kingdom by killing as many monsters as I can, to make it safer for everyone. Living in a Rangers' fort near the border is the simplest way to do that. But although I’ve been away from Sarnok for a decade now, it's still my home. I couldn’t just leave our people for monsters to tear into. That’s why I volunteered to bring that scroll here, so I could meet you and find out how I can help.”

  Alden’s mind started running a mile a minute the moment he heard those words. Daelus might be young, and not as knowledgeable as his master, but he was still a full-fledged mage. If someone like him could stay here even for a short time, it could help so much that Alden didn’t have words to describe it. And not just in defending from the monsters that would come in the winter. Daelus could create fireballs. That meant a lot of high heat and energy which could be used for all kinds of projects to industrialize this place and make it safer for when his mage friend eventually had to return.

  “So…? Does that mean…?” Alden asked, not daring to say the words.

  Daelus nodded. “Yeah. I have full freedom to stay here for now. Two other apprentices graduated from the Church along with me—one went to Fort Raltra, while the other went to an outpost near the Pinotian Mountains to help them out in the winter. We all graduated only a few months ago, and my master always says that we need to see the world a little while we are young, so we can actually understand what we are fighting to protect. That's why he agreed with me when I said I want to go to Sarnok. So I think I can afford to stay here for now. I can’t guarantee how long I will be able to remain here, but unless Garitus sends me a summon to return, I can help the village for a few weeks for sure. Probably even the whole winter, unless I am recalled before that. So if you need me here, just say so.”

  “Hell yes!” Alden immediately exclaimed. “Of course I need you here! Having an actual mage here will be a lifesaver for Sarnok! I’ve been doing what I can to protect the village, but if you can stay here for the winter, it would be like having a guarantee of safety!”

  Daelus shook his head. “Hardly. The bigger monsters are difficult to take down even by a whole band of mages, even with stone walls to defend the city. Although, from what my master has recorded over past decades, he said often enough the bigger monsters in this region are somehow drawn to Garitus, like they want to destroy it. That’s why the bigger monsters often skip the smaller villages on their route south, unless it’s right on their way. It’s like they can sense which place has the largest gathering of humans—or just sentient life—and they directly veer towards there. That means it’s quite possible that unless one of those giant monsters—the city killers—gets particularly angry or hungry on the way, they will probably not even notice Sarnok and move directly towards Garitus."

  The mage smiled proudly. "As long as the monsters are only of small to medium size, I can burn them to a crisp without a problem—at least as long as I’m not overwhelmed by their numbers. I only have a limited amount of mana at this age, and there's a limit to how much magic I can use on any particular day. But I can certainly take care of a group of smaller monsters and a few medium sized ones. Thuvara can also help out—she likes snacking on the smaller monsters." He frowned. "It's a different matter if this village comes right in the way of a giant monster, but I really can't do anything about that at this point. We might just have to evacuate and run for our lives in that case. But either way, I'm here to help.”

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  Alden didn’t understand anything about mana and how magic worked, but he just knew that with Daelus here, the village was a hell of a lot safer than it would be without him. And with the help of his friend’s magic, he knew he could advance a lot of defensive projects at a much, much faster rate to prepare for the time when Daelus eventually had to leave.

  “This is going to be awesome!” Alden grinned. “With the two of us here, we are going to make Sarnok far safer than it has ever been. I can’t wait to tell you about the things I’ve been working on.”

  That was when Daelus’s stomach growled loudly, making him chuckle in embarrassment. “Uh… could I get something to eat first? Something for Thuvara would also be nice. She must be pretty hungry too."

  ***

  In the evening, Alden was walking towards the makeshift archery range in the village, with Daelus beside him. Roderic and a few guards had followed them, while Vusato had stayed back to see to his other duties.

  The guards who had been practicing with the crossbow noticed the group and bowed. Alden still felt weird seeing people bow to him, but even after he said they didn’t need to do that, hardly any of them listened.

  “Hand over the crossbow, will you? Bring a few bolts too.”

  The guards immediately gave the weapon to him, and Alden turned to the mage. “This is the first thing I am making here.”

  Daelus took the crossbow in his hands and looked at it from all sides. “Looks like a woman’s version of an arbalest, doesn’t it?”

  “Oh, it still packs a mighty punch,” Alden grinned. “Try it.”

  Following the captain's instructions, Daelus loaded the crossbow and put the bolt in its slot. Then he brought the sight in front of him and pulled the trigger. However, at the last moment, he was surprised by the recoil and the crossbow jerked upward, making the bolt miss the target board entirely.

  Alden immediately began laughing at that, some of the guards also chuckling under their breath. “That was… that’s—” He laughed again. “Even Caelen did better than you!”

  “Shut up!” Daelus grumbled. He looked at the guards. “Hand me another arrow!”

  “It’s called a bolt,” Alden corrected with a grin, as the mage began to load it again.

  This time, Daelus was prepared for the recoil and managed to hold the crossbow properly. However, the bolt still went nowhere near the target. It seemed like it was a close call, and the bolt may have brushed the target board on its way, but it still didn’t hit it.

  “You really are useless at this!” Alden laughed. “How can anyone not be able to use a crossbow...? It's such a simple thing to use!”

  “Forgive me for not being an expert in weapons… I just never needed them.” Daelus handed the crossbow over to Alden. “Why don’t you show me how much of a marksman you are?”

  “Gladly!” Alden grinned as he loaded the crossbow. Knowing that the sights had already been corrected by the carpenter, he pulled the trigger. He didn’t manage to hit the center, but his bolt struck just a few centimeters above it.

  Daelus stared at him. “I don’t believe it. You must have cheated somehow!”

  Alden shook his head and repeated the feat, this time striking a few centimeters to the right of the center.

  “Dammit! How can you hit it so well!”

  Alden chuckled. “Everyone can hit the target with a crossbow, even if they don’t hit the center.” He tilted his head and smirked. “There must be something wrong with you…”

  “Shut up!” Daelus grumbled, before he grinned and brought his staff to the front and pointed it at the target.

  Before Alden could stop him, a small ball of fire shot at the wooden board and immediately set it on fire. Within moments it had burned to a crisp, with ashes falling down from what remained of the target board.

  “You destroyed the whole damned target!” Alden protested. "That wasn't the point of this!"

  Daelus put his staff on his back again, and after crossing his arms, he grinned. “Perhaps, but that’s what you get for making fun of a mage! I don’t need to be an expert in using a crossbow to kill a monster. I can just incinerate the damn thing!”

  Alden shook his head. It was futile to get into a competition with a mage. He simply wouldn’t win. Not yet.

  He grinned. Not until he had guns!

  ***

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