Hearing such a large crowd roaring and shouting put Ezra under tremendous pressure. He remembered the last tournament he had participated in had ended disastrously. The faces of his previous opponents flashed before Ezra’s eyes. Although the tournament held in Aranor was nowhere near as grand as this, all the townsfolk had gathered to watch it. Ezra’s father had high hopes for him and Aurelia was cheering loudly in the crowd, but instead of fighting like a true prodigy, he failed to shoot straight as his arms kept trembling. His rival, another boy two years younger than him knocked him out in the first round without taking a single hit.As all those thoughts crowded his mind, Ezra felt uneasy and anxious. For now, his only relief was that almost no one in Magaravia knew his true identity except the Gressils, and he had a mask to hide his face.The demonic mask allowed Ezra to hide his emotions but it did not block out the constant booing from the crowd. It sounded like the half-elf

Ezra thought his passionate reply would move the person standing on the other side and convince him to support his cause, but the mage laughed at his words.“Lord Ezra Romanov! Come to save the day, is it?” the mage mocked. “I cannot believe one of you would try such a pathetic trick on us. But we are not fools here, you sly bastard.”Ezra was shocked to hear the insults hurled at him. He had expected a warm welcome since his father always said the mages from the High College of Mysticism were on good terms with his family, and the Dean of the college, High Mage Ignacious Alavore was a close friend of his father.“What is the meaning of this? I thought you held my family in high regard and had promised to aid us in our time of need!” Ezra retorted in an authoritative voice.The mage on the other side of the wall cast Magic Flight and flew over the wall to have a look at the person who so desperately wanted to get through.“So, you are the little fledging they sent to trick us?” he aske

The High Mage’s reply dashed Ezra’s hopes to pieces. He had hoped the Elementalists would join his cause out of loyalty for his father, but despite everything his family had done for the mages’ college, they chose not to intervene.“If we lose this war, your college will be razed to the ground, and then the necromancers will hunt your students down and slaughter them like they slaughtered the people of Aranor,” Ezra spoke in a grim voice. “You cannot keep yourself out of this fight. The time will come when those cultists turn their attention toward you.”High Mage Ignacious heaved a tired sigh and addressed Ezra in a courteous yet blunt manner. “I understand that you have gone through hell over the past few days. But we are not the enemy here. Your fight is against the undead. I know you want to win, but Zepheroth’s forces are numberless. I cannot risk the lives of my brothers without being sure that we can prevail over the enemy. And I do understand Zepheroth’s followers will come for

Ezra was eager to return to his room in Verdant Gardens and after walking out of the college premises, he immediately used his teleportation scroll to open a portal to Magaravia.It teleported Ezra straight outside Verdant Gardens where the elite guards opened the gate for him and informed him Lady Tanya and Count Gressil were yet to return.This was perfect for Ezra since now he had the whole mansion to himself and could focus on his own designs. Once inside the mansion, Ezra headed straight for his room. Locking himself from the inside he approached the mirror and looked into it.A lot had changed over the past few weeks. Ezra had lost weight, his face looked lean and gaunt and his eyes seemed to reflect the fire of revenge burning within.“You may have taken away my weapons, but I am not going to give up. I will come back stronger and reclaim what I lost. I swear I will kill all of you.” Ezra crossed his heart in front of the mirror and vowed to avenge his family.“You have set out

Sitting inside a mansion in Magaravia it was difficult to know the current state of affairs in the country since the capital had distanced itself from the other major cities and towns. King Reginald had little interest in the welfare of his subjects and only cared about maintaining his luxurious lifestyle.However, there were influential nobles in the king’s court who looked after the economic and administrative affairs and handled the kingdom’s security as well. Even so, without the direct involvement of the king, the nobles could do little to safeguard the nation.Having spent a few days in Magaravia, Ezra too, had realized that this city was like an isolated fortress, separated from the other human settlements. And there was no way for anyone living here to know the condition of the people outside its walls.“I cannot stay here forever. I need to know what’s happening in Aranor,” Ezra said as he impatiently paced his room, waiting for news from the outside world.Just then, the loud