The last ember of white flame faded from the road.
Ash drifted once, then settled. The forest returned to its uneasy quiet.
Arun stood with his sword lowered, listening for anything else that might move. Although nothing did.
Behind him, boots crunched softly.
Taru stepped closer, carefully now unlike before, as if the night itself might bite him for getting too confident.
Arun spoke without turning.
"Why did you follow me?"
Taru hesitated.
Arun finally looked back at him.
"What if I didn't have magic?" Arun continued. "What if those beasts tore me apart? You would've watched someone die for nothing."
Taru swallowed.
But he didn't look away.
"I believed you did."
Arun raised an eyebrow.
"That's not an answer."
Taru clenched his fists.
"I saw how people looked at you in Graden. I saw the scanner flicker. I saw how you moved like you already knew where danger would come from." He exhaled. "People like that don't survive without power."
Arun's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And if you were wrong?"
Taru met his gaze.
"Then I'd die believing in something instead of rotting in this small town pretending I still belong somewhere."
The wind passed between them.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Taru stepped forward suddenly and bowed.
Deep.
Too deep.
"Please," he said. "Let me be your manager."
Arun blinked.
"…Stand up."
Taru didn't.
"I can plan routes, negotiate contracts, manage coin, gather information. I know guild politics better than half the idiots wearing suits and tie claiming to be the best at what they do. I won't slow you down. I swear."
"Taru"
"I'll cook, clean, scout, record your feats, find work, avoid traps, handle merchants..."
"please stop."
"I'll even sleep outside if I have to..."
"stop."
The boy finally stopped.
Arun then proceeded to pinch the bridge of his nose. the Silence stretched. Then Arun started walking.
Taru froze. Then immediately rushed after him. Like a dog who had not seen their owner in along time.
He talked the entire way down the dirt road.
Nonstop.
"I won't betray you, I won't steal from you, I won't ask stupid questions in battle, I'll learn fast, I can write contracts, I can read maps in three systems, I"
"Taru."
"I even know how to handle voice birds properly"
"Taru."
"I swear I'll be useful"
"Taru."
Arun stopped walking.
Dust drifted around his boots.
He turned slowly.
Taru almost ran into him. The boy froze mid-step.
Arun stared at him.
Long .Measured. Annoyed.
"…Fine."
Taru blinked.
"What?"
"You can come."
The words barely left Arun's mouth before Taru exploded.
"Yes! Thank you! I swear you won't regret it!"
"Stop shaking," Arun muttered.
Taru tried to calm himself and failed miserably.
His smile stretched wide, eyes shining like he'd just escaped execution.
Arun sighed.
"First rule," Arun said. "You talk less."
Taru nodded rapidly. "Understood."
"Second rule. You listen more."
"Absolutely."
"Third rule. If I tell you to run, you don't argue."
Taru straightened.
"…Okay."
They walked again.
After a moment, Taru glanced sideways.
"Uh… Arun?"
"What."
"Can you follow me back into town for a bit?"
Arun frowned. "Why?"
"I need to grab something important."
Arun hesitated.
Then nodded once.
They turned back toward Graden.
The lamps were still burning faintly when they re-entered the outskirts. The town slept uneasily, like a beast pretending not to be wounded.
They passed silent shops and shuttered stalls until Taru led him toward a fenced open yard near the eastern wall.
The public stables.
Rows of iron posts lined the dirt yard. Wooden roofs covered sections for wagons and beasts. Ember lanterns hung low, giving the place a dim orange glow. You could smell hay, oil, animal musk, and metal grease.
A sleepy stablekeeper barely glanced at them.
Taru walked confidently between carts and tethered mounts.
Then he stopped.
Arun followed his gaze.
And paused.
A massive creature stood near the back.
It looked like a bull at first.
Then wrong.
Its body was thick and powerful, muscles layered beneath dark, plated scales that shimmered faintly like forged iron. Its horns curved forward like siege hooks. Its eyes glowed a calm amber. Steam puffed softly from its nostrils.
An Iron-back Bull.
Which is very rare and Expensive, since its a war beast.
Arun slowly looked at Taru.
"…That's yours?"
Taru smiled proudly.
"Yes."
Arun stepped closer, examining the creature.
The scales weren't natural. They had been tempered with ore powder, bonded magically to the hide. Its legs were reinforced. Even its hooves had metal veins.
Few merchants could afford one.
Fewer families would gift one away.
Beside the bull rested a wooden carriage, reinforced with iron hinges, corner plating, and side ribs etched with protective runes. Not noble-class but well built.
Taru touched the harness gently.
"This was my family's last gift too," he said quietly. "I guess They didn't want me to leave empty handed."
Arun studied him.
"And they still kicked you out."
Taru smiled weakly. "Families are strange like that."
Arun said nothing.
After a moment, Taru brightened again.
"Oh... also, are you registered as an adventurer yet?"
"No."
Taru blinked.
"…You're serious?"
"Yes."
Taru let out a slow breath.
"That makes things harder."
"Why."
"Because the nearest Adventurer Guild is in Steelhaven."
Arun paused.
That was far. Very far.
Taru pulled out a folded map and laid it over the carriage bench.
He pointed.
"We start here Graden."
His finger moved.
"One small town. Two villages. Then the outer gates of Steelhaven."
Arun studied the route.
Forests, Valleys, Fragment zones, Bandit territory.
Taru looked up at him.
"It won't be easy," Taru said. "But nothing worth building ever is."
The Iron-back bull snorted softly beside them.
Arun rested a hand on the carriage frame.
The road ahead stretched farther than Graden ever had.
Arun studied the lines on the map for a few seconds longer.
Then he looked at Taru.
"You want me recorded. You want me to put my name in their books"
Taru paused. Then pondered for a while before replying.
He folded the map carefully and leaned against the carriage rail.
"Because in Aeralis, power without a name is illegal."
Arun's brow furrowed.
"That's dramatic."
"It's accurate."
Taru straightened.
"Unregistered fighters can't take official contracts. Can't sell gains from fragment zones legally. Can't pass city gates without paying triple toll. And if you get caught using magic inside a city…"
He lifted a finger.
"…the guards can arrest you on the spot."
Arun's eyes sharpened.
Taru then continued.
"The Adventurer Guild is the world's filter. It decides who's allowed to fight, travel, explore, harvest artifacts, hunt monsters, escort caravans, or enter sealed regions."
Arun crossed his arms.
"So it's control."
"Exactly," Taru said. "Disguised as opportunity."
He walked a few steps beside the bull, brushing its scales.
"When you register, they scan your wing mark. Count feathers. Measure output, mana density, combat instinct. Then they assign you a rank."
Arun glanced at his collar instinctively.
"And after?"
"You get legal protection," Taru said. "If a noble accuses you falsely, the Guild can intervene. If a merchant refuses payment, the Guild enforces contracts. If you're injured on duty, you can access guild medics, artifact repairers, and fragment specialists."
Arun remained silent.
Taru continued anyway.
"Registered adventurers get access to sealed routes. Special transport lanes. Voice bird priority routes. Even fragment vaults from the God and Underworlder War."
That caught Arun's attention.
"Vaults?"
"Ancient storage zones. Artifacts. God-forged scraps. Underworld residue. Normal people aren't allowed near them."
Arun's fingers tightened slightly.
Taru noticed.
"And coin," Taru added. "Good coin. Not tavern scraps. Real contracts. Monster bounties. Artifact retrieval. Escorting noble cargo. Clearing fragment nests."
"But registration also chains you," Arun said.
Taru smiled thinly.
"Yeah."
He didn't deny it.
"The Guild wans tracks your movements. Logs your jobs. Knows where you go, who you work with, what you touch. If you grow too strong too fast…"
He made a slicing motion across his throat.
"…nobles start asking questions."
Arun exhaled slowly.
"So why would I step into that cage?"
Taru met his eyes.
"Because the cage is already around you."
The words settled heavily.
Taru walked closer.
"You used White Flame outside Graden. If someone reported that, the town guards would already be hunting you. Registration makes you visible, yes but protected."
Arun's gaze darkened slightly.
"Protected by the same system that suppresses winged people."
Taru nodded.
"True."
Then smiled faintly.
"But systems rot faster from the inside than from the outside."
Arun watched him carefully now.
Taru continued.
"Registered adventurers can build influence. Reputation. Connections. Some even challenge nobles legally. Others disappear into fragments and return as legends."
He paused.
"You can't change the world if the world doesn't know you exist."
Silence followed.
The Iron-back bull snorted again.
Arun finally spoke.
"…And managers?"
Taru straightened immediately.
"Managers are registered under an adventurer's crest. We negotiate contracts, track expenses, coordinate voice bird routes , handle guild paperwork, manage bounty claims, artifact taxes, route safety, and legal disputes."
He grinned.
"In other words, I keep you alive when you're not fighting."
Arun almost smirked.
Almost.
He looked back at the road drawn on the map.
Steelhaven.
"Fine," Arun said quietly.
"We register. but as an unwinged"
Taru's smile returned full force.
"I knew you'd say that."
Arun glanced sideways.
"You did?"
"No," Taru admitted. "But it sounded confident."
The bull snorted again as if amused.
Arun placed his hand on the carriage rail.
"Tomorrow we leave."
Taru nodded.
"Tomorrow we begin."