A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 55 Hayes

Hayes spent the whole night escaping his hometown.

"Splash splash splash".

There was a noise coming from his pocket. Hayes had been running and hadn't noticed the noise.

He then found it.

It was a bag of gold coins, more than twenty in total.

There was also a letter in the bag.

"Child, I know what you're thinking. Go, go to the Storm Sea. I've heard that you can join the Alliance of Saints there. But remember, do not believe in any gods. I once met a wise elder, a mage, who helped me a lot on my journey. Before he left, he gave me a piece of advice."

He told me I shouldn't believe in gods, that they just want to enslave me.

Take the money in the bag and go pursue your dreams. May you find your true home—your loving father.

A father's love is like a mountain, always silent.

Young Hayes ultimately chose to heed his father's advice and boarded a ship bound for the Storm Sea.

There, he will witness the disillusionment of his dreams.

"Clang clang clang clang".

Four chimes rang, and Hayes awoke from his dream.

This is Saint Martin, an island controlled by the Alliance of Saints.

Hayes successfully joined the League of Saints and became a soldier. Unlike the others, he followed his father's instructions and did not actually believe in God.

While everyone else was praying, Hayes prayed along with them, but he did not silently recite the name of any god.

He was just putting on an act.

At first, he was a little nervous and even considered actually becoming a believer in a god.

However, he soon changed his mind.

"Behave yourself!"

The stick fell repeatedly, and the man in front of them was beaten until his skin was torn and bleeding.

Hayes was furious to see his captain treat an innocent person this way.

"Sir, he is innocent!"

"Of course I know, otherwise why would I hit him?"

The captain's words were cold and ruthless.

A nobleman killed a man's daughter, yet they wanted the father to confess to murdering his own daughter.

There are many more such cases; in fact, dozens have occurred in the past six months since Hayes arrived.

This is outrageous! Is this really the perfect kingdom described in the book?

If there really are gods, then why don't they interfere?

God! Why do you allow your people to suffer so much?

Much later, Hayes understood, through the guidance of a sorcerer, that it was because of faith.

Suffering makes faith shine.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"clang!"

The cell door was opened, and a blood-covered figure was thrown inside.

"Hays, you've disappointed me greatly. How did my God raise you?"

"My God only taught me to fight against injustice!"

"Oh……"

Hayes only heard a cold laugh.

He was arrested and imprisoned because of that man.

Hayes found the man right after he was whipped.

"I can help you. I have evidence that the nobleman killed your daughter! Let's go see Judge Uliso together!"

Looking at the dying man before him, Hayes said that even now he still believed that this was just a rare scourge of the country, and that as long as he provided evidence to the judge, the righteous judge would surely bring the real criminals to justice.

However, he miscalculated.

The next day, the man arrived as promised, with no one else behind him. Hayes did not fully trust the man, fearing that he might betray him out of fear of the nobles.

It turns out he didn't seem to have been betrayed.

Do you have any other evidence?

"Judge Ulisso asked in his authoritative voice, a voice that would instill fear in the prisoners, but sounded so kind to Hayes," Ulisso asked.

"My lord, all the evidence is here."

Hayes answered respectfully.

"Very well! Men, arrest him!"

Judge Uliso's voice became shrill, as if his previous authority had vanished.

Many soldiers rushed out from all sides, and Hayes had even seen many of them before, and they had even drunk together.

"Sir, what's going on? I'm not a criminal!"

"No, you are a criminal."

Judge Uliso tore up all the evidence in front of Hayes.

"The person who killed your daughter has been found."

The man knelt before Judge Uliso and began to pray, to the gods, to thank them for clearing his name and for the merciful Judge Uliso.

"Whoosh."

The man's face still bore the piety of his prayer, his head having been severed by Judge Uliso.

"Great, worth adding to your collection!"

As Judge Ulisso's voice rang out, Hayes's heart sank to the bottom.

This is not paradise on earth, this is hell!

Hayes began to regret that he had overcome numerous obstacles to leave his hometown and his parents to come here, only to find that this place was nothing but a false kingdom.

The nobles slaughtered innocent people without any reason, simply because they were bored.

Farmers endured exorbitant taxes, and the food left to them by the gods was barely enough to fill their stomachs.

The priests lived in the church and enjoyed supreme glory with the gods. They did not need to work and could live a life of luxury every day, indulging in wine, women and food.

And what about people like Hayes who still have a conscience?

He was betrayed by others, by those he wanted to save, and by the country of his dreams. Why was all of this?

Hayes, who had been tortured countless times, couldn't figure it out. He didn't understand why the gods didn't love their believers, and why they had been drinking together before.

However, they were able to pick up sticks and whips without batting an eye and lash him repeatedly, as if interrogating strangers, until his skin was torn and bleeding.

"This is your book, take a good look at it! May death forgive your sins."

A cold voice came, followed by a book being thrown at Hayes.

"bump."

Blood stained the pages of the book. Hayes struggled to his feet and saw the contents of the book that were not obscured by the blood.

"On...the...other side of the...sea...evil...breaks free...and escapes..."

Then there was the letter tucked inside the book and the map contained within it.

It was a letter written to him by his own father. The letter was stained with blood, and most of it was blurred, with only a few words barely visible.

"Alliance... Mage... Journey... God... Slavery... Dream... Journey... I love you, Father."

Hayes never believed in fate, but now he does.

The map was stained red with blood, except for one place.

The Mage Alliance, that evil land.

Is it really evil?

Hayes didn't know, but he couldn't give up. The gods might not favor him, but fate would.

Fate showed him the way and gave him one last chance.

A warm fire was lit in the cold, damp cell.

Hayes' arrest was sudden, and he still had a flint on him. Perhaps because things were so urgent, neither Judge Ulisso nor anyone else searched him.

Perhaps it was because they saw that he wasn't wearing leather armor or carrying any swords.

In any case, Hayes, who had worked here, knew all too well that the place was riddled with loopholes and that there was simply no one guarding the prisoners at night.

Hayes used to be a member of the gang, but now he's a prisoner.

"Waaaaah."

Hayes had half a book in his mouth; the other half he had already burned as firewood.

It wasn't because Hayes was cold, but because he wanted to live.

He held the burning book close to his back, which was covered in cuts and bruises, in order to use the heat to stop the bleeding.

Otherwise, Hayes would soon die from blood loss, and there would be no one to bandage him up.

It seems that Judge Uliso had this in mind; he planned to have Hayes die in prison so that there would be no way to prove anything.

The reason they haven't killed him yet is probably because they want to toy with him.

The aroma of roasted meat wafted from his back. Hayes felt his back go numb, but he managed to stop the bleeding nonetheless.

Although he might die from an infection of his wound later, he has survived for now.

The way to get out of the prison was also very simple. Although the bars were made of iron, the cell door was made of wood, and you could burn the cell door open with fire.

Looking at the raging flames in front of him, Hayes threw the remaining half of "The Blessed Land: A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey" into it.

He dried the blood off his body, the flames warming him at the same time.

There was no one else in the entire prison except him, because the prison only contained the dead and the dying; no one could return alive from here.

The cell door collapsed, and Hayes, disregarding the still raging fire above, rushed out of the cell; he was free.

At the very moment of freedom, Hayes felt a sense of relief; he had broken through and become a first-tier warrior.

Two days later, a young man arrived in Velisco. He was twenty-one years old and dressed in rags. He claimed that he had escaped from hell, but no one believed him.

"What is hell? You, a mere first-tier warrior, don't even have the qualifications to go there, so how could you possibly escape?"

A passing monk, upon hearing this, burst into laughter, his words filled with mockery of ignorance.

Hayes' behavior quickly attracted the attention of a group of people, and the arbitrators soon apprehended him. After questioning him, Hayes confessed everything.

Ultimately, Hayes was pardoned because he did not believe in any god.

Even more fortunately, due to his past experiences and his strength as a first-tier warrior, after deliberation by the arbitrators, they decided to reward Hayes with a house in the city, some gold coins, and a job opportunity.

"What a bizarre past."

Before they knew it, Jiang Shuzhou had finished listening to Hayes' story, and they had been standing in front of the pharmacy for quite some time.

"So what are your thoughts on the Mage Alliance now?"

Jiang Shuzhou asked that fatal question.

"It's alright. Although we haven't achieved equality for all, at least there is order. As long as we follow the order, we don't have to worry about being persecuted."

Hayes replied.

Is it really that good? Jiang Shuzhou wondered, but he didn't say it aloud. Judging from the situation, it was at least much better than those people in the Alliance of Saints.

"So what's your opinion of those believers?"

"Many of them lack their own personality, whether due to their environment or their beliefs."

Hayes paused for a moment before responding.

"Alright, let's look forward. Let's not talk about these heavy topics anymore. Let's go, we need to buy you some medicine."

"My lord, it's all in the past. I've brought my parents here, and they'll never have to suffer oppression from those nobles again."

"Then why are you still collecting protection money!"

"This...please forgive me, sir, I cannot change these rules."

Sigh, there's no shortage of trouble in any place.

"Let's not talk about it anymore. I'll give you the day off tomorrow. Go home and get some rest."