After one hour:

  Jacob separated from the others and started to explore the village. The midday sun warmed the air and the wind carried the smell of the flowers around. As he walked toward the arena, he noticed people's glances. They made him feel uncomfortable being the only dark-skinned person there.

  Though he had just eaten, the smell of apple pie caught his attention and as he turned to view the pies in the bakery, he suddenly felt someone was following him.

  A familiar, playful voice said from behind, "Boy, you want to taste that pie?"

  Jacob turned, and the voice came again, this time close to his ear from behind, "Wrong direction darling."

  Jacob jumped to the front and looked back at that person. "Enterno?" he was shocked and said.

  "It's quite lovely that you remember my name," Enterno said.

  "What do you want from me?" Jacob said firmly.

  "Calm down, sweaty," Enterno said with a smile.

  "S...sweaty? Stop calling me that," Jacob said, annoyed.

  "Your aura looks magically delicious," Enterno said. "I wonder if you have your own ability or if you're still an unripe fruit."

  "That's none of your business, and pardon me, I don't have time for a weirdo like you," Jacob said.

  "That broke my heart," Enterno said. He instantly moved behind Jacob and held his head. Before Jacob could react, he disappeared.

  "What was that?" Jacob said, holding his head.

  "Are you okay?" a stranger approached him.

  "Yes, I’m fine," Jacob said and slowly walked away.

  "Wait," the person said.

  "Huh?" Jacob said.

  "My name is Saint," he said. "Earlier, I heard you and the two people with you talking about Zoeske."

  "You know Zoeske?" Jacob asked.

  "Yes, he's my friend," Saint said. "But who are you? And is he okay?"

  "I'm his friend too, but he's missing now and we were searching for him," Jacob replied.

  "What happened, and why is he missing?" Saint said, concerned.

  "It's a long story," Jacob said. (This person looks genuinely concerned for Zoeske. He'll be helpful if he helps me search for Zoeske.)

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  He noticed Saint's dirty clothes, and Saint noticed that. "I finished cleaning the arena a few minutes ago," he said with a nervous smile.

  "Don't worry, follow me, and I'll explain to you what happened," Jacob said.

  Meanwhile, Jacha, Pondra, and Picky walked toward the forest. They carried almost nothing additional to their items, which concerned Picky.

  "You guys are either overconfident or just too lazy to carry any emergency supplies," Picky said.

  "Hmmm, this is supposed to be a secret, but we're friends now, so I'll share it with you," Pondra said. "My ability is to scale down anything containing magic."

  "Wow, I heard these kinds of abilities are impossible. How did you manage to make one?" Picky said.

  "It's hard to explain its mechanism in one sitting," Pondra said. "And we don't have time for it now."

  "That's unfortunate," Picky said sadly. (Jacha, this man's aura contradicts his appearance. It's intense, like someone prepared to fight, even though he looks relaxed. He's not even bothered hiding his intense aura.)

  "Is there a path through the forest?" Jacha asked.

  "Yes, one path leads into the forest, and inside, it splits into two directions. It's like one entrance and two exits," Picky said.

  "And how do Fauns protect the path?" Jacha asked.

  "I'm not sure, but it seems they allow people to enter the forest as long as they stay on the already existing paths," Picky said.

  (There might be hidden rules that Fauns placed in the forest, and knowing them will help me understand their reasoning and get a better view of how Odd evolved, the Faun seen with Zoeske,) Jacha thought. (That's only if Odd is actually a real Faun.)

  At the village, a few minutes later, Jacob and Saint sat under a tree on a hill overlooking the village. From there, it was evident that most people were at the Julius Arena, watching the tournament.

  "So, that's pretty much what happened," Jacob said after telling Saint everything he knew about Zoeske. "He didn't live with us for long, but I know after my father's death, he'll feel responsible and keep blaming himself."

  "Sorry," Saint said, frowning.

  "It all started there, right?" Jacob asked calmly.

  "When our villagers found a healer, my and Zoeske's friend, they started forcing domination over the monsters. Afterward, they crossed their boundaries, and the power made them forget their humanity. They found an old goblin who was strangely smart, taking care of a human baby who was probably abandoned. But the villagers didn't care about his age or weak body; they killed him and ripped him apart. Later, they hung his body parts around his cave to scare the other goblins."

  A flashback of his father's body popped into his mind, and Jacob threw up. He tried to forget, but the Saint's brutal explanation of what happened was similar to how the goblins retaliated against his father's body.

  "S...sorry about that," Saint rushed to Jacob and gently patted his back.

  "Everything makes sense now," Jacob said. "At least I understand now their weird behavior."

  "But from what you said about Zoeske, I barely recognize him," Saint said. "After his mother's death, his whole personality changed. Before that incident, he wanted to roam the world and explore the undiscovered. But now, that ambitious child turned into a magic-obsessed person filled with revenge thoughts."

  "Can we blame him?" Jacob said. "I've come to understand the depth of his hatred, and I feel foolish recalling my attempts to be a justice hero. We've both endured the same tragedy: the loss of someone we loved. He can't be alone, or he'll become a monster. I'm no hero, but my father lived by taking responsibility and hating crime. I taught Zoe magic, and I won't let him use it for evil."

  (Jacob, you're not seeing yourself clearly. You're trying to lose yourself in the search for Zoeske. I won't presume to know your real intentions, but I can tell you're a genuinely good person,) Saint thought.

  While looking at the village, Saint noticed a person walking in a weird way. He said, "who is that?"