"Great...

" Slowly Evan muttered as he looked at the result. He had finally reached the first stage of

"Awareness

" in the

"Magic Missile

".

Now the beam passed through and contained much more energy. Evan hadn't planned to do the

"Transforming of Spells

" with the

"Magic Missile

" because he didn't yet know exactly what he wanted to change in it and if it was necessary. Moreover, nothing had changed since his lab had been destroyed. Evan had no materials, no scrolls, no desk, just nothing. Nevertheless, he had no desire to do the work of rebuilding the lab either, he just didn't need it now.

"Tomorrow it will finally be a good time to give it my all. I wonder how strong are my opponents ?

" Evan muttered as he pondered the upcoming tournament.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Suddenly Evan heard loud thumps outside, as if someone was trying to break in and beating the barrier. He didn't understand what was going on. The young man thought he was being attacked or that someone was fighting right next to his house. Evan quickly ran outside and saw the man who was beating on the barrier around the house with a satisfied smile.

"Evan! You're finally out. I was getting tired of calling out for you, so I decided to knock. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

" Zak said loudly.

Evan didn't know what Zak was doing here or why he had come, but the young man was glad to see him anyway. He hurriedly walked over to Zak.

The commander looked Evan around and said:

"And you're looking pretty good. Marcel told me that you were lucky enough to meet a talented blacksmith, but I see that you`ve found a tailor just as good.

"

Zak assessed Evan's appearance and his weapon. The young man took

"Reverse Death

" with him because he`d thought he was being attacked.

Evan nodded in response and said:

"Commander, glad to see you, how did you get here?

"

"Isn't it obvious? You have a tournament tomorrow and of course I'll be rooting for you, so today we need to get properly drunk!

" Zak said cheerfully.

Evan was taken aback by that suggestion, but after a few seconds, he smiled and replied,

"Your treat, then.

"

"Okay, kid, whatever you say. Let's go to one of Marcel`s bars, he said he had something special for us.

"

Said Zak and gestured to follow him.

...

After a while, Evan and Zak had arrived at the right place. Evan was surprised to find that the bar looked nothing like the other Marcel`s places, it was called

"The Falling Drop

".

It was rather closer in style to Zak: simple, spacious, and unpretentious. No expensive materials or elaborate decorations. The furnishings inside were, exactly, the same as in any ordinary bar.

Zak saw Evan's puzzled face and decided to explain:

"Don't look so surprised, Evan. Of all the establishments that Marcel owns, this bar is special. You know that unlike Marcel, I don't like expensive restaurants, stores and so on. Marcel didn't like that I drank in cheap taverns instead of what he thought were decent places. He wanted to give me one of his bars and after much persuasion I agreed, but on certain demands.

"

While Zak was telling Evan about the

"Falling Drop

", they walked leisurely over to the bar.

"My terms were: no fancy furniture, finishes, uniforms for the staff and decor and all the things you might find in any Marcel`s establishment. Though it was difficult, he agreed. The only thing he insisted on was really high-quality expensive alcohol. As you can imagine, I didn't mind.

"

Evan and Zak sat down at the bar and the commander immediately ordered.

In fact, Zak was the owner of the

"Falling Drop

", but since he didn't want to get involved in running the restaurant, Marcel had to take matters into his own hands.

Marcel had tried many times to change things at the Falling Drop, but Zak was adamantly opposed to the vast majority of the ideas.

The barman quickly poured them two full glasses of ale.

Zak took the glass firmly and drank about half of it in a second. He put the glass back down with a clatter and said:

"Evan, how do you rate your chances?

"

The young man took a few sips and replied,

"I'm going to go all the way, and I intend to win.

"

Evan understood that the opponents in the tournament would be serious, but he wasn`t going to lose. A tough fight in which he had to give it his all was what he needed. Evan would have wanted a fight similar to his and Fien's duel, but more fierce one.

"Good spirit, but I want you to know that this tournament is not as easy as it looks. The Erden family and the Cross family are very influential and many magicians respect them. Lots of talented young men from nearby towns have come to Mossy Vulture just to compete in the tournament. It's going to be really hard to win

". Zak said calmly, taking another sip of ale.

"I understand, but all I have to do is defeat every opponent, that's all. I hope to see only worthy and interesting opponents, otherwise, the tournament won't be interesting for me.

" Evan said slowly.

He was glad to hear that it wouldn't just be the young men from Mossy Vulture who would be participating.

Evan thought to himself.

"Well, Evan, I want to tell you something. Marcel told it to me in confidence and asked to tell you.

The tournament will also feature the Whitehead Family`s offspring, I hope you know what that means.

"

Evan wasn't intimidated by this high-profile name.

Well, Evan's previous body owner had gone through a lot of misery because of Abigail Whitehead, but Evan had already dealt with her. He got his revenge on Abigail in full.

From Marcel he heard a lot of

"flattering

" things about the Whitehead Family, but he himself only met one person with that last name. Maybe this Family is terrible indeed, but maybe there are decent people in it. Evan judged each person by their personal qualities, otherwise he could make the grave mistake of labeling them.

Of course, Evan knew that most of the Whitehead Family weren`t, probably, the best people, but it was all because of his first impression.

"Is there anything I should be afraid of?

" Evan asked calmly.

He knew that Zak wouldn't just mention the Whitehead Family, it was obvious that the commander knew about what had happened to Evan before they met. Initially, Marcel wasn't really going to tell Zak

anything, but when he found out that a member of the Whitehead Family would be participating in the tournament, he decided to let Zak know.

Zak shook his head,

"No, they don't know that you killed Abigail Whitehead and started the riot. Even if something does happen, then me, Marcel, Koen, and Fane won't let them run amok in Mossy Vulture

".