As Khaun continued explaining the differences between knights and mages, he suddenly looked at me.
"You have dark affinity, don't you?" he asked.
I hesitated for a moment before answering slowly.
"Yes."
Khaun nodded.
"For people with dark affinity, most choose to become mages rather than fighters."
He leaned back slightly in the saddle as we rode.
"Affinity usually strengthens a fighting style. My wind affinity increases my speed. Mari's fire affinity increases her destructive power."
He glanced at me again.
"But dark affinity doesn't give a strong advantage in direct combat."
"It increases attack power slightly, and defensively it acts like an extra layer of armor."
He paused.
"But for mages, dark affinity is far more useful."
"With it, you can use curses—slow, exhaustion, and other debuffs that weaken enemies."
"In that path, you would probably have much more success."
He looked at me curiously.
"So why did you choose the knight's path?"
I didn't answer immediately.
Instead, I tried to remember.
When I was thrown out of the castle, the man who raised me—my father… or the man who claimed to be—had given me books.
Books about becoming either a mage or a knight.
He told me to decide for myself.
I didn't know why, but the path of the knight had simply felt right.
Maybe it was stubbornness.
Maybe pride.
Or maybe just luck.
"I don't really know," I finally said.
"Consider it luck."
Khaun laughed.
"Fair enough."
Then he added casually,
"If you ever meet a skilled blacksmith and a black mage, ask them about weapon inscriptions."
"It can make your weapon far more effective."
Duracal had mentioned something similar before—embedding magic into weapons—but I never fully understood how it worked.
"What exactly do you mean?" I asked.
Khaun took a sip from his flask before answering.
"Normally, knights store power inside their bodies and release it through attacks."
"At higher levels, they can even use mana from the air—like wind blades released from their swords."
"But that takes years of practice."
He continued.
"With weapon inscriptions, a skilled mage prepares the magical pattern first."
"Runes, circles, triggers—whatever the spell requires."
"Then the pattern is given to a blacksmith."
"The blacksmith engraves the exact design onto the weapon."
"When the knight sends mana into the inscription, it activates the spell."
"In that moment, the weapon acts almost like a wand."
He shrugged.
"Of course, it usually has limited uses depending on the inscription."
That was completely new information to me.
The caravan stopped around midday for lunch and a short rest.
After that, we continued traveling.
Slowly, the sun began to set.
By evening, we finally saw the town in the distance.
The towers of Askona rose above the walls.
The town was named after Askona, a mercenary who once held the gate against a monster attack for an entire day.
His stand allowed the townspeople to escape, and even the king later honored his sacrifice.
Thinking about it, I was already looking forward to sleeping in a real bed at the inn.
But things didn't go as I expected.
Before we even entered the town, the guards stopped our caravan outside the gate.
After learning who we were, they told us to wait.
Not long after, the sound of horses approached.
More than thirty riders appeared.
They wore armor and carried swords, and their banner displayed the crest of the ruling house—a mountain pierced by a sword.
The symbol of House Raonelet.
For a moment, I was shocked.
Were they here to arrest someone?
Khaun didn't seem worried at all.
He simply sat on his horse and continued drinking.
Ron, Rany, and Niapru rode forward to speak with the knight who appeared to be their commander.
I tried focusing my aura on my ears to listen.
But before I could hear much, Khaun spoke.
"Do you think nobles are idiots?"
I looked at him.
"They have devices to stop people from listening in on private conversations," he said lazily.
"Stop trying and relax."
After a while, Ron returned.
He sighed.
"It seems House Raonelet is currently at war with a bandit force."
I blinked in surprise.
"A duke's house… at war with bandits?"
Ron noticed my expression.
"These aren't normal bandits," he said.
"The bandit force is estimated to be around one hundred thousand strong."
I was stunned.
That wasn't a bandit group.
That was practically an army.
"How many forces does House Raonelet have?" I asked.
Ron answered calmly.
"More than five hundred apprentice knights."
"Two hundred full knights."
"Over fifty high-aura knights."
"And one aura master."
"They also have around two hundred mages."
"And an army of about eighty thousand soldiers."
That was still a massive force.
"So why involve us?" I asked.
Ron shrugged.
"Apparently the house is winning."
"But the bandits found a weakness."
"They keep attacking agricultural villages."
"They destroy crops, steal food supplies, and ambush merchants bringing provisions."
"Because of that, the knights are escorting caravans and supply routes."
He pointed toward the armored riders.
"They're apprentice knights, but still trained fighters."
"Starting tonight, we'll be traveling with their escort."
I blinked.
"Tonight?"
Ron nodded.
"They want us to move immediately."
Traveling at night?
That sounded terrible.
My shoulders slumped.
So much for a comfortable night at an inn.
In my mind I muttered bitterly:
Remind me next time not to dream about soft beds too early.