Lyria and Livy were surprised by Eric's 'surprise.'

  This was very basic knowledge; everyone should be aware of it, no?

  But they soon calmed down, as perhaps Eric truly might not have known.

  Just when Lyria was about to explain, Livy took her spot and quickly answered Eric, “Brother Eric, that is indeed so. Each major Rank increases lifespan by a dozen or so years until the end of Apprentice Rank. After that, there are some big changes that we don’t know about, but it definitely increases lifespan. Otherwise, no one could reach higher Ranks with a Mortal-like lifespan."

  Lyria glared at Livy in outrage. She stole her chance to show off her knowledge to Eric!

  Eric didn’t care who explained, but he—as well as Riya inside him—were thoroughly shocked and astonished.

  So, it will be a fun, long life… of adventuring. Fantastic!

  Both Riya and Eric were excited.

  Riya decided she should try harder to make Eric stronger and push him to his peak. She already had some ideas, but everything was uncertain until he actually became a Mana Wilder. Then, she needed to check how much she could actually do. If she could do what she guessed she could, it would be absolutely amazing! Probably only she could do it, due to how abnormal she and the Mind Space were—especially because of her great access to the Mind Space. Not only that, if she could use Eric’s Mana to push it into others’ bodies, perhaps she could fulfill her dream of having badass sisters!

  'Rejoice, Eric!'

  Riya was actually much more excited than Eric at this moment. Although she wished to help Eric, she was also quite lazy—since they could only live for so long. She had lots of ideas she wanted to work on, but time was lacking for Eric in the long term. So, she was not too enthusiastic and was lazing around, doing the bare minimum of what creativity she had in her mind.

  Riya also shared the same love for adventure and fun as Eric. She previously thought she would only work until it was needed, but now, hearing there was an opportunity to work on the ideas she had, she became very excited and tempted.

  She wished Eric could simply jump and become a Mana Wilder right away, so she could confirm her guesses.

  Riya quickly reminded, “Eric, eat more food from now on. I need more energy to study!”

  Eric was bewildered. What did Riya wish to study? But he only needed to eat more, so it was fine, and he didn’t think more into it.

  Eric calmed down from his surprise and asked both sisters, “So, by Mana Wilder, you mean all three categories—Mage, Warrior, and Mystical Knight?”

  Lyria quickly nodded and answered before Livy got the chance, “That's right! All three are only different paths, but their lifespans are the same.”

  Livy glared at Lyria in rage. Lyria took the chance that only belonged to her, as she was the one explaining. That was the same as taking someone else’s hard work!

  'I will have my revenge!'

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  Eric, in the end, didn’t mention Bella Noll’s age to the girls. They wouldn’t be of any help and would only make Bella Noll feel annoyed with their concern. Nonetheless, he now understood just how terrible her condition was. From 120 to 70 years… He sighed internally.

  Livy, at this moment, recalled, “I think we’re forgetting—Grandma said she would torture us… cough… she would train us this evening, but it’s raining right now.”

  “Ah, that’s right. She told us yesterday that today’s training would focus on extreme balance. I was also looking forward to it…” Lyria turned to watch the closed window and could hear the heavy downpour. She sighed with pity. “Can’t we train in any spare room?”

  Livy clapped her hands and suggested, “Why don’t we go and ask her? If she says there won’t be any training today, then we can play the card game Brother Eric made. It was very fun!”

  Eric had no problem with it.

  Lyria looked toward Eric, to which he agreed with a nod.

  So, they all walked out of the room and headed toward Bella Noll’s office.

  -

  “…Madam Bella Noll, please help us. We need your help and supervision in this. We cannot delay even a single day, or else it will become too disastrous for everyone within our town.”

  Just as Eric, Lyria, and Livy neared the office door, they heard voices coming from inside.

  The door was wide open, and it seemed a new guest had visited Bella Noll in the current rain.

  Lyria and Livy wanted to eavesdrop, but Eric knew Bella Noll should have already heard their footsteps. So, he brazenly walked inside, while Lyria and Livy quietly followed behind him, feeling ashamed for no reason.

  Inside the room, there was another person, who seemed to be leaning forward—or rather, bowing—toward Bella Noll and asking for her help with something.

  After noticing the situation, Eric waited for their conversation to end. He felt he had seen the person somewhere before, but as the person was facing the other side, he couldn’t recognize him.

  Bella Noll was hesitating. After noticing the trio enter, she paused and thought about it.

  In the end, she agreed with a sigh, “Fine, but don’t expect me to act. I will only take action if it’s beyond something you all can handle—and within something I can. If the danger is too much, then I will leave. If this fails, it is best if you start evacuating all the town’s people by tomorrow evening.”

  The person stood up straight while releasing a silent sigh of relief.

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy immediately recognized the person—Town Mayor Jarvis Laroche.

  Although they were surprised by Jarvis’s appearance, what shocked them more was what Bella Noll just said.

  The town was in danger and needed evacuation? That serious? What happened?

  Jarvis nodded his head and uttered softly, “Then we shall wait for you by the cemetery at midnight.”

  Just as Jarvis turned around to leave, Bella Noll said something that put Eric, Lyria, and Livy into much heavier expressions.

  “Jarvis, if something happens to me—whether it’s tonight or in the near future—I hope you remember your promise and take care of everyone inside the Orphanage, including the workers. I hope you and your family will remember this debt well.”

  Jarvis turned his head and nodded slightly, “Madam Bella Noll, even if you didn’t ask for it, I would definitely do everything in my power to protect this place. You have my word!” He then walked away with a very worried expression. He even forgot to close the door behind him.

  Lyria and Livy glanced at Bella Noll and opened their mouths to say something, but no words came out. Their faces were pale, and they didn’t know what to say or ask.

  Eric stared at the leaving Jarvis and tried to understand what might have occurred.

  From that conversation, he could pick up some points. For instance, whatever the trouble was, it wasn’t an emergency, otherwise, such a calm request and conversation wouldn’t have happened. Jarvis also wouldn’t have personally arrived—even if he had, he would have requested immediate action—but he said “midnight.” With this, Eric could summarize it wasn’t a Bandits’ attack, but small chances were still there.

  If it wasn’t that much of a hurry, why not just go to the nearest town and request reinforcements? If a Mana Wielder could rush at full speed, they should be able to arrive within a day or two—and it’s not like there are no horses in the town.

  Riya agreed, “Indeed, I can roughly calculate that if a Mana Wielder—or rather, a Warrior like that bastard Cooper—could run nonstop with that speed, he should be able to reach the nearest village within a day or two. In fact, with that speed, if he could continue with minimal rest and recovery, he could probably even reach Batley City in two to three months via the northwest path—unlike the normal five months it takes.”

  Eric nodded internally and wondered why Bella Noll had even agreed to such a request. Could the current trouble only be dealt with tonight? It was also so critical that she was putting her own life at risk… Just what was going on?

  Bella Noll smiled, seeing the troubled looks on all three of them. She thought a little and decided to come clean with them. “Lyria, shut the door. All of you, take a seat.”

  Lyria did so, and all three of them sat in the chairs.

  Livy’s eyes were red; she was just one step away from sobbing.

  Bella Noll glanced at the trio’s expressions and wanted to tease them, but she felt she’d better not—in case both Lyria and Livy truly started crying. She coughed, “Don’t carry such heavy expressions; it’s not that I will definitely die tonight.”

  Eric also guessed so, but he couldn’t understand what the current emergency was about.

  “What’s happening?” Eric asked straight, without mincing words.

  Bella Noll stayed quiet for a short while, wondering how to explain these things, as she had never spoken anything related to Mana or larger world issues with any of them. It was mainly to avoid making Eric, Lyria, or Livy feel impatient and lose focus on their current training.

  In the end, Bella Noll shrugged and decided it was high time for all three of them to start learning a few things related to world issues, as they were already nearing the peak of Mortal stats.

  “Have any of you heard the term ‘Umbrixa’?”