When A Mage Revolts

Benjamin really did not expect this.

They had already left Icor, and as such the warrant for his arrest was already at the back of his mind – they were always so careful, even if the people of the town of Ciera said anything, they were floating about on the boat for so long, no one could ever guess their exact location.

When the ice boat was crossing the border, it was a little high profile…. But still, to connect that with Benjamin and his people, are these people Sherlock Holmes?

But even if these people had any evidence against them, and felt that Benjamin and gang were the culprits in the ice boat incident, where did such a big group of guards come from? The Valley of the Abyss was surrounded by wilderness, there were no garrisons near Ferelden - why would the thousands of guards find the time to come here so early in the morning?

Moreover, these should be the citizens of Ferelden, the wanted notice should be Icor’s business, why are they getting involved? Benjamin was stunned; he did not understand what was going on at all.

"What? I do not understand what you mean..." Since they were already being surrounded, Benjamin’s best bet was to act ignorant, "we are mages from the City of Rayleigh, and we needed a few special ingredients. Has something happened?"

A man riding a horse, who was dressed like a general suddenly barked at them, "Are you really mages from the City of Rayleigh?"

Benjamin nodded his head.

The other mages reacted equally as fast, and nodded their heads in unison. They have been acting with Benjamin for such a long time that now they were completely in sync, their innocent face was second to none.

"What about these people?" the General pointed at the mercenaries, "From what I can tell, they are not mages."

Before the mercenaries could answer, Benjamin replied smoothly, "We issued a task, and these are the mercenaries that I hired to help me. It’s a fairly simple matter. Is that a problem?"

The mercenaries were smart and nodded their heads as they played along, probably to thank Benjamin for saving their lives.

"No. This is too suspicious, I cannot let you go." The general still shook his head. It was a little strange to be honest, it was as though he had to keep Benjamin and the others here at all cost.

"Why?" Benjamin asked unashamedly, "Don’t you have a picture on the warrant? Take it out and compare it to us, will that not clear our name?"

"We still haven’t gotten the picture…." The general stuttered the reply.

Thank God. Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief in his mind.

These are definitely citizens of Ferelden. Even though the reason why they cared about a warrant from Icor, but the wanted poster should not be stuck all across their country. Moreover, if they already had a picture, they would have recognized him from the start – no need to ask so many questions.

"Since you don’t even have a picture, then please don’t waste our time." Benjamin changed his demeanor as he replied, "What is your name? If you do not let us leave, you better believe that we will gather all the mages in the city and write a letter to His Majesty the King."

"I..."

Seeing the general’s weakening resolve, Benjamin laughed coldly at him.

He was in such a hurry to catch them, he didn’t prepare anything to help him do so. He really did underestimate them.

"What else do you want to say? If you have nothing to say, then we are leaving." Benjamin shook his head and he waved the other mages behind him to move forward.

He was prepared to lead everyone away.

"Wait." The general’s face suddenly changed, as he glared at Benjamin, "Are you trying to trick me? You just revealed yourself. True, there is a picture on the warrant, but what bothers me is… How did you know that?"

"I..."

The general interrupted Benjamin and continued talking, "The wanted poster, has never been posted in the streets of Ferelden. If you are really a mage from the city of Rayleigh, you would never have come across a wanted poster from Icor. Unless... you are the mages that ran away from Icor, only then would you be familiar with how the poster looks!"

"..."

Everyone went silent.

In a split-second, the atmosphere became very tense.

"Hey." The System appeared again, and taunted Benjamin with a cunning voice, "You are being crushed by some unknown person!"

Benjamin answered impatiently, "Don’t you dare give me any trouble right now."

He came back to reality, and looked at the general with a blank expression, "What is so weird about that? As a mage who lives in the city of Rayleigh, being well-informed is a must-have skill. I have a few friends in Icor - they told me about the wanted poster, that was why I raised the issue with the picture, is that considered a loophole?"

"..."

Benjamin mimicked the general, quickly interrupting him to continue, "Dear sir, just because you thought that you found a loophole, don’t be in such a hurry to show off your mental abilities. Think carefully about what you are saying."

"..."

The general was speechless again, his face now flushed red.

Even the mages around him gave him pitying glances.

But, Benjamin was not going to let him go so easily, "What now? Am I not allowed to know about the wanted poster? I know a lot of things. I also know that last night, a group of mages used an ice boat to cross the border, but what does that have to do with us? I also know that if you decide to arrest us, the king will still treat us fairly and justly."

"No, you are that group of mages!" after Benjamin’s incredibly rude remarks, the general exploded, "Don’t you dare quibble with me! The person on the wanted poster is you, the person who sneaked across the border is you, the person who conjured the ice boat is also you! I will not let you get off so easily!"

"What did you say?" Benjamin seemed to have reached the man’s vulnerable point. Benjamin’s expression became stern; he glared at the general and spoke softly, "Are you accusing me of conjuring the ice boat that was used to illegally cross the border?"

The general excitedly pointed at Benjamin, "Right! You used magic to conjure it! You think I do now realize this?"

"Enough." Benjamin took a deep breath, and as though he noticed something; his whole body went still as he replied "True, I used magic to conjure up the boat. But...how did you know that?"

The general was stunned.

"Who could have let it slip?" Benjamin put both hands on his waist and looked at him coldly, "True, we were crossing the border on the ice boat last night. But regarding the individual who conjured the ice boat, only the mages present would know it was me. There was no one else at the scene. Unless you were those bat-like magical creatures, it is impossible that you know this fact."

"I…I am..."

Benjamin shook his head impatiently, "Enough, stop pretending. I now know you, and these guards, and everything about this valley is nothing but an illusion. This is because only our subconscious would know exactly who conjured the ice boat."

The general was stumped.

Not only the general, but also the guards, the mages behind Benjamin, the mercenaries... everyone was stunned silent. The only thing was, the general and the soldier’s blank stare was more like a paused video, whereas the mages’ and the mercenaries’ blank stare was more of a "what did you say" kind of blank stare.

This confirmed Benjamin’s hunch. This was all just an illusion- although he did not know the source.

He thought it was strange when the mercenaries appeared, but he didn’t think too much about it. Then, when the general and the soldiers appeared, everything changed.

It was not that they were suspicious from the start, it was the general’s words and actions, it gave him an automated feel, like...he wasn’t a real person.

The more Benjamin tested him, the more he revealed his flaws. When he finally said that Benjamin was the one to conjure the ice boat, Benjamin knew that the nagging suspicion was true.

It didn’t matter where this "general" came from, didn’t matter how powerful he was, or what secret plans he had: there were so many mages in front of him, it was impossible that he would know which mage conjured the ice boat. Even if he guessed that it was Benjamin, he would not be sure.

And so, Benjamin concluded that the whole situation was an illusion within their minds.

"Is it...is it really an illusion?" the System was hesitant, "Does this world even have such an amazing illusion? Impossible! Even I was cheated??"

Benjamin shook his head impatiently, "Use your powers, get a sense of everything, it will all be revealed."

"…. All right."

When he finished speaking, the System activated his own powers; Benjamin entered a space of emptiness with no enemies.

The experience with the emptiness this time was nothing like the previous ones. At that moment, Benjamin felt as though he was falling through a while light whilst a shapeless power came after him, shaking him awake.

The real world once again appeared before him.