Villain's Second Heart: Trapped in A Fantasy Novel (BL)-Chapter 70: Do It For Deek

As Ezra set Cliff back into his chair in the homey kitchen, the goat Ferin was in a decidedly better mood. He didn’t grumble or shout - he even said hello to Deek when they came back through the house.

Ezra walked into the living room to catch up with the foxy Deek after saying his goodbyes to Cliff.

"So...what the heck was that all about?" she pried, keeping her voice somewhat low so as to not be overheard.

"We helped each other out," he said, grinning. "And Deek, maybe I can help you next."

Ezra boasted a confident smirk. He’d gained 40 FP so far, and was feeling good about his trip with Cliff. Deek, being one of the only people Ezra knew in this world, was a logical next step.

"Eh?"

"What do you want?"

"Tonight? Chicken."

"I mean...in general," Ezra laughed. "The thing you want more than anything else in the world. Your deepest desire. Would you be willing to share it with me? I want to help you reach it."

Deek blinked several times before crossing her arms and huffing. "You’re so weird!" she chirped. "Why couldn’t Mr. Rav or Mr. Nephilim have come to visit? All I get is this stinky human!"

"Deek! You be respectful to our damn guest!" Cliff shouted from the other room.

Ezra found the sudden intrusion flattering. It would seem he’d secured himself a permanent ally in Cliff.

"Aw, fine. Ezra, you wanna know what I want? I wanna be just like Mr. Rav!"

"An...arrogant playboy?"

"No! A Magician!"

[New Quest: Helping Decoy

Decoy trains under the Sage Ravager to become a Magician, but has not yet awakened. The fastest way for her to gain the power she wants is for you to steal it from another.

Objective: Defeat an enemy Magician with Decoy, and transfer the Magician’s power to her.

Reward: 25 FP]

’Whoa, 25 FP...that’s a quarter of what I need alone...’

Even so, it sounded like his most difficult quest yet. Defeating a Magician...killing them? Was that something he could do? It’s not like he could ask Oberyn or Rav to help him assassinate someone out of the blue.

"You just gonna stand there gawking at the wall like a weirdo?" she spat.

Ezra shook his head, returning to reality.

"I have an idea how to help you," Ezra said. "But...well, it might be complicated."

"Really? You could help me!?"

Ezra lowered his shoulders.

’I might as well ask...’

"Know any Magicians that we could, uh...fight? For their power?"

Deek’s eyes widened. "What the hell! Ezra, you joking with me, here? I can’t fight a Magician! Oh, but if I could, I would definitely go knock out that Magician of Thorns! That lady’s been a total pain in the ass to every Ferin in the village!"

A lead.

"Tell me more about her," Ezra implored the fox Ferin. "What’s she doing? What kind of powers does she have?"

"Uh, was it not obvious from her name? THORNS, bonehead. She can make thorns. But what sucks about it is that they stay all over wherever she was fighting, and they keep suckin’ the magic out of the land. And eventually, they pop! And all that crazy magic can cause a big old Torrent. It’s happened a ton of times around here, you know. She uses the Ferin land as her own personal hunting ground."

"Torrents, huh?"

Ezra’s mind flickered back to the first day he met Oberyn. They encountered a Torrent in the forest. Could it have been the vestigial remains of this ’Magician of Thorns’ power?

If so, she was a frightening opponent indeed. The amount of mana from that Torrent was nearly enough to overpower Oberyn and Ezra both.

’But I’m stronger than I was back then,’ Ezra realized. ’Much stronger. Not just with my levels - I know what I’m doing, now.’

Ezra turned to Deek. "Is she a bad person, this Magician?"

"The worst! She’s a damn headhunter for Asteria - and you know those dumb humans aren’t hunting heads for good reason. They come after good, hardworking Ferin who just wanna live their lives!"

"So she’s a contract killer. Is she strong?"

"Hmph. Maybe a little too tough for me to handle, yeah..."

"It might take some time," Ezra said. "But let me sit on this for a bit, okay? I’ll talk to Rav and Oby about it. If she’s terrorizing the Ferin, then I want her gone just as much as you do."

Deek narrowed her eyes. She could see something in Ezra for the first time - something different. But whether it was for good or bad, she couldn’t discern.

"You got it. I was more hoping to be a cooler Magician, though. Like...the Magician of Lava! Or one of the Summoners! Or...or...Clouds!"

"Well, scratch that last one. I’m not fighting Rav."

"Well, maybe Mr. Rav goes down fighting! Like...another God of Such-and-Such appears, and he saves the world all heroic-like! And then...he leaves all his power to me, because I’ve been such a good student!"

Ezra laughed with Deek. "If that ever happened," he started, "I’m sure he would. You ARE his best student, from all I can tell."

The mechanics of magic were still unfamiliar to him - he didn’t know if a Magician could willfully transfer their power to another. Though, since stealing power was on the table...it was possible.

"Alright, Deek," he said. "I should wait outside for Rav. I’m not sure when he’ll be back, and I’ve finished all I needed to do today."

"Nuh-uh. You haven’t helped with any chores, buddy!"

"I’ve been here for hours!" Ezra fretted. "I was helping Mr. Cliff, okay?"

Just as they began to argue, they were alerted by the sound of rushing wind outside.

It wasn’t a sound that scared either of them, because they’d both heard it many, many times by now.

"Mr. Rav!" she beamed.

And at that moment, Rav kicked open the front door.

"Hello, my beautiful admirers! Yes, it is I in the flesh - the Great Sage of Clouds!"