Chapter 2
Obi reached the outskirts of Hage Village before sunset.
He kept his mana suppressed.
Not hidden completely — just lowered enough that no one important would sense him.
He already knew who lived here.
Asta.
Yuno.
Sister Lily.
The future headache of the Clover Kingdom.
He stopped at the tree line overlooking the church.
Kids were training in the yard.
One loud.
One silent.
Obi folded his arms.
"Right on schedule."
Asta was yelling something about becoming Wizard King.
Yuno was ignoring him like a professional.
Obi nodded once.
Canon was intact.
Good.
That meant the timeline hadn't shifted just because he arrived.
He sat down against a tree.
He wasn't here to interfere.
Not yet.
Information first.
Resources second.
Followers third.
Dark magic gathered lightly around his fingers as he experimented.
Instead of forming a blade, he compressed it.
Thinner.
Denser.
The mana resisted at first.
Then it stabilized.
A small black sphere floated above his palm.
No larger than a marble.
It hummed quietly.
Not loud.
Not flashy.
Efficient.
Obi smiled.
"Dark Magic: Compression."
The grimoire reacted instantly.
New ink wrote itself across a blank page.
Spell recorded.
He exhaled slowly.
"So it evolves with me."
Interesting.
That meant creativity mattered.
He flicked his finger.
The sphere shot forward silently and erased a section of distant bark without explosion or sound.
Clean.
Precise.
Useful.
He dismissed it immediately.
No need to alert anyone.
Especially not someone like Yami, who would absolutely notice unfamiliar dark mana.
Obi leaned back.
Step one was simple.
Grow quietly.
Step two was harder.
Build something independent before the larger conflicts began.
Because when the Eye of the Midnight Sun started moving openly, the kingdom would tighten control.
And squads would monitor irregular mages.
He glanced at his grimoire.
No crest.
No registration.
He was an anomaly.
Which meant if discovered too early —
He'd become a target.
Obi stood up.
"Alright. Observation phase over."
Asta tripped during training and face-planted.
Obi watched for a second.
"…Yeah. He's still built different."
He turned away from the village.
There were other regions nearby.
Border towns.
Abandoned strongholds.
Places where magic knights rarely patrolled.
If he wanted a faction that answered to no crown —
He needed territory.
Dark mana flowed lightly around him.
Not wild.
Controlled.
Measured.
Obi adjusted his hoodie.
"Let the main characters handle the spotlight."
A small grin formed.
"I'll handle everything else."
And with that, he disappeared into the tree line.
The timeline would continue.
But now —
It had a shadow moving alongside it.