During his travels he crossed canyons in a vast and hostile desert.
At one point he came across a group of people and assumed they were merchants traveling between villages, so he asked where the nearest city was. One of them replied that he only had to head in the opposite direction to reach a city called Mure.
Turan thanked them and was about to leave when another man stepped in front of him, asking whether he was really going to walk away with just that information. He should give something in return.
It soon became clear that these merchants were actually bandits. The leader explained that they were in a remote place with nobody around, and implied that it would be strange if the boy left unscathed. He ordered him to hand over his belongings while they were still being kind about it.
Turan understood the situation. He remembered the training he had been given on how to use magic against people, and decided to put it into practice.
The bandits laughed at him, finding it absurd that he was acting like a mage, but Turan answered by guiding the wind with his mana, knocking every one of them down along with their weapons and their belongings. He realized as he did it that instead of creating wind out of nothing, it was far more efficient to shape the wind that was already there.
Next he opened his waterskin and turned the water into ice, creating needles that pierced one of the bandits. He found it interesting, though he concluded that ice was only useful when there was water nearby, and that throwing stones was still faster and more efficient.
One of the older bandits tried to beg for forgiveness, saying they had not known he was a mage and that he would give him anything he wanted. It was only a distraction. Others were already trying to attack him from behind.
With a simple movement Turan made spikes of sand rise from the ground, eliminating them all.
The last bandit surrendered. Turan asked him why they had attacked without a better plan, since he could have been a mage.
The man replied that it was because Turan had lowered his head and acted politely, which made him seem like an ordinary person.
Turan recognized that this was an important lesson.
The bandit then asked whether he would be spared, but Turan had already prepared a small drop of water above his head. He remembered Keoran's advice — that along his journey he would meet many people, but that he should never show mercy to scum like bandits, people who do not hesitate to harm others for profit.
Turan understood the reasoning behind that. Sparing a criminal could result in the deaths of many innocent people. Even so, when it was over he continued on his way carrying a weight on his conscience, feeling guilty for having taken lives, and knowing at the same time that he could not have left them alive.
He kept following the marks left by the bandits' wagon, before the wind and the sand erased them.
Over time the landscape began to change. It became greener, grass appearing along the path, until at last he arrived somewhere new.
Turan reached the city of Mure. It was a small city, but to him it seemed enormous, since he had spent his entire life in an isolated village. It was the first time he had seen so many people gathered in one place, and he noticed that the architecture was completely different too, which confirmed that he really had arrived at a city like the ones he had heard about in stories.
He approached a merchant to ask a question without buying anything, remembering Keoran's advice about looking for an inn. The merchant responded rudely, telling him to leave if he was not going to buy something.
Turan realized there was an unspoken rule here: you must purchase something before you ask for information. So he bought an apple for two dupits with the coins he had brought from the village, and the merchant accepted, and explained that to find an inn he simply had to follow the road behind the cloak shop, turn left, and look for a building with a blue roof.
Following those directions, Turan arrived at the Lena Inn, where he was received warmly by a girl and managed to get a room for sixteen dupits.
He also asked whether there were any monsters nearby with bounties on them, since he knew he needed to defeat monsters in order to absorb mana, and to earn money as well, as Keoran had explained.
The girl did not answer directly. She simply made it clear that in this world nothing comes for free.
Later the attendant began to explain about the city hall, and Turan did not even know what that was. The girl noticed and commented that he really was from the countryside. Then she explained that the city hall handles the city's public affairs, and that the officials who work there serve the local lord. She also said that since the sun had already set, the place would probably be closed, and that if he wanted to take on monster bounties he would have to go there the next day.
Then she asked whether he was a monster hunter too, mentioning that some people believe a person can become a mage by hunting enough monsters, though she herself did not take that idea very seriously.
At that moment Medan appeared, saying that it was true. A person really could become a mage by killing monsters, because he had seen it with his own eyes.
The attendant found that strange and asked whether he was still alive, and Medan replied that he had no intention of dying before he became a mage.
Turan found that interesting. He moved his hand aside and asked to hear more about the story.
Medan explained that mages grow stronger by hunting monsters, and that by the same principle an ordinary person could also become a mage by doing the same. He said that he and his group were hunting monsters for exactly that purpose.
Turan asked whether anyone in the group had already succeeded, and Medan replied that not yet — adding that in this city there was only the lord's mage and three subordinates.
Next Medan asked whether Turan hunted monsters as well, noting that his equipment was far too simple and that he barely seemed to have a weapon.
Turan replied that he did, and showed him his sling.
Medan noticed from the wear on it that it was frequently used, and commented that with a thing like that he could easily kill smaller creatures. Taking the opportunity, he mentioned that his group needed another marksman, and asked whether Turan was interested.
Turan declined, and thanked him for the offer. He saw no reason to join them.