Chapter 53 - The Reunion
Transported by the teleportation circle and experiencing the world shift dramatically around him, Jae suddenly found himself at the bottom of a hill covered in lush grass.
Euwoah... It’s the same feeling as using a Dungeon portal. Well, considering the principle is the same, it makes sense.
“Hm...”
Scouring the surrounding land, he realised the capital city wasn’t visible from his current location. So, he climbed, watching it become gradually visible in the distance. On the other side of those unbelievably tall, marble walls, an unimaginably vast forest sat, and even further on the horizon, a faint line of mountains was drawn.
“...Hah.”
Glimpsing sights he hadn’t seen in literal years, a fountain of all sorts of emotions cascaded.
“I’m really... Back.”
The nostalgia evoked from merely spotting the opulent royal palace at the city’s peak was just the start of it. Right after, the faces of his old classmates sprung to mind.
I heard from Jiera that they made the announcement of heroes being summoned roughly nine months ago, but since the king would’ve probably waited at least a month before announcing anything officially, it’s likely they were actually summoned ten or eleven months ago.
In other words, all of his classmates have been growing in this world for almost a full year, presumably under the care of the Seronian royal family. Of course, for Jae, an much longer period has passed since then.
“I wonder how much they’ve grown... Well, it might be a bit unfair to compare myself.”
Either way, he was sure to find out by the end of the day. Glancing at the relatively dim sky above, Jae thought to get a move on.
Those are... Storm clouds rolling in, aren’t they? It’ll probably start raining soon.
The thought that the impending sea of black clouds might be an omen didn’t even cross Jae’s mind, let alone a sign to symbolise the reunion between him and his former classmates. Instead, he simply looked towards the white castle walls and took a single step, crossing a distance of roughly one mile in the blink of an eye.
He was already suppressing his mana to go undetected, and alongside that, he activated Sneak.
Skill 「Sneak」 has levelled up [Lv.6]→[Lv.7]
“Oh... Nice timing.”
It was a Skill Jae had possessed for the longest time, and yet one that took extraordinary effort to level up due to a severe lack of monsters that possessed it, so solid progress like this was huge.
It probably gains more proficiency when I use it in a situation with a lot of people around, like in the middle of a city. Since I haven't yet used it in that kind of situation, maybe that's why it takes so long to level up.
“Anyway, this should be more than enough for normal people... I don’t know how good the detection skills of those royal knights or skilled adventures are, though. I should still be careful.”
Jae wondered briefly if he should do anything about his face, as he was still a wanted person. Of course, he could always wear a mask... But, thankfully, the wanted poster never had anything like a drawing or picture of his face in the first place, so it was likely unnecessary.
“Well... I should still take some precautions. I’ve grown into an adult since the last time, but there are still people here who know my face. Although, my hair’s longer now, so maybe they won’t realise it with just a glance...”
In the end, he took a standard black cloak from the Inventory and equipped it, pulling the hood far over his head. It was something Jae had previously purchased from a clothing shop in Onyxia during one of his rest days just for a moment like this.
“Let’s see... Pft.”
Looking into a floating mirror of ice materialised through magic, he couldn’t help but laugh at his reflection.
“I do look real shady like this, don’t I, all in black with a hood...”
...Well, isn’t it the standard to look suspicious in a fantasy world? I’m sure it’ll be fine. Anyway, maybe it’s good to not wear a mask on top of all this.
Ensuring no one was around with Mana and Aura Sense, Jae placed a hand on the towering wall, reinforced with magic, and opened the Inventory once more.
Crack, crack...!
A small section crumbled into empty space following a slight trembling of the wall. It created only a tiny gap, but that was enough; peeking through to the other side, Jae spotted a dank and dingy back alley and activated Sloth. Before anyone could have expected it, he was on the other side of the wall.
“And just like that, he’s in.”
Muttering to himself with a smirk, Jae nodded upon confirming no one was nearby to witness what he had done. Then, with no reason to wait, he strode out of the alleyway and into the capital’s high street, bustling despite the grey weather.
It’s surprisingly busy. A lot more people live here than I thought, though I guess that’s because it’s the royal capital. I've only ever experienced the world inside the palace and its "garden" before, so I had no idea... It's not quite as overwhelmingly impressive as Onyxia, but it's cool to see an authentic fantasy city.
Of course, Jae could always use Sloth to teleport directly to the palace if he wanted to, but since it was his first time being in a proper human city like this, he decided it would be fine to take the ‘scenic route’. As he walked casually down the main street, Jae observed many ostensibly blithe citizens going about their day with seemingly no troubles or distress, just like the Demons of Onyxia.
“Wow... If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought it was a decent place.”
Well, just like any country, it's not really the citizens that are to blame, I guess. The royal family is the real problem here.
Eventually, he stumbled across a large building with many people of bizarre appearances popping in and out, various weapons fastened firmly on their belts and backs and battle-scarred, harsh expressions on their faces. Seeing this, Jae’s feet paused.
“...Adventurer’s Guild?”
All of a sudden, he felt his heart gripped with curiosity.
Oh, my... Greed can afford to wait five minutes more, right? Besides, who knows? Maybe I could even find Bailey’s parents.
Needless to say, Jae knew well just how unlikely that was, and in reality, it was just a half-hearted excuse he gave only after he already started making his way towards the Guild building's entrance, which soon opened with a resounding ‘creak’, revealing a boisterous interior.
“Hmm~”
Jae hummed quietly in intrigue as he gazed around the spacious bottom floor of the Guild, a place that seemed pretty much exactly as he expected, and with a warm, sweaty, and complicated atmosphere that couldn’t quite be described... Or maybe, it could be described as having a similar air to that of a gym. Moving further into the hall and scanning through countless Soul States, more and more eyes gathered on Jae, this new, dubious-looking individual whose face no one could call familiar. Gradually, the building quietened.
Ah...
Perhaps he really had been acting weird, as before he knew it, Jae found himself being silently observed by everyone in the hall.
Tsk. Talk about ‘being cautious’... Let’s just get out of here before anyone--
“Hey.”
...Does that. Haah.
Glancing at the person who stepped up to him―an 18-year-old boy with white hair and nothing particularly noteworthy about his Soul State―Jae breathed an internal sigh of relief at the confirmation that it wasn’t one of his old classmates.
“This is your first time here, right? Why’re you acting so strange? Are you a Demon? Remove your hood.”
“...Who are you?”
And what’s with the damn interrogation?
“Aracia. Now answer my question.”
Witnessing the beginnings of a hostile expression emerge on Aracia’s face, even though he hadn’t done anything, Jae felt wronged.
This kid...
“Well, what do you mean, strange? I just came to visit the Guild and you accuse me like this? Listen, I don’t know what your problem is, but you should get your issues checked out before you make a big mistake one day, brat.”
“What did you just say...?”
At that moment, Aracia’s eyes flared. Pulling an enchanted dagger from his waist, he lunged at Jae with a shout.
“Haa-!”
However, he was of course far too weak. To Jae, who watched the boy’s uncalled-for attack in slow motion, he might as well have been asking to get beat.
Level 28... I don’t remember exactly how strong I was when I was that Level, but he can’t be too far off. In that case, I should only use a little bit of strength.
Slap-!
Hitting the boy’s arm delicately like a whip, the dagger was effortlessly thrown to the ground.
“Gah-!?”
Now disarmed, Jae grabbed the defenceless arm. Pulling the boy in, he turned him 180 degrees and lightly shoved his back.
Slam-!
Less than a second after launching the attack, the boy ended up crashing to the floor in a vulnerable position. Turning over, he sat with his head downcast, clenching his fists at the total embarrassment.
[Kahahaha! God, that was funny. Say, you should teach him a lesson for messing with you, kehe.]
...You know what? I don’t care if the others do it, but whenever you talk, it pisses me off. Why don’t you take extended leaves more often?
[Oh, please. Everyone needs a bit of spice in their daily lives. You just have a spice with a little more kick, that’s all. If you don’t like it, why don’t you fucking kill me already?]
Oh, you bet I will.
[Kahahaha! I'm looking forward to it, thousand-year brat.]
Silence dominated the hall for a while as everyone present played spectator to what couldn’t even be called a match, with Jae’s voice being the thing that smashed through this ice-cold atmosphere.
“...Hey. Don’t be angry. Take this as a lesson.”
Everyone knew his words were meant for the boy, but they too couldn’t help but listen in with an intense curiosity.
“There are a lot of strong people in this world. Stronger than you can ever imagine.”
Even Jae himself wasn’t entirely sure why he was saying what he was saying, and he knew that attracting more attention like this was the opposite of what he should be doing.
“I am not one of those strong people, but even so, you ended up like this in the blink of an eye.”
But, he just wanted to. So he did.
“You have a long way to go if what you want is to be called strong. Because the path is that arduous.”
“Whether or not that’s the path you wish to go down, I have one piece of advice for you.”
“Make sure you know exactly who it is you’re talking to before you start a fight.”
“Because a lot of those truly strong people won’t even give you the chance to apologise or amend any misunderstandings.”
At the same moment that Jae finished talking, the entrance to the Guild creaked open once more, and a newcomer appeared, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the air.
“Heeeeey, Aracia-- Oh, my god!”
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Calling for the boy before noticing him on the floor, the girl rushed over.
Hm...?
For some reason, Jae found the girl’s voice familiar, but he couldn’t quite tell who it belonged to. Realising that it could have only been one of his former classmates, however, he quickly tugged on the front of his hood and turned towards the door.
As he did, the two’s eyes met for just an instant as they passed each other by.
"...?"
Ashley’s steps faltered as she twisted her head to look at the stranger’s back heading for the door.
Who...?
"Haa... Damn it..."
"Ah, Aracia!"
It was only brief, though, as she quickly returned her attention to Aracia. At the same time, the rest of the people in the hall continued with whatever they were doing.
“Hey, Ash...”
“Are you okay? What happened while I was gone? Why do you always cause trouble for no reason?”
“That’s... Just, don't worry about it.”
Rising to his feet, Aracia casually dusted himself off and rubbed the spot on his arm that Jae had struck, pretending everything was fine.
“Ugh, come on. Don’t try to fool me with that rubbish again. Did that guy just now do something? Or what, did you pick a needless fight with someone clearly out of your league and get whooped again?”
“Erm--”
“Don’t answer... By the way, did you get a good look at his face?”
“Oh, not really. His hood was up, and he had hair covering his face and all. I thought he was a Demon trying to hide its horns, but he didn't listen when I asked to see. Why, did you feel something from him?”
“Feel something...”
Glancing back at the door, which Jae had already exited over a minute ago by now, Ashley clutched at her chest.
“...That’s right. Instinct picked up on something. And, I could’ve sworn I felt it somewhere else before, too...”
That ominous feeling. Where was it...?
Holding her chin, Ashley’s brows furrowed as she tried hard to think back and recall where she might have felt that same sinister sensation before. Eventually...
“Ah!”
“Woah!? W-what, what is it? Why’re you screaming all of a sudden...”
She dug far enough back in her memories and found something that matched. Gasping loudly, Ashley rushed to the door, threw it open, and dashed outside.
“Hey, where are you going...?!”
Hurriedly following her to the main street, Aracia called out, confused.
“It’s him. I know it’s him. It has to be...!”
Seeing a side of Ashley he never expected in a situation like this, muttering to herself and searching around for something frantically, Aracia shouted.
“Ash! Calm down! You’re looking for the guy who was just here, right? Just who the hell is he that it's making you act like this?”
“Crap...! There’s no time to explain! Just follow me, you’ll find out by watching!”
“What!? The hell're you-- Tsk, come on...!”
At that moment, Ashley abruptly started sprinting down the main street. Not wanting to be left behind, Aracia hastily took off after her.
Naturally, their destination could only be one place.
The Seronian Royal Palace.
----------------------------------------
Revel, the Royal Capital City of Seronia, sat on a massive hill separated into three distinct districts, called Sectors.
At the bottom of the hill was by far the largest district, the Common Sector, where all the ordinary citizens and other inhabitants lived, as well as where all the basic city shops, stalls, and similar devices were established.
The second district was the Noble Sector where, as you guessed, the kingdom’s nobles took residence in their extravagant abodes. It was also where many luxurious shops and restaurants, as well as the renowned Seronian Royal Academy itself, were located.
The third and final Royal Sector was at the hill's peak, where the royal palace sat and overlooked all the rest. It was the smallest district in terms of raw area but by far the most admired and without a doubt the most precious in terms of monetary value.
With the help of Sneak, Jae was able to run through the main street and infiltrate the gates of the Noble Sector of the city, guarded by knights, using Sloth. Passing by the dozens of deluxe facilities constructed solely for the use of nobles and their children, Jae arrived in front of the Royal Academy before long.
Subconsciously wondering if any of his old classmates had studied or were studying at the academy, his eyes watched the entrance, when out of the blue, he heard a shout.
“Hey! Who’s there!?”
Instantly realising it was an academy student due to the uniform, Jae sighed.
I really am too suspicious, aren’t I...
If he had been wearing an ordinary outfit, would this have happened? Regardless, it was too late now. Turning to the boy, who had already unsheathed a sword from his waist and glared warily at Jae, he wondered if he should stay and say something or just book it for the palace.
Hm... If I stay here, 'they' might come. I haven’t seen them in such a long time that it’s making me kind of anxious... But, then again, I’m also curious to see how everyone is now. Besides, they’re not anything like Nazar or that angel. The chances that any one of them poses a real threat to me is incredibly slim.
Naturally, there was a possibility that someone as strong or perhaps even stronger than Jae could arrive if he started too big of a commotion, but all he needed to do for now was fight or flee if that happened.
It might turn out to be a stupid decision... No, it definitely is, but...
Of course, perhaps the biggest reason Jae convinced himself so much to do this.
“H-hey! I’m talking to you!”
It’s because he was beginning to find it unexpectedly fun.
...Let’s do it.
The student, not seeing any clear weapon on the intruder's body, figured the latter was a magician. Of course, he was wearing a cloak, but the student hadn't thought that he might have been hiding one underneath. So, when Jae lifted a hand towards the boy, he took it as meaning the suspicious individual was about to cast a spell and thus, in accordance with what his swordsmanship teacher taught him, the student dashed forward, watching out for any spell incantations.
What is he trying to...? Oh, I get it. The idea is to rush me down before I get the chance to cast any spells. Well, something like that is only going to work if the opponent is caught off-guard or is just too slow to react. Hm. He’s slower than the kid from before. His Level is lower, too; only Level 13. Is it because that guy was an adventurer that he fought more monsters?
After what felt like far too long from Jae’s perspective, the student finally arrived in front of him. Raising his sword high in the air, he unhesitatingly brought it down with all his might.
Unfortunately...
Grip-!
Grabbing the blade of the sword with his bare hand that was already outstretched, Jae effortlessly stopped the attack.
“Wha--!?”
The wide-eyed student, freaking out at the absolute ineffectiveness of his full-power strike, immediately tried to retract the weapon, to no avail. As the sword simply rattled around in that vice-like grip despite the student mustering all of his strength to pull it out, it was like the story of the sword in the stone. Jae watched him struggle for a moment before slowly taking the sword away like a rigged match of tug-of-war.
“Ah!”
My weapon...!
Holding the sword above his head, a place the student couldn’t reach, Jae haphazardly tossed it to the side, leaving the student completely defenceless.
Then, he calmly looked the boy in the eyes.
“Well, that was quite rude. Are you going to apologise?”
His knees weak, the student fell to the ground.
“A-aaaaahh...! Wh-who are you...!? He-help...! Help! Someone...!”
“...Haaa.”
Seeing the student start calling for help instead of answering his question or apologising, Jae could only sigh. Now that the kid’s screams were resounding through the empty plaza in front of the academy, it was only a matter of time until they arrived.
I guess, since we’re already this far in, I’ll hurry things along.
Glancing into the ever-darkening sky above, now brimming with black and dark grey clouds, Jae conjured a fireball that shot directly upwards, soon detonating like a brilliant firework. The deafening explosion could probably have been heard throughout the entire city, let alone the Noble Sector, and it didn’t take long at all for countless students, teachers, guards, and even butlers to come running to the scene.
"Wha-- What's going on!?"
“Waaaahh! Intruder...!”
“It’s an emergency! Call the guards-- No, the knights!”
Of course, few of these high-class socialites and members of noble families were willing to dirty their own hands or risk their own lives to stop a suspicious intruder of unknown strength.
“Did you see the size of that fireball? I'm not crazy! There’s no way I can stop a guy like that!”
“Right!? He has to be a Level 75 mage at the minimum! How is a guy like me supposed to defeat someone like that!?”
Even the city guards, whose job it was to eliminate such pests, were afraid of what fate might befall them should they step forth. They all understood how helpless it was, but they didn’t have a choice, as the nobles would punish them just as severely if they stood still and did nothing in a situation like this.
“Don’t worry!”
However.
“We’re here to help!”
That’s not to say that everyone was a coward.
“What’s the situation so far? Is everyone unharmed?”
Just like the first boy, many students of the Royal Academy with combat-oriented studies were more than willing to fight to defend their turf. As more and more students gathered in the plaza, drawing their weapons as they made a large encirclement around Jae, who stood silently at the centre, the corner of his lip rose ever-so-slightly.
It's funny that these kids have more balls than the guards. Seriously, they’re not even strong, and they’re like this...
Thinking about how actions like these against someone on the level of Ariel or Nazar would result in nothing more than swift death before they would even realise what was coming, Jae found it amusing how his standards have become so absurd.
After a certain amount of time passed without the students taking any further actions, Jae noticed something was off.
Hm. Are they waiting for something? Why aren’t they doing anything?
Before he had time to wonder any more, someone stepped forward.
“Identify yourself!”
It was just another boy with an academy uniform, and yet the morale of everyone around him seemed to spike when he emerged. The face of this one, Jae thought, was familiar.
Is that...?
[Oh! It's this brat! I remember him!]
Envy’s amused voice as he also recognised the individual immediately signalled that Jae’s presumption was correct.
Soul State - Otherworlder
Name : Chris Rowe
Soul Level : 49
Title : Hero
Age : 18 Years
Health : 2,248
Magic Energy : 1,432
Power : 1,364
Magical Ability : 832
Defence : 1,044
Resistance : 644
Karma : 200
Condition : [Wary], [Slightly Anxious], [Determined]
...Chris.
But that wasn’t all. On all sides, certain students' faces popped into view, all of which Jae recognised to varying degrees of trouble.
Oh, my... Almost everyone is here...
Suddenly having so many people from way back being thrust in front of him like this was an inexplicable feeling, and the confirmed knowledge that none of them could even hold a candle to his current level of strength gave Jae a strong sense of satisfaction.
It wasn't all for nothing.
Aphy's face came to mind with that thought.
Drip.
“...?”
At that moment, Jae felt something wet grace his hand. Glancing briefly down, and then up, it wasn’t even necessary to explain what had happened.
What poetic timing... But, doesn’t this make me look even more like the villain than I already do?
Unfortunately, nothing could be done about the storm at his current level, and it was best left alone in any case.
“I will repeat myself once and only once! Reveal your identity, intruder!”
As the Hero Chris Rowe drew his gleaming, legendary sword and announced, everyone observing seemed to be waiting with bated breath for Jae’s response, seemingly not caring for the rain that was beginning to drench them.
Should I reveal it? Or should I keep it hidden for a little while longer...
Then, before he even opened his mouth to say something, a winded voice rang out from behind.
“W-wait...!”
Hm? Who is it now?
Twisting his head just enough to see the newcomer, roughly panting and gasping for breath as if they had just run a marathon, he glanced at the girl’s dishevelled hair sticking to her face and her very adventurer-like outfit and realised it was the same person from earlier.
Ah, so that’s it. It was Ashley... Then, since she came all the way here, does that mean she figured it out?
Of course.
“Haha, I’ve found you... It’s you, isn’t it? Jae...”
That was correct.
“What did she just say...?”
“No way...”
“She said ‘Jae’, right?”
“No, she has to be mistaken. That guy disappeared ages ago, remember?”
As a deluge of murmurs and gossip swallowed the crowd, Jae, who could overhear them all, didn’t know what to think. So, without a word, he simply moved his hands up, removed his hood, and swept back his long, grown-out hair that was in the way.
“Looks like you found me out. Haha.”
With a short chuckle, he swept his gaze slowly over all those around him.
Each of his former classmates, who was convinced that he had either died or ran away in conspiration with Demons, stared back at him stupidly as if looking at a ghost.
Even those who only knew his name through that infamous wanted poster.
These reactions...
Their terrified gazes, who knew not why this criminal was here, only that his bounty was inexplicably tremendous.
Man...
As if it was all a game, Jae couldn’t take any of it seriously.
...It really is funny.
Until now, he had only experienced trouble way out of his league.
It started with an overpowered Goblin Lord.
If it wasn't an overpowered Goblin Lord, it was a dragon.
If it wasn't a dragon, it was a minotaur with immense physical strength.
If it wasn't a minotaur with immense physical strength, it was a monster with infinite resistances that could kill him in a single hit.
If it wasn't that, it was a curious devil with the power to manipulate time itself, and if even that wasn't it, it was an angel sent by the gods.
For so long had he been cautious of transcendental beings who could take his head in the blink of an eye.
For so long had he been tormented by the worry that he would suddenly run into yet another unbeatable, completely unparalleled foe.
But, in Seronia, the place where it all began, it was different.
Jae knew, both instinctively and through the confirmation of others around him.
Here, there was none of that.
That's why, there was no need to be so wary. Faced with such entertaining reactions when he hadn’t even done anything, he couldn’t help but want to play along when he knew there would be no consequence.
“So...”
Once again, the only one who could break through the rigid atmosphere was the culprit of the disoriented, darkened mood himself.
“It’s been a while, huh? Everyone.”
The torrenting rain was loud, but not so loud that his voice couldn’t be heard.
“Since you all seem so surprised to see me, is there anything you want to say?”
It was dense, obstructing vision and evoking a faint fog to emerge as it struck the cold, hard ground.
“Or maybe, are you just so taken aback since it's unexpected? Well, that’s understandable.”
All of this―combined with Jae’s all-black, sinister appearance standing in the centre of this hazy mess of a plaza as all the former classmates, students, and other onlookers gazed at him in confusion and terror―made him look more like a villain than ever.
And, as if nature itself agreed with the notion.
“Anyway, since it’s been so long, I think it’s only right.”
Rumble...!!
The sky shook with a thunderous roar.
“Let’s catch up, shall we?”
After all this time, Jae had officially returned.