"Foul beast!" Cereo yelled, swinging both of his swords at the strange old man.

The man blocked, and allowed them to stab into his arm. "Stop attacking." He said.

"I just witnessed you end the life of that girl before my eyes, what reason do I have to refrain from combating you further??"

Swinging a blade once more, this time his attack was blocked by one of Blank's forcefields. The sharp end of the sword was stopped a mere millimeter away from the old man's eye. The stranger didn't flinch, not even a bit.

"Look at the ground, idiot." Blank growled, hand on Cereo's wrist.

Altering his gaze toward the floor as Blank had requested, Cereo laid eyes on the girl who'd just been killed. A parasitic abomination was attempting to squirm its way out of her head. It died before it could do so.

"Ah, I see.." Cereo put his weapons away. "So that woma-.. parasite was merely attempting to prevent us from eliminating it."

"Mhm." Hands behind his back, the old man paced back and forth. "The goal of a parasite is to blend in long enough to awaken. Your antidote will probably cause their species to become extinct, so it for obvious reasons didn't want that. Unfortunately, you both blindly believed her after only a few claims she made."

"You may have been the one to save us, gramps, but don't take that as an invitation to act like a jackass." With an annoyed tone, Blank glared. "If you had never arrived, I would have figured it out and killed that sack of shit myself. Don't think you've done anything impressive."

The old man stopped. "Hm, arguing is a waste of time so I'll just let you believe that. Nevertheless, I have information that I think would be quite useful for you both if you intend on using that antidote to cure the parasitic infection."

Cereo attempted to respond, but Blank spoke first. "So you're confident that it works without ever seeing it in action, I'm curious to know how you've come to such a conclusion."

"An old man's intuition I guess you could call it."

"You scold us for not questioning the girl quick enough and then give us a pathetic reasoning such as that? How childish..."

"Blank.." Cereo shifted his eyes between them both as he spoke. "As ridiculous as his reason is, the man's correct. My only concern earlier was the state that the awakened parasite was in, never did I doubt the abilities of what I had created. Why is that, you ask? Well.. it's because out of all the times I have been summoned over the eternal existence of the world, not once have I ever failed."

"Well.. there's a first time for everything." Blank claimed. "Blind confidence, no matter how much you've succeeded, will eventually result in your downfall. Get a personality trait like that out of your head."

"That will never happen, as my confidence is far from blind. It's been justified countless times before, and I see no reason that it won't continue to be."

"Do you two want the information I have, or not?" The old man asked.

"Tell the hero, and he'll let me know, I'll be waiting outside." Calmly, Blank left.

"Hm, alright then." The old man returned his gaze to Cereo. "As I have other things to do, I'll make this as quick as I can. The far northside of Sabarum is known to be the home of a vast collection of dangerous mountains. Many of them are home to unspeakably grotesque creatures, which is why it makes sense that.. the source of the parasites is from there."

Cereo's eyes grew wide. "The source.. of the parasites? Knowing of such a location is indeed a great help, I'm assuming you have more information on the subject?"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Yes, I do. I've been in those mountains countless times. I'm what people call an exotic researcher. I go and document unknown creatures that reside within those mountains, gaining as much information about them as possible. It's how I know so much about the parasites. One day, inside of a cave that had red crystallizations on the outside, there was a bloated mass covered in them. The parasites."

"Sounds like a rather sickening sight."

"It was, but nothing I couldn't handle due to my years of researching. After conducting.. experiments on it, I attempted to take it out, but it was no use. Whatever that thing was made of took no damage at all no matter how much I threw at it."

"Hmph." Cereo walked over, and patted the old man's shoulder. "Calm your frustrations, my elderly fellow, as you have been lucky enough to come into contact with this world's savior, the great and resourceful Cereo." He began walking toward the door. "I will find this cave, I'm certain that my comrade Blank is well aware of the location of these infamous mountains, and I will send the demonic thing you are speaking of to it's grave. Then, I will cure Sabarum of all it's parasitic cases without risk of acquiring anymore."

With a smirk, the old man glanced back. "Your confidence is sort of.. inspiring. I won't deny it, Cereo."

Reaching the exit, Cereo stopped. "Thank you, I strive to uplift those nearby. But.. before I depart, I have two questions to ask."

"Yes? What are they?"

"Firstly, what is your name?"

"Well that one's simple. It's Zen."

"Hah." Cereo kept still. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Zen. Secondly.. and what I'm the most curious about.. how did you come upon us? It certainly doesn't seem like this was a chance encounter."

Zen turned around. "I'll be sure to let you know if you survive this."

"Can't say I agree with that, but as you said earlier, no need to start an argument." As the door closed from Cereo's departure, he said one more thing to himself. "It's not like there's any chance that my survival isn't guaranteed anyway.."

Outside, Blank was waiting next to his massive carriage. "That old pile of dirt must have had a lot to say. So, what is it that you found out? Anything that put a dent in that ego of yours?"

"Hah, having confidence and an ego are two entirely separate things. Either way, yes.. I learned quite a bit."

"How magnificent, please do tell."

Cereo informed Blank of everything Zen had told him. Not seeming impressed, Blank closed his eyes. "Very well then, I suppose we should get going. Traveling to the northside mountains takes quite some time."

"If needed, I can make swift modifications to the-.."

"Not a chance." Blank denied, getting into a seat inside his carriage. "And don't think about it again. As I said before, nothing you do will ever impress me. So stop trying."

With a sigh, Cereo entered alongside him. "Impressing you was far from my intent, but I suppose a long ride will allow us to regain stamina. I'll leave your vehicle be. Now then, let us depart."

Several hours, days, and weeks passed. Cereo and Blank remained on a path to the northside mountains, stopping in the occasional town, and consuming food that Blank had onboard his massive carriage.

Meanwhile, the residents of Sabarum could not stop discussing the revelation that King Myosis had been infected with a parasite, therefore resulting in his death, and Princess Myosis's takeover of the throne. Some were pleased that the now Queen Myosis was running things, but others believed that the former King's other children were far greater candidates.

In the castle, Queen Myosis sat upon her new throne. She rested her chin upon her hand, and worried about difficult political decisions as well as how long it had been since Cereo and Blank's departure.

"The hero was overwhelmingly strong.." she thought. "There's no need to worry about him, especially since he's being accompanied by one of the strongest members of our royal guardians. But.. no letters or anything? Well, I suppose that isn't really Blank's style."

"Princ-.. Queen." Sendal, who stood guard right next to her throne, caught Myosis's attention.

She smiled, it was rare that Sendal fumbled with his words. "My my Sendal, my new position seems to keep catching you off guard."

His lips grew into a grin as well. "Well Myosis, it's rather difficult to break a habit that's been in place since your birth. I still remember it though, the moment I saw you I knew already. I knew you would be your fathers successor." Sendal looked at the Queen. "Those eyes gave it away."

With a blush, Myosis attempted to keep a straight face. "I doubt something as trivial as my eyes could possibly have predicted such an event."

"But they did, here you are as the ruler of Sabarum. And I believe you will be the one to bring it out of these dark times." Sendal's smile faded. "But.. I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Oh? Well of course, go ahead. You can ask whatever you'd like."

"Do you have a plan for dealing with your siblings? You know, they have each already begun preparations of their own for overtaking the throne. Knowing how sick they can be, your life is at a great risk."

Myosis peered into the sunlight that leaked into the room. "That is part of why I'm so anxiously awaiting the heroes return."

Cereo and Blank approached a large gate that was blocking the road. A woman was standing in front of it, and she wielded a long staff that had a floating purple mass at its tip.

Stopping the carriage, Blank grunted. "Annoying.. I despise privileged idiots who believe they can do things like this without consequence."

Eyes locked on the woman, Cereo responded. "They aren't the ideal kind of people, do you have a plan of action for how to deal with the situation?"

"Of course, I'll at least allow her to attempt to find a suitable explanation for this." Blank exited the vehicle, and adjusted his lab coat while walking up to the strange staff wielder. "Hello woman, either move or explain. If I don't like what you have to say, it'll immediately result in your-.."

From the purple mass, a hand reached out toward Blank and slammed his head into the concrete. This alerted Cereo, who sped out of the carriage.

While he was charging forward, Blank grabbed his foot. "Rethink what happened last time you mindlessly began attacking someone, it doesn't work."

"Hm.. you're correct." Cereo stated quietly, tilting his head down. He looked up, and began speaking with the woman. "Staff wielding female, we have come to enter the mountainous region. If you'd be so kind to let us pass through, I believe we could avoid any trouble. Although I'm assuming there's of course a reason for your blockage."

"Mhmm.." she dragged her finger across her lips. "If anyone was allowed to come in here, the number of deaths would be.... overwhelming to say the least. So I've been appointed to make sure none of the weaklings are allowed to enter. Hopefully.... you understand."

Cereo tightened the grip he had on his weapons. "I do indeed, overconfidence is a trait that blinds many, however, I assure you that I am not one to overestimate. Whatever it takes to gain entry into this place, I will gladly endure."

The woman was now licking her fingers, and Blank looked at her strangely from the ground. "The price of entry is.. the corpse of someone you love."