For the next few weeks, Lakshman took his familiars, Draga and Phylex, with him to attend his morning training sessions, the classes, and his time spent with the other heroes. At first, both of them were surprised by the great difference that this world had in contrast to their master’s home world, and it further shocked them when they discovered how the people were using their magic using the Magic Enhanced Devices.
“This is so strange,” said Phylex in a curious voice, staring at how the students were using their magic during one of the class’s magic practice sessions while he and Draga watched from the spectator seats. “Such a tiny device… can make them do that?”
“What else can you expect from an advanced world?” Draga asked him telepathically in a sardonic voice.
“I don’t think destroying mother nature and building over it to cover things up is something I cannot associate with being ‘advanced’. But, yes, I am amazed by the technology that went into creating this as a work around to not being able to use magic.”
Lakshman had used his Hide magic spell to keep them hidden from the naked eye, so no one knew that the two magical creatures were watching them. As the two familiars spent time together with their master, they were able to observe the heroes during their training and understand each of them by commenting about them to each other.
“That guy’s really nervous!” Draga said incredulously, staring at Martin trying to lift objects with his ability granted to him by his Hero Weapon, which were the gauntlets. “Damn! I can’t believe this guy’s a hero!”
“Not everyone is as bold and strong as our master, Draga. Give the boy a break,” replied Phylex with a sigh. He turned to focus on what the other heroes were doing and saying telepathically, “Take a look around at the other heroes.”
Lakshman was using Doppler magic spell to split himself into several copies of himself to train each and every person from the Nine Heroes of Legends. One copy maintained a watchful gaze on Martin practicing to use his ability, another was focused on aiding Maxwell in being able to improve his shooting skills and reaction speeds, while another of his copies focused on training Vikram to control his speed.
“You look like a human speeding bullet, Vikram!” Maxwell commented, watching the Sonic Hero’s training.
“Ha. Ha. Very funny, Max!” Vikram replied, feeling irritated as he was having difficulty progressing with his training.
Several meters away from them stood Natsu using his magic to nullify the attacks of a copy of Lakshman, which was to train him to use the disabling magic as if it was a second nature to him. However, this proved to be a difficult thing for him to achieve because he kept losing his nerves at the last second and would flinch, causing Lakshman’s copy to divert the attack or deactivate it entirely.
“Stop thinking about it, Natsu,” advised Lakshman the Zeklock Hero, looking worried. “The more you think, the more you pressure yourself. The thought ‘it’s going to hit me’ is natural and comes quite often, but it’s in our hands to force our mind to reject and thought and replace it with ‘I’ll destroy it’. Okay?”
“You’re right,” replied Natsu, letting out a sigh and straightening up to face him. Then he put on a serious face and said, “Okay. Let’s continue!”
While they resumed their training, a little further away from them was Fred using his Hero Weapon, a shield, to block the attacks launched by that Lakshman copy. The Bulwark Hero proved to be strong as he managed to block each and every attack that Lakshman’s copy launched at him.
“Don’t you think you should put more pressure on me?” He asked, lowering the shield to speak to his opponent.
Lakshman’s copy smiled and replied, “Sure. I was just holding back since I was unsure of how much force your shield can take.”
“It’s like what Natsu said in the beginning,” began Fred, looking down at his shield. “Your thoughts become the action. So, I know my shield’s strength comes from my belief of being able to withstand any attack fearlessly. That’s why, I don’t fear.”
“Good!” Lakshman’s copy said, looking amazed. “Fear is not a bad thing, but if you can control it, it becomes a very powerful weapon, a weapon that you’re using right now to stay strong against my attacks.”
“Thank you,” replied Fred before they resumed their training.
Further away from them was William, who was firing arrows with his Hero Weapon, the bow and arrows against a stone wall that Lakshman’s copy raised out of the ground. There was nothing much that the copy of Lakshman could advise him with considering William had not requested his help, nor did he even acknowledge that he was there, focusing only on the target in front of him and launching the arrows as precisely as possible.
“Dammit,” he muttered, when he apparently missed his mark. He breathed out a sigh and said to himself, “It’s okay. Practice makes perfection. I can do this,” before returning to firing the arrows repeatedly, which Lakshman’s copy watched in apparent amazement.
The Eternal Phoenix and the Spirit Dragon watched them training before they turned and focused on the training between the real Lakshman and Gram.
“On the other hand, this man is good,” commented Draga.
They watched Gram performing several close combat fighting moves to try and hit his opponent, but Lakshman easily caught his attacks with a smile on his face. This irritated Gram, causing him to resort to using his magic attacks as soon as some distance appeared between him and the Solaris Hero, but this too was handled with relative ease by Lakshman.
“What’s wrong?” Lakshman asked curiously. “You don’t seem to be putting your effort into it.”
Gram snorted and replied, “This is training. It’s not worth using all of my might against you just for a sparring session. Besides, you told me yourself that you’ll teach me the close quarters battle style, but I’m finding it a nuisance.”
“Stop complaining and concentrate,” the Solaris Hero replied, putting on a serious face. “If the opponent is dodging you, react quickly and go for the second strike before he could react. If he’s constantly defending, don’t just assume that you’re pushing them back because, 95% of the time, it’s a tactic used to bide their time and strike when the chance presents itself.”
“You don’t have to tell me something so obvious!” Gram replied, surging with power and getting ready to fight. “Now, here I come,” and he launched himself at Lakshman.
“And don’t announce what you’re going to do!” His opponent replied, moving in a manner to receive his attacks and defend himself.
“Says the guy who announces his attacks!”
“Point taken,” replied Lakshman, smiling and lashing out a fist and missed Gram by several centimeters as the Tempest Hero saw it and dodged with lightning reflexes. “Good. You did well to dodge that,” Lakshman congratulated him with smile.
“I don’t need praise from you!” Gram replied, rushing forward to resume his fight against the Solaris Hero.
The two familiars watched them resume their training before Draga commented, “I’m sort of getting a Dragon Titan vibe from him.”
“Dragon Titan vibe?” Phylex asked, turning to his partner to look confused. “You mean he reminds you of Lagorn?”
“I don’t remember that arrogant man’s name,” replied Draga irritably which made Phylex smile wryly, “but, yes, he somewhat feels like him, except a thousand times less arrogant, brutal and menacing.”
“I think the arrogant parts are pretty similar?” Phylex suggested tentatively, but Draga shook his head in disagreement.
“Similar, yes, but not the same because that guy would mercilessly do whatever he pleases while this man seems more thoughtful about his surroundings and acts based on the situation. A better example of what he would’ve been if he was like this hero fighting against master.”
Phylex watched his partner with amusement on his face before turning back to focus on their training.
As the days went by, the two familiars became accustomed to being in that world, but they were starting to feel bored. Both of them were very powerful creatures that lived for battle, and all this time they stayed with their master, nothing happened that called for their need. Instead, they felt weary from the dull daily life that they were leading, with the only solace was in the evening when Lakshman would go out to visit Raze on a daily basis, where they would play and get petted by their master’s future wife.
After a few weeks gone by, Draga could no longer hold his irritation and complained to his master once they were in his room, “Master, is this all that’s going on around you?” When Lakshman looked confusedly at him, the Spirit Dragon elaborated by saying, “I am a Spirit Dragon, master, one of the strongest of my kind, and I live for the day I do battle against an unknown entity. But, here, I’m finding this life to be very dull, boring to be exact.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Lakshman looked at him in amazement and asked, “Um… You’re feeling bored?” When his familiar nodded, he looked at him in concern before turning to Phylex and asking him, “Do you feel the same, Phylex?”
Phylex momentarily hesitated when being asked that question, but he shrugged his shoulders and replied telepathically, “Yes, master. I too feel the same way as Draga because I’m the Eternal Phoenix, and my purpose is to serve in battle, not sit idly by like this.”
His master looked amazed by his before nodding in understanding and saying, “Yes. I can understand where you’re coming from with that, but… don’t you think a life without battle is… peaceful?”
At his question, Draga looked confused while Phylex simply stared at their master in silence, waiting for him to continue.
“I mean, throughout my life, I’ve been fighting, fighting, and doing more fighting. I never had the chance to spend time with my family and never had the time to do something else other than fighting. So, I guess I am kind of enjoying this peaceful time that I got a chance to experience.”
“Master,” began Draga, looking alarmed, “you’re saying that as if you’ve—!”
He abruptly stopped when Lakshman raised a finger into the air with a serious expression on his face. Then he folded his arms and faced his familiars with an attitude as if he was going to speak with them with seriousness.
“You’ve stayed with me wherever I went, and you were never discovered by anyone, right?” He started by asking the first question that came to his mind.
Draga nodded while Phylex replied, “Yes, master. It’s very difficult to see through your magic’s effect unless they’re really strong.”
Lakshman nodded, but he remained looking serious as he replied, “You’re right. What else did you observe me do?” The two familiars looked puzzled before stating his training sessions, attending classes at the Hero Academy, and hanging out with the royalty of that world. “Good. You’ve been observing me well,” and as his familiars looked pleased with themselves, he raised a finger and said, “but you missed one small fact; I was being cautious around one person.”
“Eh?” The two familiars said telepathically, looking surprised, and they listened to their master elaborate about being cautious about the alien masquerading as a human being by the name Mike.
“So, you see, with him watching my every move, there wasn’t much I could do,” finished Lakshman at the end of his explanation. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling while saying, “I’ve already hatched a plan, and I am hoping it goes smoothly because my hands are tied right now since I have no idea just how strong the enemy is. I mean, if he was able to hoodwink all those people with his presence, then it’s clear he’s done something to the higher authorities that made him blend in without any issue.”
This made Draga look confused and made him ask telepathically, “In that case, master, isn’t it actually effective to just use your Maga Distrab on that guy and show him for who he is?”
Lakshman nodded and said, “Right. I could do that, but that only exposes his true colors, not whatever he’s planning.”
Draga was amazed that his master sounded worried, making him ask, “You’re worried about some nobody? Are you serious?”
“I’m worried because I don’t know what that nobody can do,” replied his master, looking very frustrated as he looked down at his hands. “The worst I fear from him is that he could take people hostage! What if the hostage is Erza? What do you expect me to do in that kind of situation?” As his familiar opened his mouth to reassure him, Lakshman raised a hand to stop him by saying, “It’s easy to say ‘that won’t happen’ but that’s escaping reality, Draga. I’m not an escape artist, I’m a warrior, and I face my situation head on!”
Draga was stumped when his master said those words with such force that he did not know what else to say. Phylex looked at his partner for a moment before turning to face his master and speaking softly to him.
“Do you have any ideas of what he could be up to, master?” He asked him telepathically in a curious voice.
Lakshman sighed and replied, “No. All I know is that he told me that he’s here to observe me under the orders of this person called the Overlord. It must be the ruler of his race or world. Anyway, that’s the reason why I’m trying to keep a low profile so as to not give him a card he could play against me”
“Oh…!” Phylex said, finally understanding the logic that went into his master leading a simple life. “I get it now.”
Beside him, Draga raised an eyebrow in puzzlement as he asked, “If that’s the case, isn’t visiting your future wife dangerous? I mean, it’s literally giving him a card to play you around with, master.”
“I know that, Draga! I know that,” Lakshman said, repeating his statement twice in a frustrated voice, “but… I… I simply can’t ignore my wife, that’s why I’m taking the precaution of meeting her in the night while concealing myself.”
At his statement the Spirit Dragon eyed him in amusement while the Eternal Phoenix smiled and telepathically said, “I see. So, you’re setting up your future, master.”
Lakshman laughed and admitted, “It feels strange hearing it that way, but yes. I am setting my wife up for our future together.” Then he leaned back on his bed and said, “I’m going to ask her out on a date tomorrow. Hopefully she won’t reject me.”
“It’ll be quite the humiliation to get rejected by your future wife, right?” Draga asked, smiling as he seemed to be enjoying the situation now more after learning about what was going on.
His master laughed at his words and said, “Well, since I got everything I ever needed without ever asking for it, this could be a good experience for me if I do get rejected. Maybe I now could understand better how the boys felt when the girl they confessed their love to outright rejected them.”
“Be positive, master,” encouraged Phylex brightly, making him smile at him.
“Thanks, Phylex,” he replied and stretched his arms out in tiredness. “Anyway, I’m going to rest for a bit. Wake me up if something happens or if someone knocks on the door.”
“What the hell? I’m not your guard dog!” Draga exclaimed, but his master simply smiled, waved at him and fell on his bed, quickly falling asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. This startled the Spirit Dragon, who turned to Phylex and said, “Um… He fell asleep really quick.”
Phylex nodded and replied, “Yes. Not just today, but for the last few week he’s been sleeping heavily. I suspected because of tiredness from training those heroes but now I know it was from the stress of worrying about that alien.”
“I still can’t believe there is someone that could worry him,” he thought, remembering Lakshman’s victory against his own brother, the Calamity Titan. “That alien looks so weak that I could easy step on him.”
“Appearances can be deceiving,” replied Phylex in a reasonable voice. “We don’t know for sure whether he is really weak, but master obviously faced him before and understands a bit about him. So, let’s trust master and move on from there.”
Draga sighed and said, “Fine,” and they both turned to watch their master sleeping peacefully on the bed.
Meanwhile, in his own room, the alien sat on the bedside table and was writing down notes about what he witnessed Lakshman doing that day. He was sent on a previously failed mission to destroy that world; however, he was given an additional task of observing and learning about his enemy, the Solaris Hero. And so, he blended into their society by taking on a human appearance and using his magic to manipulate officials with high authority to make his way into the Hero Academy, where his enemy studied at, a place perfect for him to discover his enemy’s weaknesses alongside the weaknesses of the student there.
“He’s doing a good job of keeping a low profile,” he muttered, thinking to how simple Lakshman was leading his life with minimal interaction with the other students except for the royal siblings and the Nine Heroes of Legends. “Obviously he’s worried that I might use them against him. He’s clever.”
As he smiled wryly, he heard a powerful familiar voice speak in his name inside his mind.
“Bruton.”
“Eh?” he said in surprise.
In an instant, he felt himself being sucked into the air, travelling a countless amount of distance in a span of few seconds before appearing to stand in a lowly lit hall. Slowly turning, he saw a staircase in front leading to the top, where a figure sat in a high chair while shrouded in darkness.
“My lord!” Bruton exclaimed, quickly taking a kneeling position to greet his master. “Hail to the Overlord!”
The man surrounded by darkness asked in a powerful deep voice, “Enough small talk. How has your mission coming along?”
“Yes! It’s coming along as expected, master!” His servant replied immediately without missing a heartbeat. “I’ve been learning about him from day one, and am noting down the factors that make him tick. I’m pretty sure I got a good understanding of him. He is truly strong, but I will know his weaknesses. I have already instigated a negative rumor about him to circulate around his peers, making them suspect him and put him on the spotlight.”
“Well done,” the man said, and Bruton felt his heart leap with joy at his praise. “It is good you’re making progress.”
“Thank you, master! I will not fail you!” His servant replied in a firm voice with his head bowed deeply. Then he raised his head and looked towards his master, asking him, “Is that the reason you summoned me for, sir?”
“No,” the man said in a clear voice. “I summoned you because I have a very important mission for you that is of greater importance than your current mission of exploiting the weakness of your enemy.”
“A mission that’s of greater importance?” Bruton asked, widening his eyes in amazement. “What is it, master? I’ll do whatever you wish for, so please order me!”
“Very well,” the man in the shadows said, and his eyes sudden flashed red through the darkness. “I have received an oracle from the True Believer about what, as I see it, would grant me infinite power, a power so great that I could challenge the authority of the gods! You understand?”
“Yes!” His servant replied quickly, bowing his head again. “It’s something you’ve been searching for before you helped my world prosper, but… none of us know where you could find it.”
“That is correct,” his master replied as he fell silent, “but the oracle told me the whereabouts of its location.”
“It did?!” Bruton exclaimed forgetting about his controlled behavior and looking excitedly at his master. “Where, master? Where is it?”
However, he soon realized he should not have lost his cool because he heard his master speak in a deadly voice with his eyes flashing dangerously, “You dare demand me?!”
“Ah!” The alien exclaimed, realizing a little late that he upset his master, but he quickly lowered his head and pleaded with him, saying, “Master! Please forgive my stupid impudence, but I was excited at the prospect of you finally achieving your dream of obtaining that prism! Please, forgive my mistake of crossing the line!”
There was a moment of tense silence within the dimly lit hall before the Overlord said, “Very well. I will overlook it this time, but next time, make no mistake; your punishment will not be pretty.”
“Yes! I’m grateful, master, and I won’t repeat my mistake!” Bruton said, feeling a huge wave of relief washing over him. “Now, could you please tell me where is the whereabouts of what you’re seeking?”
For a few seconds, his master remained silent before stating in a powerful voice, “The oracle told me the whereabouts of what of I see resides within a human being that lives on the planet that you are current living on.”