A/n: Hey guys! Sorry about the slightly late chapter. I had to get some stuff done today so I was a little short on time. There's some info dumping in this chapter, but it'll also explain a few things. Hope you guys enjoy!
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By the early morning of next day, Cyrus and Seffy were already up and leaving the inn they were staying at. Not neglecting to put on their face masks, the two made their way to the guild again to finally start searching through its database.
Fortunately for them, as it was early morning there weren’t many people in the guild as they made their way through the double doors of the building. After showing the receptionist their guild card, they went through the door on the right side of the receptionist booth and entered a room that was filled with drawers full of files, stacking up all the way to the ceiling. Records of requests, magical beast information, landscape and climates, notable people, countries, just about everything that had to do with this guild was filed away in this room, and it was a pretty big room at that. There was even information on adventurers with high power rankings despite the guild’s emphasis on privacy. Though, naturally, high ranking members would want to show off so it wasn’t completely unexpected that information about them would be here.
Despite the sparseness of people in the main room of the guild, the database room already had a few people in it who were sifting through its contents. A few people in the room gave passing glances at the two as they entered before turning away in disinterest.
“Well, then… there’s quite a bit in here. How surprising; I didn’t expect the guild here to have collected so much.” Cyrus mused as he headed towards a cabinet to the side.
“I’ll look through the other side of the room then.” Seffy said as she left to search on her own.
The two spent half a day sifting through the documents in the room. Ignoring the fact that the documents were a disorganized mess, it was a very productive time as they found the information they desperately needed.
After gathering as much information as they can, Cyrus and Seffy met up back in the main lobby of the guild. After sitting down at an open table on the tavern side of the lobby and ordering some food, Cyrus and Seffy decided to share what they learned with each other.
Throughout their discussion, they learned that the continent they were currently on, the Incacia continent, was broken into four territories. Those four were controlled by the four main races of today. Those races were the elves in the south, the beastmen in the east, the demons in the north, and finally the humans occupying the west. Apparently, it was also found out that the humans and demons were currently at war with each and that there was high tension between the elves and beastmen. The reason for the war between humans and demons was unknown as the two sides had been at a stalemate for half a millennium and had long forgotten what they fought about.
‘No wonder I haven’t seen any demons yet. Hm, that’s odd. In my time, I always pictured the demon race as being fairly peaceful. Oh well, people change over time so there’s not much point thinking too deeply.’ Cyrus thought to himself.
Cyrus and Seffy also found out that the Kingdom of Freynia, the country they were currently in, was one of the largest nations in the human territory and held quite a bit of power as its location was centralized between the other countries, making it one of the largest trading pubs. There were five other countries within the human territory. Those five were the Granahm Republic, the Apregia Empire, Kingdom of Indra, the Asarith Monarchy, and finally the Dominion of Kreol. In total, these six nations make up the entirety of the human territory.
As for the territories for the other races, the elves and demons are ruled under one centralized authority, while the beastmen are split into various tribes based on their animal origins.
There were six religious institutions that were widespread across the continent, though some were more popular than others. Those religious institutions were created based on the elements with each institution inheriting the name of its respective element. Those were the Church of Light, Church of Wind, Church of Water, etc. and of course their object of worship would be the Elemental God representing their element. It should be noted that for whatever reason, there wasn’t a Church of Darkness.
‘Heh, guess Umbriel must be in quite a rough spot. Maybe I should visit that brat sometime soon.’ Cyrus mused as he remembered the image of a girl with raven black hair and glowing, purple eyes.
They also found out that there was a centralized organization based in the human territory known as the Union of Sagonia, and that all the other human countries were a part of it. Cyrus didn’t really care much for that when he found out about it since most of their doctrines and policies were of rather questionable nature.
Cyrus cared little for most of the information they found so far. Though, there were a few things that piqued his interest greatly. Cyrus found that there were, luckily, a few historical records in the pile of documents in the database. From those, he found out one of the answers to the questions he had wondered about since the beginning. The information he discovered would answer the question of just how long he had been dead for.
The historical record that answered this question was about the Primordial War and the Cataclysm that followed. Though the document’s information was sparse, it did give a timeline that the Primordial War took place approximately 250,000 years ago and that it was a war fought between the ancient race of Celestials and the current Elementals. It talked about how their war was so intense that the offshoot of power from their fighting caused the Cataclysm that would soon create the Incacia continent known today.
Cyrus took all that information with a grain of salt as he still couldn’t trust the validity of the document. Though he felt the timeline to be correct, the last part of the information was dubious at best since Cyrus knew that neither of the two races had enough power to form a continent.
In the end, the document finished with how the Elementals triumphed over the Celestials and how the Celestials went extinct along with another race known as the Titans. Cyrus raised an eyebrow at this as he didn’t expect them to be wiped out, but apparently they were caught in the crossfire.
‘So it’s been at least 250,000 years…’ Cyrus thought quietly to himself, guessing the time that had passed as the Celestials were still alive when he ‘died’. Although he expected a long time to have passed, he didn’t expect it to be THAT long.
‘I guess I need to talk to Umbriel to get the real facts to this puzzle. Though, finding where she is will be a real pain’ Cyrus continued on with his train of thought.
Besides the record about the Primordial War, the other historical document that caught his interest was the document about the appearance of dungeons. Cyrus was extremely curious about these dungeons as he was very familiar with some of the items that were said to be looted from it. In the end, the document simply talked about how the dungeons were soon discovered after the formation of the continent and that it was a place that contained rare treasures. Most of them were also said to be infested with magical beasts and all sorts of abominable creatures.
‘I guess I’ll have to investigate those dungeons as well if I ever happen across one. My list of things-to-do just keeps getting longer. Oh, well. I welcome the adventure.’ Cyrus thought as he smirked to himself.
There was also an encyclopedia about the various magical beasts and races that exist today. Though, Cyrus was already familiar with most of the creatures since they were mostly the same from his previous life so he ignored it.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
After sharing all the information they had, the two of them got up and proceeded to exit the compound.
“Oh, how the world has changed.” Cyrus spoke to himself as he walked the streets.
“Well obviously, you were gone for more than 250,000 years.” Seffy replied walking alongside him.
“I don’t know why, but that statement just now made me feel really old.”
“And you aren’t?”
“Course not. I’ll always be a child at heart.” Cyrus smirked as he answered back.
“Eh, I suppose you’re right. With the way you act sometimes even I question whether you’re older than me.”
“Are you calling me immature?”
“That’s exactly what I’m calling you! Your attitude makes me feel like I have to hold your hands otherwise you’ll end up causing trouble.”
“Okay mom, let’s hold hands” Cyrus replied grinning as he stuck his hand out.
At his response, Seffy could only rub her temples as she sighed.
“You know, you can be a real ass sometimes.”
“And you only just noticed? I thought after these two years you would’ve already figured that out.” Cyrus said, still not dropping his smile.
“Also, I’ve noticed, but you’ve never really talked to anyone besides me since we got here. What’s the problem?” Cyrus continued curiously.
“That… it’s nothing, really. I just get a little antsy around other people. I guess you could say I’ve got some trust issues.” Seffy replied while looking downward a bit.
“Ah, is that so? Well, it’s not all that bad. After all, it’s better to trust no one and stay safe than to naively trust everyone and then get burned for it. And considering what you’ve been through, it’s pretty understandable.” Cyrus shrugged.
“Yeah… though, I feel I should resolve this issue soon. I don’t really want to end up with some sort of social problem.” Seffy hesitatingly responded.
“I see… Hey Seffy?” Cyrus asked after thinking something up.
“Yeah?”
“What are your thoughts on school?”
“Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”
“Just answer and I’ll explain.”
“Well… I’ve always been home-schooled so I’ve never really given it much thought. I suppose it’ll be pretty nice to attend one, though I’m not sure what I’ll be learning there. Why do you ask?” Seffy questioned again after answering.
“Well then, how do you feel about attending Sangin Academy at the capital?” Cyrus asked while grinning.
“How do you figure?” Seffy asked, confused why Cyrus would ask something like that.
“Let’s see… attending school and interacting with more people around your age group could very well fix that social problem of yours. As for me, I want to access their grand library that’s only available to students and staff of the academy. After all, since Sangin is the capital of the most centralized country in the human territory, there is bound to be a flood of information concentrated there.” Cyrus explained.
“I suppose that’s not too bad an idea. Though even if I declined, you were going to drag me there anyway, right?” Seffy responded giving affirmation.
“Of course not! I wouldn’t do something so savage! What do you take me for?” Cyrus replied with fake indignation in his voice.
“Riiiight…” Seffy replied skeptically.
As the two continued to banter while walking, they noticed that their surroundings had become eerily silent. As they looked ahead, they could spot a large crowd of quiet onlookers in the distance. Curious, both of them soon joined the crowd as they wondered what was going on.
“YOUR BRAT JUST BUMPED INTO ME AND GOT DIRT ON MY ROBES! HOW DO YOU PLAN TO COMPENSATE ME FOR THIS? THESE ROBES ARE WORTH MORE THAN WHAT YOUR PATHETIC LIVES COULD EVER AMOUNT TO!” A man who was surrounded by guards loudly bellowed at a mother-daughter pair.
“Please! She’s only a child! She didn’t mean it! It was only an accident!” A woman pleaded as she tried to shield her child.
“I don’t care if she means it or not! She got dirt on my clothes and now both of you will have to pay for it!” The man yelled. “Guards! Take them away!”
Half of the guards surrounding the man immediately started towards the pair of frightened females as they shivered in each other’s arms. However, before they could reach them, the guards all tripped over their feet. Before anyone could register what just happened, the other half of the guards still surrounding the man all buckled at their knees as their armor seemingly disintegrated on their bodies. Somehow, every single one of the guards ended up in a prone position with their buttocks sticking out as their entire bodies were stripped of all clothing.
Dead silence followed as the detestable man from before could only hang his jaws in shock. After which he turned very red before shouting at the guards.
“WHAT ARE YOU MORONS DOING? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? I’M NOT PAYING YOUR SALARIES FOR YOU TO CLOWN AROUND LIKE THIS!” The angry and now humiliated man shouted at his guards as people started to laugh around him.
The man soon turn-tailed and stalked off while muttering angrily about how he was going to get revenge for the humiliation.
As the guards struggled to their feet, all of them beet red at their full on display of public flashing, they all ran off following the man, completely forgetting the mother-daughter pair as they ran away in shame. It should also be noted that there were some female guards as well, which earned the whistling of many spectators.
Cyrus only chuckled as he watched the scene in front of him. If one looked closely, there was a faint, dark light emitting from one of his fingers as it dimmed away.
“Well then. That was quite amusing. It certainly cheered me up for the day.” Cyrus smirked as he faced Seffy.
Seffy also had a wide grin on her face as she was holding back her laughter. “How very brutal of you. Though, for a second there I thought you weren’t going to do anything.”
“Oh, please. People like them exist solely for my own amusement. As if I wouldn’t take the chance to do something like that when it was so graciously offered to me.” Cyrus said, still grinning as he put one hand on his hip while smugly waving his other in front of his face.
Walking up to one of the spectators, Cyrus then asked, “Hey you! Who was that man from earlier?”
After getting out of his laughing fit, the person in front of him answered, “Huh? You don’t know him? You’re not from around here are you? That person was Lord Buermen, the man who governs this town. He lives in that fat mansion in the distance and likes to show off in the streets. He’s quite a nasty piece of work if I do say so myself, though you may not believe it after that display.”
“Hmmm, so what has he usually done around town?” Cyrus continued inquiring.
“Well… Other than raising exorbitant taxes, beating people half to death if they try to say otherwise, and taking all the pretty women to his mansion, not much.“ The man sarcastically replied.
“I see…” Cyrus replied.
“I’d avoid him for a bit after today if I were you. The guy throws a nasty tantrum as well.” The man cautioned as he walked away.
Turning back to Seffy, Cyrus told her with an evil grin, “Let’s leave this town with a bang. Tomorrow, after picking up your clothes, how about we go pay our dear lord a visit?”
Seffy grinned back just as evilly and said, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
After comforting the mother-daughter pair enough so that they could head back on their own, Cyrus and Seffy went back to their inn to get some rest and prepare for tomorrow.