CHAPTER 4 -SURPRISES-

JAMES HODGES

Mia and I talked about how Lu should be raised now that he was two years old. Though we are not mages or even capable of using mana in any way, we decided to let Lu know about this after his fourteenth birthday when he would decide to either be a mage and go undertraining for it, or live the life he would want to.

Whatever he decides to do, we–his parents–will support him.

However, the only thing I would tell him would be that, no matter what he does, he must make sure he doesn’t have regrets that lay down in his chosen path.

As a father, I would like that my son would have the best time living his life here in Dicathen. Whether it be close to us–his folks–or miles away, he would still be my son. A being with my blood, my pride.

Boom

A large explosion occurred, in our house–

Instinctively, I used my body to guard Mia’s. Large amounts of the house piece hit my back but that wasn’t enough to bring me down. After all, I had a stronger body than a normal persons’ so this was nothing to me.

Mia on the other hand had a fragile body that would catch a flu here and there, each one bringing her to a master in medicine just to keep her alive or sometimes a deviant healer–which are rare.

The long white silky hair had its tips filled with ashes and dirt from the explosion. As I had my arms around my wife’s body, I felt a stream of water going past my forearms. Worried, I asked, “Mia are you okay?”

Mia’s response was in a lowly voice that I had to get close to her face, by that time the explosion had already gone by. “...in there–”

Lifting her up by her body, Mia’s feet touched the ground and bolted towards the ruble where the house was. As she did, letting out a scream of pain and agony mentioning only one name. Luke.

My son, my pride, the sole reason for my source of happiness, was in the house during the explosion.

I felt as my stomach fell, my heart ached. “Luke!”

Like my wife Mia, I ran at full force towards the backyard. With the explosion being loud and large, it was enough to make the neighbors appear with concern and worry for us.

Running next to me was one of our neighbors, Reynolds Leywin, a mage who is an augmenter. An ex-adventurer if I was correct, maybe he can detect Luke in all this ruble. I had hoped we would, even if it was futile, I just wanted my son to be okay.

Though, as a man, showing your emotions was a sign of the weak, but with time I learned that only the strongest of men cry when everything is down at their knees. And I was no exception, at this point and time, I was vulnerable.

My son had been in that explosion and I had no knowledge about mana or magic, but, Reynolds did, he had a mana core, he could save Luke.

In agony and horror, I pleaded to my friend, one who I met when he moved here in the town of Ashber. “Please, I beg of you Reynolds. Please find Luke.”

The retired adventurer gave me a concerned and surprised look, before giving me a nod and looking in any direction that his senses reacted to mana.

Pointing to wherever mana was accumulating to parts where children would hide.

Even Mia and Reynolds' wife–Alice Leywin–who had brought their child–Arthur Leywin–to the search. Many came after hearing the explosion as well.

Twenty or thirty minutes had passed by and still no sign of Luke. I was worried to the point where I felt like I had to assemble a search party and look all over Ashber town. Mia and I were nervous and filled with anxiety, all while horror filled our hearts to the point where we both had thought Luke had been killed.

No no, that can, more like it couldn’t have happened!

Luke was a boy who was smart enough for his own good. He knew things more than we his parents did. It had been a couple of months since he started to walk and learn how to speak fluently.

Just where are you Luke?

LUKE HODGES

Seconds after the explosion happened, a portal or gate appeared below me. Sucking me in and into some unknown place, it seemed like a cave but was different. It seemed like a man made cave, everything about this place felt familiar and alien to me.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

I got chills just by sitting down in the middle of what seemed like a giant pit made by a meteorite. This divot made it difficult for me to know the surroundings without moving but what choice did I have?

If I wanted to leave this place I had to move my two year old body even with the complications I had. I spent around two hours trying to leave this divot but my infant body would sometimes give up in the middle of the divot.

Annoyed and with anger, I tried running up the divot but it was impossible without taking breaks.

Dammit. I cursed.

I had promised my mother and father not to make them worry anymore or sad, but look at this. Everything here is screaming with a huge amount of mana, the walls, the ground, even the air is releasing such a pressure. I feel like fainting just by standing still.

I shaked my head trying to get that feeling of my system, but it seemed not worth even trying to forget about it. It felt like I had a giant beast on my neck, breathing and telling me that I would be killed if I continued walking forward.

But what other choice do I have?

It’s either be here and die from starvation or dehydration, or move forward to a safe location where I could get some sleep–

My eyelids are heavy… why?

Even my feet are like lifting some giant weights stuck to my ankle.

I held my sternum with some force, it was hot enough for me to be mistaken with some high fever. The sweat started to fall into my own eyes, having to sweep my eyes everytime I had sweat go into my eyes. It hurt and even tingled my eyes. I felt like I was going blind.

After what felt like hours of endless walking, I finally found some sort of light.

However, something was weird. There wasn’t any presence of anything here. No monster or anything else.

I let out a deep breath. To hell with this, all I need now is to go home to my parents. Mia, James…

Their names popped into my mind without any warning. Have I really become attached to this world?

“So you are the one that was brought here? A mere lowly lesser?” Spoke an arrogant voice.

In my infant body, I had no other option but to look startled upon seeing someone in here, in this cave. So let's act like a lost child. “W-Who are you, mister?”

My voice, which had a feminine tone to it even though I was born a male, had made my attempt to look like a lost child without knowing what was going on despite my mental age gap.

The broad shoulder man with barrel chested and tall enough to look down on me, looked at me suspiciously and turned. “Follow me child.” Waving his hand, his slightly dark orange hair with a tinge of smoke that shined purple left me speechless.

How can someone whose face is handsome also have beautiful hair in a place like this? This world is truly unfair. I thought with envy towards multiple people in this continent and even in the other continent, such handsome people were alive. Unlike me who is a freak in both hair and eye color.

Though this handsome man was taller than me, he seemed to be older than me by just a couple of years. And that is coming from a two year old boy who is older mentally.

Jokes aside, he reminded me of someone in the novel. Though he only appeared for a couple of chapters, he was still described as… Oh I see now. Everything was making sense towards one point but it was strange as to what ‘that’ guy’s motives were with me.

As we walked around the cave–where I thought I’d been lost in–this handsome man instinctively knew where to go. Almost like he had been here for so long in this deep cave that resembled the Beast Glades.

The gray ground had some sort of symbols, some parts even had arrows signaling where we’re going. It had me nervous to know who this was and where he was taking me, but he had given me a clue of who it could’ve been.

If I was correct, this place only means one thing.

The deep and big cave that led towards multiple places. The monster avoided me and this orange-haired guy.

Then I remembered that Aldir was here before, and I had thought that Aldir was the one going to summon me with Avier… Wait…

That was when the war had started, but this is in the past. Arthur Leywin should be younger or even older. My sense of time here is giving me a headache right now.

I cursed at myself for not knowing the current situations’ time.

However–

My inner thoughts were interrupted by the sudden stop that the tall handsome man made, crashing into his calf and hitting my head. I had to grab my head before feeling my tears well up in my eyes, this body was sensitive to anything, be it small bumps or a slight accidental hit.

The two massive wooden doors in front of us opened slowly, giving it that aura of meeting an important character. One who could distort the current timeline and events just by picking up a rock.

“Prince, I found him.”

Prince? wait –

“I see, so you are the one that Rinia has seen. The King’s Shadow?”

A man, taller than the one who brought me here, was sitting down looking at the dark matte cube in front of him. It turned to every direction it could before finally stopping in place. That is when “he” finally decided to stand and turn to me.

Being different from the novel’s description, he was sort of different from the one I knew from the novel.

Long golden robes that reached the ground stylized with golden feathers and fire cream colored silk tunic with dark pants. His long flare aspect of fire hair. Those blazing eyes similar to the sun that scream to distrust me who is in front of him. That graceful physique with markings of feathers around his face and arms.

I knew who he was and he too knew that as well.

As he walked slowly to me, a smile, no. A grin creeped on my face. With a gentle yet deadly smile, opposite from what his eyes told me, he spoke, “Nice to finally meet you, King’s Shadow, I am–”

“I know who you are perfectly, lost prince, Mordain Asclepius.”