Aria’s interrogation started off quickly. Once they were secure, the woman sat Aurum down and attempted to dig out everything that he knew. Like a disturbed puppy, Aurum sat quietly on the sofa and whimpered every time Aria went off seeking the truth. Unfortunately for the woman, Aurum was unable to come up with the right answers and was continually coming up with inadequate explanations.
By the side, Yvette and Arius were standing with their arms in akimbo, staring down the man with sceptical looks. They wanted to jump in the conversation to ask their own questions, but unfortunately, Aurum wouldn’t even give them a second look. All of the man’s attention was on the frowning Archmagus that was just about burst out in frustration.
“So you want me to believe that you don’t know anything about that monster?” Aria held her head down as she enunciated every single word.
“Really! If I did, I would have told you, right? I have no reason to lie!”
“Questionable… But okay, I’ll take your word for it now.” Aria knew from experience that poking for answers would only lead to wastage of time, so she opted to go another route. “Let’s get to something that you DO know! What the hell was that recovery?! How many more abilities are you going to hide from me?!”
“It’s not like I’m trying to hide it… I just never thought that anything was able to damage me to that extent...”
“Hoho… That overconfident with your power, huh?”
“It’s not that I’m overconfident...” Aurum sighed and dropped his shoulders. “Let’s put it this way. If someone were to attack you with a feather, would you be afraid of getting cuts or bruises?”
“... No.”
“Exactly! It’s the same for me! Instinctively, I wouldn’t flinch if I feel that something isn’t capable of harming me. For the most part, there’s nothing in the world that seems capable of harming me. Who knew that the Black Knight was that powerful...”
“You mean, your instincts didn’t trigger then? Against that monster?” Aria shot the man a dubious frown.
As an S-Class Archmagus, she could be considered among the upper echelons of all living beings. Aria’s power was definitely among the top thousand in the world. Yet, against that Black Knight, she felt utterly helpless. So, it was hard for her to believe that Aurum didn’t feel threatened by that monster.
“No… Though I’ll be more careful in the future. I’m sorry.”
Aurum dropped his eyes and his shoulders slouched. He was genuinely repulsed by his incompetence and was heavily regretting his actions back at the pier. If Aurum were a golden retriever, his ears and tail would be hanging down as he asked for forgiveness from his owner.
“N-No, it’s not like I’m blaming you for being a victim...” Aria faltered on her words. “Any-Anyway! You still haven’t answered my question! What was that healing ability?! I’ve never seen anything like it before!”
“Yeah! As a healer, I’ve never seen someone that could instantly close their wounds!” Yvette hammered down the question with light brimming in her eyes. “That healing factor is nothing short of a miracle! What the hell was that?!”
“Ah, that? It’s just how my body works.” Aurum replied lazily as if it were just a matter of fact. “Every time I’m injured, my body would repair itself back to its normal state. At least, that’s what I believe.”
“What you believe?”
“Yes, I think so? At least, circumstances have shown that it’s true.”
“H-How… Aren’t you the least bit interested in figuring out why that happens?!” Yvette was on the verge of yelling. Aurum’s indifference to a heaven-defying ability was a little too nonchalant to her liking.
“Yvette, if I may call you that… Do you ever stop to think about why you breathe?”
“Huh?”
For the first time ever, Aurum stared straight at Yvette. Perhaps it was Aria’s influence, but now, Aurum was able to recognise the woman was a fellow being that was worth talking to. Yvette however, wasn’t able to immediately accept Aurum’s full attention. There was something foreign… something akin to an invisible pressure without any mana… that was mounting on Yvette’s chest. It wasn’t harmful, but it wasn’t all too pleasant either. Breathless, the elf was unable to formulate a sentence in her mind.
“I said, do you ever stop to think about why you breathe?” Aurum asked once more, but this time, he didn’t wait for an answer.
“Probably not, right? The same goes for me and my abilities. I don’t really care about my power. I have them, and therefore they are there. That’s all I know about them. I have a strong body, and it can heal itself when damaged. They have been there since I woke up and had probably been there long before I was forced into a slumber. If I remembered my past, perhaps I could give you a better answer, but unfortunately… I don’t remember anything.”
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“I-I see...”
Yvette muttered and withdrew herself to the backlines. The intimidation mounted by Aurum was a little too tense for her, especially after coming out from a life-or-death situation.
Realising her friend’s mental state, Aria took over with a sigh: “Hah… Aurum, you’ll really need to fix that attitude of yours. See how much you’ve intimidated Yvette?”
“Me?” Aurum pointed to himself while tilting his head. “Am I really that scary?”
“Yeah,” Aria nodded with the mental support of others in the room. “Well, that’s something that we can fix over time. More importantly! So you have a superhuman defence and a miraculous recovery stat… Aren’t you like the perfect tank?”
“Tank?”
“Ah, it’s just a term for those who stand on the frontlines in dungeons to endure the enemy’s aggressiveness while the backlines attack.” Aria gave a succinct explanation. “What do you think, Mister Arius?”
Guardian Paladin Arius jolted when his name was brought up. He looked at Aria for a split second, before admitting with a bitter smile: “That’s right. As a tank myself, I’m kind of envious of Aurum’s traits. A near-invincible body and a recovery ability to boot… There’s no one else like him in the world of dungeon-diving.”
“So he would be a good commodity for the dungeons, huh...” Aria muttered out thoughtlessly, but her words didn’t go unanswered.
“Wait, Aria… Are you thinking of bringing him into dungeons?”
“... yeah.”
“WHAT?! Are you thinking straight?!”
A blaring voice echoed into the room, blasting the ears of anyone without the relevant resistance. The uproar didn’t come from Arius or Yvette. Neither did it come from the many guards that were meant to protect Aurum and Aria. That familiar voice came from the old man who should have been buried in paperwork by now…
“President… You’ve returned...” Aria mechanically turned her head back and caught sight of the wrinkled old man. His nostrils were flared, and his face was beet red. If a doctor were present, he would likely diagnose the President with a stroke.
“How could I not?! I take my eyes off you for one second, and you’ve gotten into such a mess!”
“It’s not like we wanted to be attacked,” Aria snorted.
“Hmph! You were given one job… To be Aurum’s custodian. Twenty-four hours have yet to pass, and you’ve already messed it up! How could I not be angry?! And now, you want to bring him into dungeons?!”
The President yelled at the top of his lungs. He had come in mid-conversation; thus, he didn’t hear the earlier parts of Aurum’s explanation. However, the conclusion that Aria had reached to was nothing short of ludicrous in his mind. Bringing Aurum, the prized collection of the S-Class Dungeon, into other dungeons? Just thinking about that made him shiver in fear and possibly descend into madness.
“President… Hah, I knew that you would have this reaction...” Aria rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the muscular brown-skinned man.
“Just think about it for one second. None of Yudonia’s guards are capable of protecting Aurum. Other than the Black Knight, there’s nothing in the world that could break through his defence. And even if he’s hurt, Aurum’s body would automatically heal him up. Rather than wasting away his talents, why not use him in the front line?”
Oddly enough, Aria had given a fair counter-point. Stunned by the sound logic, the President’s anger subsided, and his mouth began to twitch just a little bit.
“Also, won’t it be more beneficial for Aurum to experience how it’s like in the dungeons? If he used his powers more often, he might reawaken some of his memories! If we’re lucky, perhaps Aurum would even become the top ranker in Yudonia, helping us gain innumerable rewards! You know how bad our situation is on the world stage. With Aurum’s power, we might be able to at least reap some rewards!”
Seeing that she had hit home, Aria continued to persuade the President with her whispers of Mephistopheles.
“You… What are your true intentions?” The elderly man switched from his nagging and chiding mode to one of caution.
“It’s nothing much really… See, Aurum is a person with amnesia and everything about his past was from the ancient ages. If we bring him to other S-Class Dungeons that are appearing throughout the world, maybe we would be able to jolt his memory! And if he recovers everything that he’d lost...”
Aria looked back at the man sitting innocently on the sofa with the eyes of a hunter. She knew that Aurum’s past was integral to finding out more about the ancient world. The Age of Dragons, the Ancient Era where other lifeforms roamed the world, and maybe… just maybe… the mythical time where Angels and Demons existed.
Though there was no guarantee that Aurum’s memories would lead to any results, Aria somehow knew… she knew instinctively that there was something there.
Aria let the silence hang in the air, giving the others in the room to let their imagination go wild.
“Yudonia would benefit greatly, you know...”
“You’re really-...” The President rubbed his forehead in an attempt to quell his headache. He hated himself… the elderly man hated himself for actually thinking about going along with Aria’s suggestion. And to make matters worse… Aria went in for the kill.
“Furthermore, don’t you think that leaving Yudonia right now would be beneficial for Aurum? Rhykius wouldn’t know where he is, and that bloody monstrous Black Knight won’t be able to attack him again! It seems like a win-win-win for all!”
The President fell silent. At this point, Aria knew that she didn’t need to sell her idea anymore. In all likelihood, the man would relent and give in. However, little did she know that there was another foreign factor that was helping her out.
“Is it fate? To think that you would propose this plan at this moment...”
“Fate?”
“... Just a few hours ago, Gondor sent out a proposition to all members of the World Congress.”
“The United Dwarven States?” After raising this point, even Arius and Yvette turned their ears towards the President.
Historically speaking, Gondor has always been a neutral country. They would rarely mingle with world politics as they mostly focused on manufacturing and engineering new equipment. Dwarves weren’t always the sharpest of tools in the shed, but they were most definitely the best when it came to developing new technologies. Therefore, they would keep their hands off the messy affairs of the world just to further their own gains.
For them to put out a proposition was a rare feat, to say the least.
“Yes, that Gondor. They’ve suggested that because of these uncertain times, every member of the World Congress should cease all rivalries and concentrate on clearing the S-Class Dungeons that are popping up as we speak. After seeing our failure, they’ve suggested to World Congress that every nation should band together to clear the S-Class Dungeons, instead of limiting the movements of the S-Rankers.”
“Hoho… Are they suggesting free visas to any S-Rankers now?”
“Precisely,” the President nodded. “If Elfheim were to attempt to clear their S-Class Dungeons, their historic rival Vishaal should be willing to supply an S-Class team or two. If Bestia were to clear theirs, the United Houses of Egan should provide some of their S-Rankers. To put the cherry on the cake, Gondor was going to sponsor all the equipment needed for those raids. That was Gondor’s plan.”
“A bit idealistic, don’t you think?”
Elfheim and Vishaal’s enmity dated way back to the advent of the Greater Humanoid Species. The Elves were the strongest race that had inherited the bloodline of Angels while the Giants of Vishaal were wildly regarded as the successors of Demons. It was normal for them to have a scuffle or two.
The United Houses of Egan and the Beastmen Alliance were perhaps in a more tricky web of hatred. Humans had once enslaved Beastmen for their pleasure, and Beastmen had once treated humans as a nutrient source. Naturally, after centuries of wars, they had grown out from those medieval traits, but tensions remained till this very day.
“Yes, but that’s irrelevant for us now.” The President replied nonchalantly. “Yudonia doesn’t have to concern itself in the greater enmities between the superpowers. We do, however, need to improve our image on the world stage.”
“... So we’re going to send S-Rankers to help other countries in need?”
The President smiled in acknowledgement. “Precisely. Initially, because of our weakened state, I was going to reject the proposition, but who would have thought that you’ll be the first one to raise your hand?”
“Looks like Aria the Archmagus is about to make her historic return to dungeon diving!”