by TurtleMe
“W-what? I didn’t really have anything planned but is it really okay to come along with you?” He straightens his glasses and coughs, trying to cover his embarrassed face.
“Well you and Jasmine should go separately through the portal from me in case anyone suspects something but I thought it’ be good for you to stay with us for a bit before we go to school.” I shoot him a grin.
“W-we? I don’t understand. I never had plans to go to school.” He looks lost now so I stop teasing and go straight for the point.
“I’ve been thinking a lot after the dungeon. You said your goal is to make a name for yourself in this kingdom… right?” I put my arm over his neck.
Elijah just silently nods, still pondering what I’ve been planning.
“…Well! What better way to make yourself known by graduating from the most prestigious school in Sapin!” I exclaim.
Elijah’s bespectacled eyes widen and even Jasmine looks surprised by my idea. “But… how would I even get into the school? I mean… I might have the qualifications but not the background. Even the fact that I’m from Darv doesn’t give me any leeway into the school.”
“Lucky for you, I think I can give you that background. This big brother here can give you the opportunity to get you into the school. So how ‘bout it?” I chuckle while I still have my arm around his neck.
“Pfft! What big brother. You do realize I’m older than you right? Anyway… I’m still not sure about this.” Elijah just throws a light jab to my ribs.
“You know… Lucas is going to be attending Xyrus Academy. You’re not going to leave me there alone with him are you?” I squeeze him harder this time.
“I agree with Ar…Note. You can always go back to being an Adventurer later.” Jasmine looks around to see if anyone heard the mistake she almost slipped out.
“Alright alright! IF you can somehow get me in, I’ll go! Besides, someone’s going to have to hold you back from murdering Lucas on the first day of school!” The serious face that Elijah had lightens up as he smiles.
“Good! Jasmine, can you take Elijah back to the Helstea house? I have something I need to do first. I’ll catch up to you guys!” I push them in the direction to the portal that was still a good distance ahead.
Jasmine nods and leads Elijah away. After they were out of sight, my face turns serious underneath my mask and both Sylvie and I turn to our left.
“Come out.” I utter calmly.
With a swish, Kaspian appears next to us.
“I am glad you took some precautions by sending the two of them away first.” He simply nods.
“Thank you for getting the judge to play along in that act. I’m sure Lucas isn’t going to be on guard anytime soon.” I say.
“It is my pleasure. I am glad that it was solved without anyone dying.” He stares at me, implying the obvious.
I just shrug my shoulders as I walk away. “I advise you to take some more precautions Mr. Note. You have gotten over the hardest part but please do not let your guard down.”
Without looking back, I wave at Kaspian, heading towards the teleportation gate myself.
Elijah attending school won’t draw too much suspicion. Jasmine was close with the Helstea family now so having her vouch for Elijah will be natural. I made sure not to draw Dawn’s ballad whenever I was with Lucas on the journey. The only problem that may arise is from Sylvie.
Lucas has seen the small, feline form of Sylvie back at Guild Hall. Before I had the chance to even ask Sylvie, her body begins to glow.
Her pitch black scale turns white as the horns that she had disappears completely. The lizard-like tail that she had grows as the scales stick out. After the glow died down, I blink to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. The feline-lizard form that he was in is nowhere in sight as she now looks exactly like a fox. No scales at all and when I reach down to feel her, I notice that her fur wasn’t exactly fur but scales that have been narrowed down and elongated to give the form of a pelt. Her body was completely snow white except for her nose, the tip of her ears and tail and her paws, which were the original black that she was.
“Kyu!” ‘This is better right Papa?’ Her size was the same so she jumps up onto my head and makes a bed out of my hair.
‘The transformation made me tired. I’m going to sleep for a while Papa.’
“Y-yeah…sure Sylv.” I should be used to these things by now but Sylv continues to baffle me. Did all dragons have the ability to alter their forms so completely? I know that her main form was that of a dragon, like the one we saw down at the dungeon, but being able to change her color and size even more wholly than her black- miniature form was astounding.
Well... that conveniently gets rid of that problem.
I send both a pulse to the ground and a weak electric current into the air to make sure I was by myself before I reached town. I take off my mask and coat, placing it inside my bag.
Since we were still on the edge of the Beast Glades and the Grand Mountains, reaching the small town, I noticed it was filled with only Adventurers and merchants trying to survive and make a living. There wasn’t much to look at so I quickly sold my short sword, leaving me only with my black stick.
My last stop was the artifice. Opening the double doors, my vision is filled with various artifacts.
“Welcome to Ecvius Artifacts! Er…how may I help you?” A peppy young woman greeted me with a hint of confusion in her eyes as to why an 11 year old was all the way out here.
“Hi! I came here with my father who’s a merchant. He asked me to buy something for him here.” I flash an innocent smile.
“How cute! What is that small fox on your head?” She hops out from behind the counter to get a closer look at us. Sylvie was still sleeping so I just nonchalantly said that this infant mana beast was my father’s.
“I see I see. So, what can I help you with?” She clasps her hands eagerly.
“I’m looking for a small dimensional storage artifact.” Looking at her, I can tell she was shocked by what I just said.
Something I found while reading various books was that there is a special mineral located in this world capable of storing a couple times its size. None of the books went in depth about how it can do so, which tells me that they don’t really know either, but it was supposedly extremely rare and valuable.
Quickly gaining her senses, she puts on a smile and leads me to a room behind the counter. “Here, we have all of our most valuable items. This wall, we have all of our dimensional items.”
“I just need one big enough to store this.” I reach for Dawn’s Ballad that was strapped on my waist.
“Hmmm… if it’s only that, I think this ring would do it.” She says after looking through the shelves for a bit. After she picked out a small case, I looked to see it was an extravagant gold ring with a diamond imbedded into it, alongside other smaller gems.
“Er… do you have any that are less flamboyant?” I say while giving the ring back to her.
“Hmmm… most people ask for the most flashy jewelry when they ask for a dimensional storage artifact.” Scratching her head, she looks through more of the shelves in the small back room.
“Aha! How about this?” I open the small box she hands me and inside was a dull silver band.
“This ring is actually of higher quality than the gold ring I showed you before, but the smith that forged this insisted on leaving the ring in this plain state. This ring probably has enough space to fit your stick and a large luggage bag inside.” She says, flashing me a very business-like smile.
I didn’t waste any time in my decision. “I’ll take it.”
After haggling with the insistent woman, I managed to buy it for a couple of beast cores that I picked up from the dungeon and 200 gold. This was only because that was about all I had left. My total savings now consisted of a couple of silver and the S class Elderbeast core that I have partly used. I sighed in depression, reminiscing of the times when I could live happily with just a couple of
copper coins back in Ashber town. The 200 gold I received were from Guild and from Kaspian who, separately, gave me some to “take precautions with”. After slipping the ring into my right thumb, since it was too big for any of my other fingers, I willed mana into both the ring and my sword. Instantly, the black sword glowed and got sucked up into the ring. I did the same with my mask and coat that was inside my bag and proceeded towards the teleportation gate.
Chapter 36: A Son, Brother, and Friend
I could never get used to the teleportation gate no matter how many times I go through it. The feeling of being stuck in a space where I had no control just didn’t sit right with me.
Twiddling the dimension ring stuck on my thumb, I couldn’t help but get a headache at how careful I would have to be once school started. Even the ring was bought so that I wouldn’t’ have to carry my sword around. While I never used my teal bladed sword as an Adventurer, I did have it sheathed on me at all times. Even Lucas eyed my black walking stick with curiosity while we were in the dungeon together.
Arriving at the other side of the gate in Xyrus, I heaved a big breath. I was home.
Catching a carriage home, I passed by the Academy that I’ll be attending. The premise was enormous and just looking at it from outside, anyone could tell how much time and resources the Kingdom put into this place. It seemed like it’s own little world inside of the city, with various structures and landscapes changing along the way.
“Sir, we have arrived at Helstea Manor.” The driver got off the front and opened the door for me, tipping his hat as I stepped off.
Handing him a couple of copper coins, I walked up the stairs I was so familiar with. Sylv was still sleeping. I was getting worried at how much a toll transforming her body like that took on her, but after prodding her mentally, I was relieved that she was still just sleeping very heavily.
“BOOM!” The double front doors flung open and the girl that came flying out was a sight for my sore eyes.
“BROTHER WELCOME BACK!!!” My sister, Ellie, head-butts me in the stomach, almost knocking the wind out of me as she clings on for dear life.
Rubbing her face into my shirt, I couldn’t help but chuckle as I patted her head.
“Uuuu… you’re not leaving anymore right? You’re staying right?” Through teary eyes, my sister’s almond colored iris shimmered in a mix of emotions.
Peeling myself away from Ellie, I squat down a little so I’m eye level with her.
“Yeah, I’m back Ellie.” I give her my most sincere smile.
“EN!” She nods her head vigorously as if to say that I said the right answer. Ellie should be almost 8 now. Her birthday was a couple of months before mine so there’s always a period where she’s only 3 years younger than me. For most people, that wouldn’t matter but for some odd reason, Ellie never fails to mention after her birthday that she’s only 3 years apart. Looking at her carefully, I can tell she’s blossoming into a cute young lady. Her puppy eyes became more prominent as she lost some of the baby fat in her face; her perky nose red from crying.
I started internally panicking a little for the near future when she would start dating. The day she brings home a boy would be the day I will unleash the full extent of my goddamn powers.
“Arthur!” My mother comes running forward alongside my father, both of who have an expression that seemed to smile and cry at the same time.
My father, who seemed to be getting more and more muscular, instantly picked me up.
“My boy! HAHA! You’ve grown so much!” My father’s beard was a bit longer now and I can see some wrinkles near his eyes and mouth.
My mother grabs my hand and places it on her cheek, not saying anything except for a few quiet sobs.
“Idiot son! Do you know how worried I was when my ring activated? I thought you were dead!” She looks up at me and the angry face she tried to put on disappeared and was replaced with a bright, teary smile.
“Your mother couldn’t sleep for days after the ring activated. I kept telling her that everything will be fine and that something just must’ve happened to your ring. I know my son wouldn’t die that easily!” He tried to comfort me, but the guilt was still just as heavy.
Putting me down, my father continues, “Thankfully, the status on the masked swordsman, or Note, was updated at Guild Hall, saying that you and your party arrived at the branch near the Beast Glades.”
“I’m sorry Mom, Dad, Ellie for worrying you guys again. I seem to cause nothing but concerns for you guys haha.” I scratch my head as my mother continues to hold onto my other hand with Ellie comforting her.
Shaking her head, my mother looks up at me. “It’s a parent’s job to worry about her children, although you seem to do your end of the bargain a little too well. Ellie was waiting by the window the whole day since your friend Elijah came with Jasmine.”
“MOM!! That was supposed to be a secret!!” She started pouting while she started softly hitting our mother on the back, making us all start laughing.
“Arthur!” “Art!” I hear two voices. I look up at the top of the stairs and I see Elijah, and Vincent with Tabitha. The friend that I made in the dungeon came down first and put his arm around my neck, half strangling me as he puts his weight on top of me. “Took you long enough to get here! Jasmine already went back with the Twin Horns. Did you decide to go on a touring trip?” We both chuckled. Elijah seemed a lot more expressive these days, almost making me forget the nearly robotic face he had when I first saw him at the testing grounds.
“Arthur Leywin! The prodigious son is back!” Vincent clasps my back as he gives me as big of a bear hug as he can with his thin body.
“We’re glad you’re back safe, Arthur.” Tabitha follows behind him and gives me a hug as well. The Helstea couple hasn’t changed much and was as lively as ever.
“Thank you for taking care of my family Mr. Helstea, Mrs. Helstea.” I smile and give a polite bow.
“Now now! You’re going to make me angry if you stay so formal with us!” Vincent shakes his finger while pretending to be angry.
“He’s right you know. Please, Arthur, your family is a part of our family. I hope you can just call us Aunt and Uncle.” Tabitha gently strokes my head.
I nod and start looking around. There’s one person missing from the Helstea family. Before I can ask, Vincent seems to have noticed who I was looking for.
“Hehe. If you’re looking for Lily, she’s not here.” Vincent has a wicked grin on his face while Tabitha just rolls her eyes at him.
“Lily got accepted into Xyrus Academy thanks to you. She started attending last fall semester of the Academy after she turned 12.” Tabitha also has a warm smile on her face.
My eyes widen at the good news. “Wow! My parents did mention it but Wow! Lily really did it! She’ a student now!” I smile broadly.
Tabitha nods at this. “Yes. She really wanted to be here when you came back to tell you herself but unfortunately, spring semester started so she’s stuck in the dorms until break.”
Vincent laughs urging both our families and Elijah to the living room.
We discussed about my time as an Adventurer. There were some things I left out for my family’s sake. I eyed Elijah when I skipped the part where Lucas betrayed us. I didn’t want either my family or the Helstea family getting involved.
My sister was wide eyed the whole time while I was telling the time while Elijah and I were in the dungeon. She had the expression that I was telling her a fantasy bedtime story with all of the dungeon monsters and magic involved. The audience couldn’t believe it when Elijah continued the story on for me and told them about how I defeated the Elderwood Guardian. My father and Vincent’s jaws were slacked when I just shot them a grin and pulled out the core.
“Speaking of which. Dad, what stage are you at?” I asked.
Giving me an embarrassed chuckle, he says, “I’ve been stuck at the bottleneck of the dark orange stage since you left. No matter how much I meditate and purify mana,
I can’t seem to break through.”
“Perfect. Dad, you should use this then. I had to use a little bit of it while I was healing but there should be enough in this beast core to help you break through.” Without giving him a chance to decline, I toss him the dull green core.
“No. Arthur. This is something you fought for with your life. I can’t just take this from you.” My father tries to give me back the core when Vincent stops him.
“Reynolds, the boy must have his reasons. You’re his father for God’s sake. Get stronger, it’ll help me as well haha!”
Tabitha just chuckled at this. “Alice, your son brought quite the present.”