Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Ethan frowned and tried to make sense of the situation. At least no one mentioned the Aether Bloom so far. Their horses are the same breed as Jolly. The bulky one resembles Oliver, so this Aiden must be Sparky. After so long, I was starting to think that I’m in the clear. Can’t believe all this trouble is for people I didn’t even kill. ‘’Evelyn, I need you to run with Jolly once-’’

‘’No,’’ she interrupted without even looking at him.

‘’Eve-’’

‘’No.’’

Gritting his teeth, he considered their chances. Even if he managed to take two tier-4s, and Beet takes the brat with Paprika, could Evelyn take out a tier-5 with two tier-4s? He really didn’t want to find out. What if the shield skill of Sparky was a skill that was given to everybody who works for McGregors? What if the tier-5 had ranged skills and used them from the sky?

Ethan had another trump card as well, his [Void Wrap] was an amazing skill that concealed his scent and even the sounds he made. But it didn’t change his weight, he would still leave footprints, and a tier-5 might notice where he was. Diplomacy it is.

With a snort, Ethan disappeared. Using six [Blink]s in succession, he arrived at the top of the big rock and closed his [Void Wrap] before opening his [Mana Aura]. His hands behind his back, ‘’Peasants of Elisium! I’m starting to get pissed from this farce,’’ he announced, looking down to the crowd with disdain before turning his head to the bulky one, ‘’First, Nuvian and Alice wanted to rob me. Manipulating your son, they all tried to kill me! Still, I spared their lives and left them at the border of Ivory Woodland about four months ago.’’

He looked at the brat, his expression furious. ‘’Then, Aiden wanted to confine me against my will. I warned him, but he didn’t listen. Instead, he remarked that he would take me with missing limbs.’’ Fetching Sparky’s chest armor, he casually threw it to their feet. Everybody got tense, but Ethan didn’t give them a chance to speak or move.

Gesturing to the crowd, ‘’And now this! You wretched ignorant fools! I’m the legacy disciple of Bu- Inane Cultus! Ethan Voidwalker!’’ he declared with an unmatched pride, opening his arms wide. He took his cell phone from his ring and started waving it with fury. ‘’With one signal from me, an army of tier-9s would rain down to the Elisium, removing Ehrendil from the map! Let alone some fucking McKrekels!’’

The brat was pale, and even the bulky one didn’t interrupt, instead kept listening with a frown. Back on Earth, in the Cut-Throat, Ethan was the leader of the most notorious underground organization, The Dominion. Tens of millions played Cut-Throat, whereas The Dominion had thousands of people consisting of the strongest ones. Whenever the always-laid-back Ethan got angry, a bloodbath would follow. I bet even the genuine legacy disciple of bullshit cultus doesn’t have an experience like that. If there is such a thing, that is.

One of the tier-4s, presumably a good friend of Aiden, held the hilt of his sword, ‘’Shut yo-’’

‘’Insolence!’’ Ethan screamed as he lifted his hand. A shadow spike pierced the guy’s eye, taking his life in a heartbeat. He fixed his eyes on the brat, gazing at him venomously, ‘’Aiden also thought that I was bluffing to save my life, not getting the fact that I was trying to save his. I don’t need a fucking army to slaughter you guys. The army is for sending a message to every single fucking realm!’’ Once again, opening his arms wide, he let his killing intent wash over everybody and asked with utter contempt, ‘’What would it be, little krekel? Do you dare!?’’

The brat forced back the knot in his throat. ‘’This is a misunderstanding, sir Voidwalker.’’

The bulky one seemed hesitant. ‘’Jeremy-’’

‘’That’s enough Micheal!’’ Jeremy interrupted with a scowl. ‘’He said Oliver is alive. I will give you a team to search for your son. This matter ends now!’’

No one was satisfied, but Jeremy was determined. Turning to Ethan with a severe face, ‘’Sir, I didn’t know what was going on as I was on a hunting trip. I can assure you that you won’t be bothered again. If you visit Ehrendil in the future, we can be your host, and we’ll make sure to compensate for your troubles,’’ he promised sincerely.

Ethan nodded with indifference. ‘’We’ll see. Let’s hope it ends here.’’

The group took their comrade's body and left with mixed expressions. Ethan waited until they were alone and decided to tease Evelyn more. He jumped and walked next to her with a straight posture, hands behind his back, gazing at the horizon. ‘’Forgive me, I’ve not shared my identity before.’’

Evelyn rolled her eyes, ‘’There is no way that anyone above tier-3 could enter Elisium, let alone a tier-9 army. The realm only accepts those who hadn’t comprehended anything,’’ she informed with mild amusement.

‘’Shut up,’’ he said in disbelief, eyes getting wide. ‘’Seriously?’’

Evelyn nodded cheerfully.

‘’Oh, fuck me! Do you think his father, a member of the council of Ehrendil, knows this?’’

‘’Yep, certainly. I’m surprised that his son didn’t.’’

Ethan groaned as he still needed to use the teleportation gates of Ehrendil, and traveling from the land would take too long. ‘’Whatever, I’ll think of a way to enter Ehrendil without anyone noticing. Let’s have our late celebration. I really need it.’’

‘’Right! How did it go?’’ Evelyn asked in high spirit. ‘’Oh! Before that, how did you kill that tier-4?’’

With a grin, ‘’Standing still in my domain without any alertness is a death sentence,’’ he exaggerated, puffing his chest.

Evelyn let out a laugh. ‘’Oh? Should I keep dancing then?’’

‘’You better,’’ he confirmed with a nod.

They laughed and chatted near the pond as Ethan started the barbeque, and the feast was ready before long. When the artificial sun of the pocket realm was getting ready to set, Ethan brought their plates to the flat ground, where they ate their meals.

Evelyn couldn’t wait anymore, narrowing her eyes, ‘’You got it didn’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t suspend me so much,’’ she stated.

Ethan smiled as he poured wine into their cups. Throwing the spatial pouch of late Aiden to Evelyn, ‘’You should take this first. I’ll cut out two mana stones from your share,’’ he said. ‘’Because you gonna need it to store a flower of this.’’ He called the Aether Bloom with mock grandeur.

She jumped to her feet, laughing. ‘’I knew it! It even has three flowers. I heard that it grows four flowers at best, which takes hundreds of years.’’

Ethan sat across her next to Paprika and Beet. ‘’I’ll keep the other two flowers for now. Once we find an alchemist, we’ll sell the other one and share the profit.’’

‘’What?’’ she asked, surprised. ‘’No, you risked yourself for this. You should take two of them.’’

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Ethan waved his hand dismissively, ‘’None of that shit. I wouldn’t even find this place if not for you,’’ he said, starting to eat in a relaxed manner. ‘’Same deal that we agreed with the mana stones, fifty-fifty.’’

Looking at Evelyn, who sat down with a frown but didn’t say anything, Ethan called all the mana stones they had gathered next to them and raised his cup in an attempt to cheer her up. ‘’Come on! To your ridiculous luck, which helped you to find a small mountain of mana stones with an Aether Bloom on it!’’

Finally, Evelyn smiled, raising her cup, ‘’To your ridiculous skills that helped us to gather them!’’ she said before clinking to his cup.

He took a swig of wine and looked at the mana stones. ‘’There should be close to 100 mana stones here. How much do you think that elixir is sold for?’’

‘’Depends on who we are selling it to,’’ Evelyn replied. ‘’In a big auction, it might even climb to a thousand mana stones.’’

‘’A thousand?! I’m definitely buying the fanciest cabin and the boat!’’ he exclaimed with a goofy smile before his expression turned a little dazed.

She cocked her head in an inquiring way. ‘’What?’’

‘’Nothing.’’ He shook his head with the same smile. ‘’It's just that I’ve recently decided against robbing the people who might be deserving of it, and now an opportunity like this comes up. The fate is really bizarre. I bet many calamities were waiting for me on the other path.’’

‘’That’s something like my brother would say,’’ Evelyn commented with a sad smile and changed the topic before Ethan could ask, ‘’Oh! We still have to find a trustworthy alchemist. I know a few in the Union, but they are not an option anymore.’’

‘’I know someone we could ask in Niamaris, but I think selling it in Mirasatra would be more profitable, as I keep hearing about its famous auctions. Would it be okay for you to go there with me?’’ Ethan proposed with anticipation.

In the last week, he enjoyed having a companion to chat or joke around with. Both Beet and Ani were frustrating conversationalists. Even when he was with Oliver’s team, there was a barrier that kept everyone from being themselves, well, except perhaps Oliver. The simple nature of Evelyn was a breath of fresh air. If they could travel for a few months, he would definitely take it.

She nodded without pondering, much to Ethan’s relief. ‘’Sure, both of those places were on my list anyway. When you leave for the Union to see Claire, I can go and check out the Mighty Domains or the Meteora since they are pretty close.’’

‘’I know Mighty Domains is a giant forest where the monsters dominated, but what’s that Meteora?’’

Evelyn gave him a weird look. ‘’You know, the floating island in the middle of the continent?’’ Noticing his surprised expression, she continued, ‘’It’s even bigger than the biggest region of the Union. There are many inheritance sites as well as many exotic plants and resources, but it’s only open for four months every four years. The next time should be around two years. I’ll make sure to reach tier-5 by then because only tier-5s could enter. They also say it’s a rather bloody four months ‘cause many geniuses kill others to reduce competition.’’

Ethan listened with interest. In two years, he could’ve become a tier-5 as well. As long as he advanced his skills, leveling by killing monsters was easy for him. This floating island sounded very interesting. Killing others for resources wasn’t something he would do, but he had no problems killing the bastards who tried first. If no one bothered him, he would just collect some plants and tour the island casually, looking for inheritance sites with cool skills.

When they finished their meal, Ethan filled himself another cup of wine and switched to his favorite place, giving his back to a tree. Now, the problem is entering Ehrendil. Jeremy and his entourage are traveling with the same mounts as Jolly. If we rush on a slightly longer path tomorrow morning, we might arrive at the city before them. But if the damn McGregors were already looking for me, it would be pointless. Sneaking into the city isn’t a problem, but I’m sure passing teleportation gates would be much more challenging, and there is still Evelyn. I don’t think she has any skills useful for–

Evelyn’s head popped up from the side. ‘’Lord mighty sir Voidwalker, what is that troubles you?’’

Ethan burst out laughing, ‘’This lord is worried that our travels will be either dangerous or long as hell,’’ he said before giving a wry smile. ‘’Would you rather a teleportation gate with a possible ambush or travel half of the Emerald forest for months if not a year? Or, perhaps they would be convinced that I’m from a higher realm and only lied about the army of tier-9s to save myself. Would they still hunt me down?’’

‘’Hard to say, you already killed two tier-4s, and they might want to set an example with you. You said they are from Ehrendil, but we’re going to Niamaris, right?’’ Evelyn asked and bit her lip with Ethan’s nod. ‘’There is another way, but it’s also dangerous. First, show me where the hell are we. I never heard of this Primordial Realm.’’

Although surprised, he complied. Taking out one of his spider legs, which was quickly getting useless as he advanced, he drew a map to the ground. Two circles to show the free cities, a triangle for the Serene Depths, a line for the border of Ivory Woodland, and a dot for the entrance of the pocket realm. ‘’Do you need the distances for comparison?’’

‘’No, I got it,’’ she said, pointing her finger close to their location and Serene Depths, ‘’Here, about a month away, is the Wish Well. It’s one of the weird pocket realms. There are floors filled with monsters close to your level, and they get stronger as you pass the floors. On the fifth floor, there are two ancient teleportation gates, one for Misty Peaks and another for Niamaris. I heard this from one of our customers, and I’m not sure if it's true. Even if it is, he also mentioned that it was very dangerous.’’

Ethan considered what she said. If he was guessing right, Ehrendil was also dangerous. A year-long journey from the Emerald forest could be dangerous as well. Whereas this place sounded like a dungeon from the VR games to him, and he was a little curious about it. ‘’We can’t know if we don’t check it, right? At least let's go and see what’s all about.’’

 

~~~

 

As they were about to leave the Primordial Realm, Jeremy still couldn’t believe that his subordinates had made such a blunder. It was hard to not, though. The idiots didn’t even know that ascendants could send their youngsters to the lower realm.

‘’Young lord, what about Aiden and John?’’ one of Micheal’s men asked with a low voice.

What about them?! Do you really think we’d wage an impossible war for two morons? Jeremy had to calm himself before answering. ‘’They suffered the consequences of their foolishness. This should also be a lesson for you to learn who your enemy is first and shut your mouth if I’m not speaking,’’ he said harshly before turning his face from the man who lowered his head. ‘’Regardless, their families still will be compensated.’’

Sighing to himself, I managed it fairly well. Father will be pleased when he hears it. If that boy comes to Ehrendil, it would be even better. Having contacts after the ascension is the dream of every family with influence, he thought, gripping hard to the horse's reins.

He knew from the notes of his ancestors that Inane Cultus was really an organization from the higher realms. Although he didn’t quite remember the content, he knew it wasn’t a small one either. There is still a chance, this could be turned to our benefit. When Father ascended, he would have a place to go, and it would be even better for me.

Looking at his captain, who was quiet all this time, ‘’Don’t worry, Micheal. He didn’t have any reason to lie. I’m sure Oliver is still alive, and you’ll find him soon enough,’’ Jeremy assured.

Micheal woke up from his daze. ‘’Thank you, young lord. I also think he wouldn’t lie with that arrogance. The kid kills men like chickens, after all this, why would he say Oliver is alive? I just hope my boy is okay. It was more than half a year since I last saw him.’’

Jeremy nodded sympathetically, his eyes shining. That’s right, if he spared Oliver, there must be something else he didn’t tell. Once we returned, I should help to find Oliver and question him about what happened. It would make Micheal happy as well, the man didn’t even flinch when John died, yet he was almost crying when he heard his boy was alive.

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