Chapter 5: Chapter 5: A Hero & Wanderer

Following Igos and Mina, Alum looks around the halls and analyses his surroundings. There are signs and some writing. He suspected. He could read their language and also understood what the signs meant. 

[....What is going on? This is another language, yet I can read it….] he thought as he glanced at Igos, who was leading the way. 

“As you can see… the walls are quite messy, and…. We don’t have too many resources left.” Igos says with a grim expression. 

Alum is still cautious of them, but as he looks closer at the undead, he realises they have holes that seem like bullet shots. 

[....Some of them don’t regenerate. Why is that? Maybe they’re different types? Or does it have to do with their diet and habitat?] 

And as he was in deep thought, Mina snuck a glance at him and turned away instantly. 

“....Don’t they regenerate too?” Alum asks both of them. 

They looked at him with wide-open eyes and stopped. 

“Y…. You met one?” Igos carefully asks. 

[So they don’t usually? Hmm…. I guess we were lucky or unlucky. Who knows.] 

“I did. It was huge as well.” Alum calmly replied. 

“....Can you describe it in more detail?” Mina asks. 

Alum take a brief pause as he recalls the event. 

“It certainly wouldn’t fit in these halls, and was pale white, has three heads and crimson eyes.” 

“....You likely met a Greed Eater,” Igos says as he feels shivers running down his spine. 

“A Greed Eater?” 

“Yes, they are relatively rare but most commonly found in ruins… and well, it’s commonly believed they eat their own kin since they willingly offer themselves to get eaten by it. They also eat intelligent creatures to further evolve. And is a level 3 in the danger scale.” 

[Danger scale…? Well, 3 doesn't sound that bad. Why the expressions?] he wonders.

“How do you count that?” Alum asks. 

They look at him suspiciously, and of course, they would. For them, it was common sense, but they started to feel like maybe he wasn’t from the continent at all. But it was strange because, from their view, he speaks their language fluently. 

“....We use a scale from 1-10, and the higher the number, the more dangerous. Although… you probably feel like the number 3 is low… right? Well… anything above danger level 4  is a threat to a small town like this…. But since our barriers have been broken, even those from class 3 are a threat…. Well, the danger on the danger system doesn’t scale leniently though….” 

“What do you mean?” 

“....A they are based on what the threat level of a monster is to a city and not individuals or small towns such as this….” 

“Why not live in a bigger city, then?” 

“.....They are very rare, that's why small towns like this can exist peacefully…..” 

“I see….” Alum awkwardly replies as he feels slightly bad about their lack of luck. 

[These people suffer through unreasonable circumstances every so often… seems like living in this world will be more challenging than anticipated considering ‘that’ was a level 3 to a city.]

“...You two might have already figured this out by now. But I’m not from here, and deceive me in any way… it won’t end with just you two. Got it?” Alum says gently, but his words are nothing but cruel. 

Both Mina and Igos take some distance from him after he says that, but they nod as they understand he is as cautious as they are. 

“Good,” Alum says as he becomes expressionless again. 

[....After all, I wouldn’t want to stain my hands in innocent blood for two people's foolishness.] 

— :::: — 

After walking for not too long, they come across more people as they greet Mina and Igos. Although they thought Alum looked suspicious, they didn’t say anything as both the siblings brought him. 

Alum sees a lot of people just sitting around, and the atmosphere is heavy. After all, they awaited their death. Even the children were quiet and looked lifeless as the adults. 

[...Seems hopeless.] Alum thought as he watched the state of the people. 

Later he arrives at a tent, and as they enter, everyone turns their head to look their way. They were all in armour and were having a meeting. 

“....Pardon our intrusion….” Igos says politely as he bows his head. 

“Oh? This is the survivor you guys found? Are they a merchant?” a rough guy asks. 

“...No, Sir… he is a battle mage,” Mina replied. 

“.....Wow, you found someone that valuable?” They ask in shock as they stare at Alum. 

He wasn’t making any expressions and bows as Mina and Igos had done. 

[Battle mage? What’s that? Mage? As in magician? Well, this is indeed magic…] 

“Yes… and he wants to clear the town of the undead and asked if we wanted to join him,” Igos replied. 

Listening to his words and being taken by another surprise, they stare at Igos and Alum. 

“Is he insane?” someone asks. 

“.....A little, but he is undoubtedly strong,” Igos replies. 

“...I see. Well then, mister mage, what can you do? We’re not risking our lives if you’re incompetent,” the rough-looking fellow said. 

“Sir. Alum, can you please demonstrate a little?” Mina asks cautiously. 

“I can, but… I will go with something efficient and nothing grandiose.” 

“Sure thing, kid,” the rough-looking man says. 

He doesn’t believe a young man like Alum could be a battle mage. And to his credit, he is right since Alum doesn’t even know what that entails. 

“Then, I ask someone to throw something small up in the air, and I will hit it with pinpoint accuracy.” 

“Houu~?” serious-looking guard comments. 

She tossed a small coin up in the air as she was thinking of pulling it down faster with the help of magic to make it less predictable. 

But in that small time frame, Alum had already knocked away the coin with a water droplet. She feels a slightly wet sensation on her cheek. Being surprised, she bursts out laughing. 

“Ahahah! Well done!” she compliments Alum. 

She stands up and starts to walk toward him. 

“I couldn’t even feel any mana from that spell. Well done!” 

Most were confused as they looked as if she had gone mad, but the rough-looking guy said nothing as he picked up the coin that had rolled to his feet. It has a bump in the middle. 

[....Who is this guy?] he thought as he glanced at Alum and the coin. 

— :::: — 

After Alum displayed his skills, they moved on to come up with a plan as they lay down a map.

“This here is the city centre, where we’re right below,” Veizhu points at the map as he glances at Alum. 

Ever since Alum displayed what he could do, the rough-looking guy later named himself and showed him more respect. 

Although he was scary looking for most, he was just as young as the rest of them. 

Though things got more hectic when their seniors didn’t show up after going outside, they seemed well put together.

But… 

[Despite how young they look, could they actually be older than I think?] Alum thought. 

“Before we proceed, mind if I ask some rather strange questions?”

He glances around the tent as the others nod ever so slightly. Giving him the ‘go a head.’

“How old are all of you?” he asks. 

And, of course, they are a little taken aback by the strange question. 

“....We’re around 14 to 18, Sir…..” Igos answers. 

“And are you all adults?” 

“....Age of adulthood starts at 18 and… why do you ask, Sir?” 

[....I see. They really are just kids. Well, as long as they can do the job.] 

“Mind if I ask why you became a trainee so young?” 

“It’s because you serve 5 years as a trainee before you become a regular. Of course, some things speed up the process,” Veizhu answers.  

And after some more questions, Alum finds it rather strange that this world operates very much like his old one. For example, the length of a day and year. 

“Then, where is the warehouse?” Alum asks. 

Then the serious-looking girl inches closer to him and points at where. 

“Northwest from the centre in this building right here, Mister.” 

[.... I think her name was Lisla, and she’s getting a little close for comfort,] Alum thought. 

“Well, let’s go then.” 

“Right now…?” everyone asks, looking at him as if they think he’s more insane than they thought. 

“It’s the perfect weather,” Alum replies. 

“....But these vile creatures are stronger at night…..” Mina comments. 

[They are? Well, then it can be dangerous to clear this town at night… but….] 

“I see, then. Let’s just get what’s needed and prepare for next time. How about that?” 

Thinking about his words, they look around to see what the others think, but Veizhu and Lisla are on board as they are tired of being helpless. But… it is also because they are the strongest and wielders of divine weapons. So… they are confident. 

““I will go,”” both of them said at the same time. 

Then the rest raised their hands as well. However, they couldn’t go, and it ended with just Veizhu and Lisla since they were the two who confidently volunteered. 

Alum nods. 

He glances at his watch and notices that the north and south are the same in this world as well. 

[6 hours before I need to get back….] 

He examines the map again and notices that there are tunnels leading directly to their base… however, noticing his gaze, Lisla sighs. 

“I’m sorry, Mister. I know you want to use the shortest path. However… there are a bunch of undead around the exit there…. By the way, what is that device on your wrist?” 

“Oh? It’s a device that helps me navigate time and directions.” Alum replies as he has a faint smile on his face. 

Of course, he treasures this custom mechanical watch… it was the only thing left by his teacher before he got fired….. Not only that, it measured temperature as well. 

And as Alum recalls his teacher's last words to him, his expression turns determined, cold and expressionless again. 

“Then… any safe routes you know of?” Alum asks. 

“Yes… this one right here, right beneath a bakery.” 

[I’m curious…..]

“Did they use to sell sweets?” Alum asks from nowhere. 

Well, in his mind, he’s been without anything sweet for a week, and his only enjoyment now is Noel’s cooking. Strangely his friend is a very good chef… even more so than Emely. And he grew up eating her food…. 

But… they all look at him and laugh. Either they found it ridiculous, or they thought it was a joke and was relieved that he seemed more human. 

“Well, there is probably some, however… they’ve probably expired already,” Mina comments as she giggles. 

“Hmm, too bad,” Alum replied. 

— :::: — 

As Lisla and Veizhu lead the way, they have materialised their divine weapons, and he feels energy leak from them. But, unlike his classmates, it seems more controlled and potent. 

And as they got out, they were greeted by a ghoul from the get-go. Both of them are tense, but they dash towards it. Veizhu restraints it with his chains, but as it tries to scream, Lisla has already cut off its head. 

Meanwhile, Alum watches them in delight. 

[Looks like they can care for themselves. Though, from the looks of it, they are shaking slightly. But…] 

‘Don’t attack unless I tell you to. Just lead the way,” Alum coldly states. 

Both of them stare at him with both surprise and agitation, but they oblige and nod. 

They then walk out of the bakery, and the streets are filled with these creatures. However, they have yet to be noticed. Lisla and Veizhu later realise that they are in a barrier. 

‘Well, lead the way.’ 

“....”

Walking the streets, they encounter many undead creatures. However, nothing more than danger level 2. The two also see Alum instantly kill the undead as if it was nothing. They couldn’t even make a single sound as they got to hit, and their heads instantly turned into ice. 

Lisla and Veizhu looked at him and reevaluated him in their heads since… he was more skilled than they had anticipated. 

[No wonder the siblings call him a battle mage.] Both seem to think. 

His spells are almost instant and very hard to predict and spot. Not only that, they didn’t feel much mana being used at all, but it wasn’t just because there was so much free water for him to use. He was genuinely good at mana manipulation. 

As they keep walking, Lisla and Veizhu see their once beautiful town centre in ruin, and they both feel a heavy weight upon their chests….

They chose this path because Alum wanted to eliminate as many as possible without being noticed. But the other two start to feel tired as their breathing becomes more ragged after each kill. 

Alum also notices this, and they stop killing the undead they come across. There were simply too many of them. 

Later they arrive at the headquarters and sneak in. but… there was a type of undead Alum hadn’t seen before. It was in the room where they had the equipment and an entrance to the shelter. 

However…. Lisla and Veizhu froze on the spot. 

Covering their mouth and whispering in a low voice in disbelief. 

‘No way… an Armoured Death Blade…?’ 

The undead was covered in armour and was human-like in stature. Unlike the morphed ones out there, this one doesn’t look as dead.  

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Sharp claws and blade-like limbs, deep violet eyes. 

With an intelligent look, it stares their way and cries loudly, making Lisla and Veizhu fall to their knees. 

[This one is very bad news, huh….?] Alum ponders as his feet feel glued to the ground. 

But… 

‘You two, find the nearest path to the shelter,’ Alum ordered. 

He pulls them up on their feet and coldly stares at them, making himself more intimidating than the monster before then. He also hands them the bag he got from the man since he knows that they know how to use it. 

Both of them, in a daze staring into his cold golden eyes, nod. 

‘Now!’ Alum commands as he restrains the creature. 

He had already made an isolation barrier. As Lisla and Veizhu ran and activated a switch, the path to the entrance was blocked. In a panic, they ran to look for other ways into the shelter, and there was one more in the cafeteria. However… they are low on mana, and without Alum at this stage, they are dead. Sure they can fight one or 1-5 undead, but a hoard? That’s impossible without Alum. 

Looking his way, the two of them see Alum dodge the creature's ferocious attacks…. Even this one was a challenge for him. 

Alum notices that they are still here and feel like it is a pain that they can’t escape. He was buying them time because he wanted to escape himself. He could honestly just leave them, but… 

[That will leave a bad taste in my mouth, even if Noel makes great food!] 

As the creature tries to rip him to pieces with its sharp claws and blade-like arm. It jumps at him, he dodges and as it goes past him and slams into the wall. With its flexibility, it turns around and propels from the wall, but it jumps straight at the electrically charged needle Alum just launched. 

But with its blade arm, it cuts the needle, and since the impact was so great, it stopped its momentum and was airborne for a split second. 

Alum uses that to instantly create two walls of highly condensed ice and slams them together into a cube, shrinking that cube to half its original size and electro-charging it, launching it towards the wall, melting through it and making a giant hole in the building. 

He then covers the hole, runs to Lisla and Veizhu and helps them get into the shelter. He melted all the metal and rock that was blocking the path, and as they got into the halls, he grabbed most of the stuff in the room with his threads and shoved them into the corridors. 

“This should do,” He says as he creates a wall of ice between them and pushes them along the hall with all the equipment. 

Veizhu and Lisla look at each other in bewilderment. 

“...Isn’t he coming too?” Veizhu asks. 

“....Judging by how he reacts, he really wants that thing dead, and be sure it’s dead…..” Lisla replies. 

They both gather, store as much in their magic bags, and shortly, they meet up with the others waiting in the halls further down. 

Meanwhile…. 

Alum takes a deep breath as he dashes out of the building into the rain and sees the ice cube. It had melted, and the creature slowly broke free, its body glowing as he felt a burst of energy around it. Its mouth cracked open wide as a magma ball was already formed. 

That same ball of energy blasts in one direction, and it is his. Alum gasps as he creates a highly condensed reflective wall in the shape of a half circle and gets out of the way before it penetrates through. 

And before he noticed it, it was already beside him, trying to strike him with its hot, sharp claws. 

Alum blocks it but is kicked by the bladed leg and is sent plying 50 meters on the streets. Luckily, he was still intact because he made armour in time. 

He then rolls to the side as it dives towards him and stabs the ground. It roars, and more ghouls come to assist, but…. 

[Great, gather your friends, I’ll cook them real good alongside you.]  

Alum kills them one by one while defending against the Armoured Death Blade. However… it wasn’t all that easy since more threatening versions were called too. There was a giant, and those in heavy armour were going berserk and not faltering from his attacks. 

But Alum just chuckles. 

“Sometimes I wonder if I have a death wish,” he lightly comments to himself. 

Seeing that he’s in a desperate situation, he jumps into the air now that all the so-called ‘special’ versions have been gathered. 

Creates giant walls to isolate them, but they aren’t fleeing as they eye him. After all, he's the precious prey that will evolve them once eaten. 

As he stands high up in the air, they begin to charge up a ranged attack. But… so did he. The rain in the proximity has stopped since he gathered it all to create his highly condensed electro-plasma needles. 1000s of them, and fires them before the creatures finish their attacks. 

Penetrating them and melting the surroundings as they landed, but this wasn’t going to kill them. He just made them unable to move for a while. That's why he pulls back the needles as they expand and hooks the creatures into the air. Slamming all the sides of the walls, he created a cube and shrunk it to 1/10 of its original size. 

The cube was glowing since there was so much heat, making sure he cooked them crispy. 

And it seems like it is thoroughly cooked. He throws the cube into the far distance since they are likely burnt. It brightens up the whole sky as the energy bursts out and later comes the explosion's shockwave and a loud boom. 

He sighed in relief, but that didn’t last long as his legs gave up, and the platform he stood on stopped levitating. He feels as if his insides are being cut into pieces. Even if he was used to excruciating pain, this was one he had never felt before, and it felt like he was going mad as he fell toward the ground. 

He tries to make threads to catch himself. However, when he attempted to, the pain got worse and even more unbearable. Not only that, the threads weren't even made. 

[....I’m going to die like this? Haa… ahaha… I see. At least I got rid of this issue.] 

Alum scoffs at himself in his thoughts. But… before he lost consciousness, he saw a flash of electricity come his way, and someone had caught him. 

She had ash-brown hair and emerald-green eyes.

Alum’s eyes were wide open as he saw this angelic person. 

He didn’t believe in either heaven or hell, but…. 

“Are you… an Angel?” he murmurs weakly as he tries to stay conscious. 

The girl blanky stares at him briefly before giggling a little. 

“No… but I am a Hero,” she replies. 

Realising he said it out loud, he feels slightly shy since that usually never happens. 

“....I-I see.” 

“....Are you alright?” She asks in a gentle voice while holding him in her arms. 

He nods, and as she heads down to the ground, laying him down and putting something beside him that constantly generates a forcefield, he watches it with a spark of curiosity in his eyes, despite the pain. 

“This is a Delta-Tex unit. It generates a barrier, so you should be safe and… good work. I will finish the rest,” she gently said. 

Alum nodded, and she smiled. 

“My name is Chely Ilis. It’s a pleasure to meet you, wanderer of another world.” 

— :::: — 

After a bright light in the sky and analysing what it was, they find that it comes from the town they haven’t been able to get in contact with. 

Chely was on the balcony and watching the explosion brightening up the sky. And as the crew members came to inform her that they saw a person floating in the sky above the town, she made a grim expression. 

“....Are they the reason why the town hasn’t responded to a landing request?” 

“We aren’t sure, Miss Hero.” the captain replies. 

“...I will go ahead.” 

“Understood!” 

Chely materialises her blade and jumps off the aircraft. She uses the wind and flies toward the town, enhancing her vision. She sees the sorry state of the empty streets crawling with undead creatures. Filled with rage, she stares at the falling individual. She amplifies her body strength with electricity, creating a path of vacuum and propels herself bursting with electrical energy. She arrives next to him. As she is about to slash him into pieces, she sees hundreds of corpses of the undead and snaps out of it, retracting her divine weapon and catching him. She realised that he likely wasn’t the cause of the town's downfall and was actually trying to help….

Their eyes lock, and she sees his face clearly for the first time. And at the same time, she recalls Keilyn’s words before departing. 

•  

“Remember well, Chely, the most recognisable individuals, are as follows: the handsome expressionless tyrant with golden eyes, his silver-eyed platinum-blond friend with 2 divine weapons and a girl with an angelic look with ruby-coloured eyes.” 

“Oh~? Handsome~? Is he your type or what?” Chely playfully teases her friend. 

“Geh…. His appearance only, so what? From what I’ve seen, he doesn’t have much personality.” Keilyn responds while glaring at her. 

“A little harsh, aren't you..? Wait, 2 divine weapons!?”

“....Yes, recognisable, right?” 

“…..”

•  

And as she recalls her short conversation with The Oracle, and with their eyes locked, the wanderer mutters something. 

He had called her an Angel, which made her softly giggle a little. If someone was angel-like, it’d be her younger sister Amethely.

[He seems a lot different from what Keilyn told me… maybe it’s because his condition is critical, and he feels weak…. Looking at him, I can tell he doesn’t have much mana left, or rather… his flow is acting strange… did he overly exert himself? Anyhow… it doesn’t seem broken.] 

Chely then asked him if he was alright. He nods, and she descends. She lays him on the ground and puts a Delta-Tex generator beside him to make a strong barrier. 

She saw that he curiously stared at it, so she decided to explain a little, which sparked his eyes ever so slightly. 

[....Rather than a tyrant… he’s cute like Ame….] 

She smiled a little, and before she left to eradicate the rest of the undead, she introduced herself with a gentle smile. Leaving him reassured as he faints. 

And as she hunts down the undead, she spots a group of people fighting the undead and heading her way. 

They are all surprised as they see her. 

“...The Hero Chely?!” they shout. 

She heads to them and asks them about the situation. 

Apparently, cultists infiltrated the town a while back to destroy all their defences. After finishing them off, a horde of undead creatures swarmed the town. 

They later asked her if she saw a young battle mage. And to her surprise, they referred to the young man she had just met. And another surprise was that they regarded him as such, considering how skilled one is considered to be classed as one. 

The more she hears about him and his willingness to help the townspeople, the higher her opinion of him becomes. 

[....He fought an Armoured Death Blade? Alone?] 

Of course, she was astounded to find that out. After all, out of the millions of people in the empire, only a few select elite fighters can fight alone against a danger scale of level 5…. Of course, she was one of them, but in her case, it was a walk in the park, though it’s unfair to compare her to other fighters…. 

A little while later, other soldiers arrive to help clear the town of monsters. Only a few were injured during that fight. But no one died. 

The young man she met was severely injured and was in a tent where they performed emergency treatment. 

— :::: — 

Opening his eyes and looking around, he sees people around him writing something down as they observe him. 

[....Where am I? If I remember correctly… I met a girl about my age, and her name was… Chely….? Ugrh…. What time is it even?]

As he was thinking of the time, he got up and looked at his watch. It was still 2 hours before sunrise, but if he recalled correctly, he wasn’t able to use his powers, and it caused him excruciating pain as well. 

However…. He doesn’t feel any of that now. 

[Did I recover?] he thought. 

Noticing that he had woken up, they looked at him and told him to lie back down since he was badly injured, then they left and called someone. And that was the girl he had met before. 

“How are you doing?” she asks. 

“....Fine,” he replies. 

“I have bad news, and the reports from the medics indicate that you overly exerted your mana flow, which luckily isn’t to the point of no recovery…..” 

“....Mana?” 

“Oh..? Umm, the energy that allows you to perform magic.” 

“I see….” Alum recipes as he attempts to create water. 

And to her surprise, he did manage to create a water mimic of a fish. 

But…. 

Alum let out a painful groan as he lost control of the mimic, as his breathing got heavy and ragged. 

“....Are you okay?” she asks. 

“....I’m fine.” 

“Strange… normally, you wouldn’t be able to perform magic at all during a recovery….” 

“Is that so?” 

“...Well, you can recover as long as the foundation isn’t broken. However, it takes a long while, so you shouldn’t push yourself.” Chely scolded him. 

“What happens if the foundation is broken…?” 

“You either die or fall into a coma. Though the more common case is you live but cannot perform magic ever again… although there is one exception….” 

“....I see. Thank you for the kind warning….” 

Hearing his words, she smiled. 

“Anyways, you and the other wanderers will be under our protection and will be heading to Ilifel with us. Do tell me where they are.” 

“....Do we have a say in the matter?” 

“No,” Chely gave a short reply. 

“.....” 

“Don’t worry. It’s a safe city, and I swear on my name that you will not be exposed to danger.” 

[....She seems like a trustworthy person, beside…. I don’t think I stand a chance against her even if I had my powers….] 

With no other options, he nods, as they will find the others sooner or later anyways. 

“I will be in your care then, Chely.” 

With wide open eyes, she felt a sense of delight. 

After all, it's been a while since people outside of family and friends spoke so casually to her. 

“Ohh, I forgot to ask your name.” 

“It’s Alum… Miller,” he said with a faint smile. 

“Well then, Alum, I will be in your care as well.” she teasingly said. 

Alum, who didn’t really understand why, tilts his head. Of course, he’d be confused. What does she mean by “in your care as well”? 

Although it was a little difficult for him to understand. Chely now considers him one of her friends since she feels they will get along and interact more from now on. 

[Hopefully, he can get along with my shy sister as well.]

— :::: — 

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