Three months passed prior to us returning to the city. We reported our findings to our respective guildmasters to which they were shocked and surprised that there was even a survivor from the Demon King’s army. Not to mention we actually even found out about Sladar's undercover due to that. He had been in undercover for decades now without anyone ever finding out his real identity. And he told the guildmasters that he would have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for us nosy brats. Just kidding. He was thankful that we helped him out with the secret quest and he hoped to see us more in the future. It felt so surreal that we actually met one of the four great powers. You usually only hear about them in legends yet we met him as our guide. And to think that I have already met two of them by now. So glad Sladar was not out to kill me unlike the Tom.
I am officially sixteen now while Rose is thirteen. Both Rose and I continued with our lives by doing quests and trying to improve ourselves. We spar often and I felt like I was losing more often than I was winning. So much for being a son of the war hero in the face of a prodigy. But even a prodigy have a fear of falling which I used it to my advantage sometimes by making her fall. Heh heh.
The both of us knew that we had to get stronger should we wish to protect one another. And of course, I continued with my Alchemy path. Getting my skill stats to fifty is painfully slow right now, but I treated it as a hobby instead. I’ve actually made a breakthrough in Alchemy where I successfully made a fortification potion that boost all stats albeit only by one.
Hey, better than nothing, right? I also discovered that it was actually way easier to create de-buff potions. Should I wish to poison someone with those potions? Who knows. There might come a day where I might have to use it. Perhaps I should focus more on making a variety of wax coating to combat different creatures. Or perhaps humans too. I definitely won’t hesitate to use it on Tom when I fight with him for sure. I will definitely smirk when I see his skin searing from the coating.
I tried out on a little dual-wielding but I quickly gave up on the idea. Sure, it might look fun swinging two blades around but you need to know techniques to wield them effectively. And don’t get me started on three swords. Grandfather only taught me using one-handed techniques. If I wish to dual-wield effectively, I will need to seek out a someone who have experienced in dual-wielding to teach me. In the meantime, single blade it is.
Rose came over to my place one day to ask me out. You’re thinking that it's a date, aren’t you? It was actually more like an introduction to her group of friends. Apparently, they kept hearing so much about me from Rose that they wanted to see me in real life. Thankfully, none of them was an elf girl. Phew, dodged the arrow there.
I am glad that Rose had made some friends. I was worried at some point that she became too attached to me to even consider about making friends with other people. Glad I was wrong. Her friends consisted of members from different guilds as well. One is from Light Guild, another is from the Viking Guild while the last is from the Elemental Guild. All beautiful in their own ways. Reminded me about a certain Hibari Four.
Her friends teased her often that she is a bro-con since she is so attached to me. Did she not inform them that we are not blood related? One of her friends even tried to flirt with me to which Rose gave the most scary glare that even the Dark Lord pale in comparison. Sadly, I have no interest in her friends. What I reminded myself is you should never fool around with your sister's friends should you wish to not get caught in a war between friends.
***
It was a fine day when some unexpected news came. How do I get news nowadays? Why, it is none other than Q doing the paper delivery now. Apparently, Q has gained additional task on top of his letter delivery. Perhaps it needed more money to feed the family or something but anyway, back to the news.
The Viking Lord had perished from their five year tradition that they needed to perform. Apparently, the Underwater Dragon King went on a rampage this year and was unpleased with the Viking Lord’s performance. No one was expecting that the Underwater Dragon King to attack with such fury that caused the Viking Lord’s death. He sacrificed his life to ensure that his escorts were safe. The Underwater Dragon King demanded that the new Viking Lord better be worthy of his time or there will be consequences.
Yikes, good luck to the next person who will be nominated as the next Viking Lord.
The next news took me even more by surprise the following day. It was announced that John Gladiolus was actually nominated to be the next Viking Lord. Did I just cursed my friend with my earlier remark?
But why though? He is not the oldest member of the guild. Is it due to his ridiculous strength that got him nominated to be the next Viking Lord? I am worried about him after hearing the news. This is my friend and he might be walking into certain death with this Underwater Dragon King throwing a fit. Maybe it broke-up with its lover or something.
I was expecting John to come and ask for my help on this. But a month had passed and he did not come to see me whatsoever. I instead went to the Viking Guild to seek him out but the members informed me that he was busy preparing for the incoming tradition which is not a good time to visit him. Strange, you would think he would at least share this news with his best friend. Wait, am I even his best friend? Did I just assumed on this? Oh no! I should had clarified with him before!
Hold on, what am I even doing? Why the hell am I giving myself emotional damage right now? Geez, focus on the task at hand.
Rose came over to place to cook breakfast for me one day. Truth be told, whenever I look at Rose now, I somehow don’t recognise her as the little sister that I saved the last time. Within just three years she has grown quite significantly and I am sure it has not stopped. She is close to my height now and has grown more beautiful. Wonder if she have guys going after her. Am I going to end up as shortest in the entire group?? Damn it!
“Onii-chan, you’re staring at me again. Don’t think I won’t notice even if you’re behind my back,” said Rose.
“Hm? Oh sorry, I was just deep in thought. I was remembering the first time when I found you and how different you looked right now. It makes me feel like a dad seeing my child growing up. Makes me feel so emotional, sniff sniff” I said to her while wiping my fake tears.
“But you’re not my dad, so quit it. Next thing you know I might be getting wrong ideas from you,” she said.
“Huh? What wrong ideas?” I asked curiously. What is she saying?
“Nothing.. just eat your breakfast quietly,” she said.
Ahh.. the rebellious stage. I get it. She don’t like someone breathing down her neck and controlling her. But I never did controlled her. She was always free to do whatever she wanted. I just told her to meet up every once in a while and that’s it.
Ohh! Is it because she does not want to spend time with me anymore and rather spend time with her lover?
“Rose~ Did you find yourself a lover or something?” I asked her.
She immediately spitted what she was eating upon hearing that. Did I hit the mark? Heh heh.
“Wh… what are you saying?! Of course I don’t have a lover! Stop it!” she said while blushing.
Oh ho ho.. seems like I found something interesting here.
“Aww come on, good news should be shared. You know you can tell me anything Rose~” I said to her in a polite tone.
“I don’t have a lover. Please stop. Seriously I do not have one,” Rose said with a serious tone.
“Really? And here I thought you don’t want to spend time with me anymore,” I put on a thinking face.
“Oh please.. I literally spent time with you more than anyone else. If anything,….” she stopped mid-way.
Hm? If anything? What anything?
“You were saying?” I asked with a tilted head.
“Nothing. Please stop asking these questions anymore. I don’t like it,” she said.
Am I seeing her blushing? Which is which now?
“Alright, I’ll stop. Just to let you know, you’re free to pick whoever you want. Just make sure he is a reliable and trustworthy man, okay?” I said to her while smiling.
“Y… you’re not just saying that are you? I can really pick whoever I want?” she asked.
So she is interested in this topic. Geez Rose, make up your mind.
“Yup, of course. I've always given you freedom to do whatever you want, Rose. Just make sure you bring him to see me. Alright?” I said to her.
“But the person I want is..” she stopped as there was loud banging on our door.
Hmm? What is going on? Seems like whoever is knocking on the other side is having something urgent. I hope it is not some random member wanting to use my washroom. Oh wait, can it be? No, that is not right. I don’t need to pay rent and I am not Peter.
I opened the door to find someone who was not a member of the Dark Guild. Who is this guy?
“I am sorry for disturbing you, sir. You are Zen, right?” he said while panting. He ran all the way here? What is so urgent that he needed to run?
“Yes, Zen is my name. How can I help you, good sir?” I said to him.
“I am a friend of John. He has already departed for the City of Underwater Marrydia yesterday,” he said.
“He… left? I was expecting to meet him before he left. I was hoping that I can join him on his tradition. Maybe he does not see me as his friend or something,” I said while feeling dejected. I thought John and I were closer than that.
“You’re wrong! John thought about inviting you many times. But he was certain that he will be facing certain death by the Underwater Dragon King. Which is why he debated in not informing you on his departure. Not only did you save his life, he owes it to you. Which is why he does not wish for you to follow him when he know that he won’t be coming back,” said the chap.
I can see tears appearing at the side of his eyes.
“Who are you?” I asked him.
“Oh so sorry sir, I am Barry. I am a member of the Viking Guild. John was always a good friend to me and consulted me in many ways. Please Lord Zen, I am going against John’s wish because I want him to come back alive. He always said you were much stronger than him and if anyone can defeat the Demon King should he return, it will be you,” said Barry.
“I… see. Well, rest easy because even if John refuses for me to follow him, I will still aid him in anyway possible. Trust me on that,” I said to him. For someone to call me Lord, he must be of a lower rank or something.
Never knew John thought of me that way. And me being able to defeat the Demon King? That is absurd. If anything, Rose has a higher chance than me. I looked at Rose and she nodded to me. Guess she will be following along then.
The both of us prepared for the journey. I have read about the City of Underwater Marrydia before expecting I was to follow John. It is right in between the West and Eastern continent. As for how we are going underwater? Now that is the interesting part. The only way to enter that city is to have a whirlpool to suck you in. I kid you not.
How is a boat going to survive the whirlpool? Using the elven’s architecture, they have somehow created ships that is capable to withstand the damage from the whirlpool. Of course it is not your typical ship that have sails. These ships are built differently with the sole purpose of going underwater.
I packed both Inazuma and Tengu-kaze along with all the potions, healing items and wax coatings that I have prepared for this day. And I took along my prized possession, Hand of the Lighting God is following me for this trip and I intent to use it. I will not be caught off guard or underprepared like I did at the Demon Continent. This time, I am prepared. My supposedly cousin's life is on the line.
Three months passed prior to us returning to the city. We reported our findings to our respective guildmasters to which they were shocked and surprised that there was even a survivor from the Demon King’s army. Not to mention we actually even found out about Sladar's undercover due to that. He had been in undercover for decades now without anyone ever finding out his real identity. And he told the guildmasters that he would have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for us nosy brats. Just kidding. He was thankful that we helped him out with the secret quest and he hoped to see us more in the future. It felt so surreal that we actually met one of the four great powers. You usually only hear about them in legends yet we met him as our guide. And to think that I have already met two of them by now. So glad Sladar was not out to kill me unlike the Tom.
I am officially sixteen now while Rose is thirteen. Both Rose and I continued with our lives by doing quests and trying to improve ourselves. We spar often and I felt like I was losing more often than I was winning. So much for being a son of the war hero in the face of a prodigy. But even a prodigy have a fear of falling which I used it to my advantage sometimes by making her fall. Heh heh.
The both of us knew that we had to get stronger should we wish to protect one another. And of course, I continued with my Alchemy path. Getting my skill stats to fifty is painfully slow right now, but I treated it as a hobby instead. I’ve actually made a breakthrough in Alchemy where I successfully made a fortification potion that boost all stats albeit only by one.
Hey, better than nothing, right? I also discovered that it was actually way easier to create de-buff potions. Should I wish to poison someone with those potions? Who knows. There might come a day where I might have to use it. Perhaps I should focus more on making a variety of wax coating to combat different creatures. Or perhaps humans too. I definitely won’t hesitate to use it on Tom when I fight with him for sure. I will definitely smirk when I see his skin searing from the coating.
I tried out on a little dual-wielding but I quickly gave up on the idea. Sure, it might look fun swinging two blades around but you need to know techniques to wield them effectively. And don’t get me started on three swords. Grandfather only taught me using one-handed techniques. If I wish to dual-wield effectively, I will need to seek out a someone who have experienced in dual-wielding to teach me. In the meantime, single blade it is.
Rose came over to my place one day to ask me out. You’re thinking that it's a date, aren’t you? It was actually more like an introduction to her group of friends. Apparently, they kept hearing so much about me from Rose that they wanted to see me in real life. Thankfully, none of them was an elf girl. Phew, dodged the arrow there.
I am glad that Rose had made some friends. I was worried at some point that she became too attached to me to even consider about making friends with other people. Glad I was wrong. Her friends consisted of members from different guilds as well. One is from Light Guild, another is from the Viking Guild while the last is from the Elemental Guild. All beautiful in their own ways. Reminded me about a certain Hibari Four.
Her friends teased her often that she is a bro-con since she is so attached to me. Did she not inform them that we are not blood related? One of her friends even tried to flirt with me to which Rose gave the most scary glare that even the Dark Lord pale in comparison. Sadly, I have no interest in her friends. What I reminded myself is you should never fool around with your sister's friends should you wish to not get caught in a war between friends.
***
It was a fine day when some unexpected news came. How do I get news nowadays? Why, it is none other than Q doing the paper delivery now. Apparently, Q has gained additional task on top of his letter delivery. Perhaps it needed more money to feed the family or something but anyway, back to the news.
The Viking Lord had perished from their five year tradition that they needed to perform. Apparently, the Underwater Dragon King went on a rampage this year and was unpleased with the Viking Lord’s performance. No one was expecting that the Underwater Dragon King to attack with such fury that caused the Viking Lord’s death. He sacrificed his life to ensure that his escorts were safe. The Underwater Dragon King demanded that the new Viking Lord better be worthy of his time or there will be consequences.
Yikes, good luck to the next person who will be nominated as the next Viking Lord.
The next news took me even more by surprise the following day. It was announced that John Gladiolus was actually nominated to be the next Viking Lord. Did I just cursed my friend with my earlier remark?
But why though? He is not the oldest member of the guild. Is it due to his ridiculous strength that got him nominated to be the next Viking Lord? I am worried about him after hearing the news. This is my friend and he might be walking into certain death with this Underwater Dragon King throwing a fit. Maybe it broke-up with its lover or something.
I was expecting John to come and ask for my help on this. But a month had passed and he did not come to see me whatsoever. I instead went to the Viking Guild to seek him out but the members informed me that he was busy preparing for the incoming tradition which is not a good time to visit him. Strange, you would think he would at least share this news with his best friend. Wait, am I even his best friend? Did I just assumed on this? Oh no! I should had clarified with him before!
Hold on, what am I even doing? Why the hell am I giving myself emotional damage right now? Geez, focus on the task at hand.
Rose came over to place to cook breakfast for me one day. Truth be told, whenever I look at Rose now, I somehow don’t recognise her as the little sister that I saved the last time. Within just three years she has grown quite significantly and I am sure it has not stopped. She is close to my height now and has grown more beautiful. Wonder if she have guys going after her. Am I going to end up as shortest in the entire group?? Damn it!
“Onii-chan, you’re staring at me again. Don’t think I won’t notice even if you’re behind my back,” said Rose.
“Hm? Oh sorry, I was just deep in thought. I was remembering the first time when I found you and how different you looked right now. It makes me feel like a dad seeing my child growing up. Makes me feel so emotional, sniff sniff” I said to her while wiping my fake tears.
“But you’re not my dad, so quit it. Next thing you know I might be getting wrong ideas from you,” she said.
“Huh? What wrong ideas?” I asked curiously. What is she saying?
“Nothing.. just eat your breakfast quietly,” she said.
Ahh.. the rebellious stage. I get it. She don’t like someone breathing down her neck and controlling her. But I never did controlled her. She was always free to do whatever she wanted. I just told her to meet up every once in a while and that’s it.
Ohh! Is it because she does not want to spend time with me anymore and rather spend time with her lover?
“Rose~ Did you find yourself a lover or something?” I asked her.
She immediately spitted what she was eating upon hearing that. Did I hit the mark? Heh heh.
“Wh… what are you saying?! Of course I don’t have a lover! Stop it!” she said while blushing.
Oh ho ho.. seems like I found something interesting here.
“Aww come on, good news should be shared. You know you can tell me anything Rose~” I said to her in a polite tone.
“I don’t have a lover. Please stop. Seriously I do not have one,” Rose said with a serious tone.
“Really? And here I thought you don’t want to spend time with me anymore,” I put on a thinking face.
“Oh please.. I literally spent time with you more than anyone else. If anything,….” she stopped mid-way.
Hm? If anything? What anything?
“You were saying?” I asked with a tilted head.
“Nothing. Please stop asking these questions anymore. I don’t like it,” she said.
Am I seeing her blushing? Which is which now?
“Alright, I’ll stop. Just to let you know, you’re free to pick whoever you want. Just make sure he is a reliable and trustworthy man, okay?” I said to her while smiling.
“Y… you’re not just saying that are you? I can really pick whoever I want?” she asked.
So she is interested in this topic. Geez Rose, make up your mind.
“Yup, of course. I've always given you freedom to do whatever you want, Rose. Just make sure you bring him to see me. Alright?” I said to her.
“But the person I want is..” she stopped as there was loud banging on our door.
Hmm? What is going on? Seems like whoever is knocking on the other side is having something urgent. I hope it is not some random member wanting to use my washroom. Oh wait, can it be? No, that is not right. I don’t need to pay rent and I am not Peter.
I opened the door to find someone who was not a member of the Dark Guild. Who is this guy?
“I am sorry for disturbing you, sir. You are Zen, right?” he said while panting. He ran all the way here? What is so urgent that he needed to run?
“Yes, Zen is my name. How can I help you, good sir?” I said to him.
“I am a friend of John. He has already departed for the City of Underwater Marrydia yesterday,” he said.
“He… left? I was expecting to meet him before he left. I was hoping that I can join him on his tradition. Maybe he does not see me as his friend or something,” I said while feeling dejected. I thought John and I were closer than that.
“You’re wrong! John thought about inviting you many times. But he was certain that he will be facing certain death by the Underwater Dragon King. Which is why he debated in not informing you on his departure. Not only did you save his life, he owes it to you. Which is why he does not wish for you to follow him when he know that he won’t be coming back,” said the chap.
I can see tears appearing at the side of his eyes.
“Who are you?” I asked him.
“Oh so sorry sir, I am Barry. I am a member of the Viking Guild. John was always a good friend to me and consulted me in many ways. Please Lord Zen, I am going against John’s wish because I want him to come back alive. He always said you were much stronger than him and if anyone can defeat the Demon King should he return, it will be you,” said Barry.
“I… see. Well, rest easy because even if John refuses for me to follow him, I will still aid him in anyway possible. Trust me on that,” I said to him. For someone to call me Lord, he must be of a lower rank or something.
Never knew John thought of me that way. And me being able to defeat the Demon King? That is absurd. If anything, Rose has a higher chance than me. I looked at Rose and she nodded to me. Guess she will be following along then.
The both of us prepared for the journey. I have read about the City of Underwater Marrydia before expecting I was to follow John. It is right in between the West and Eastern continent. As for how we are going underwater? Now that is the interesting part. The only way to enter that city is to have a whirlpool to suck you in. I kid you not.
How is a boat going to survive the whirlpool? Using the elven’s architecture, they have somehow created ships that is capable to withstand the damage from the whirlpool. Of course it is not your typical ship that have sails. These ships are built differently with the sole purpose of going underwater.
I packed both Inazuma and Tengu-kaze along with all the potions, healing items and wax coatings that I have prepared for this day. And I took along my prized possession, Hand of the Lighting God is following me for this trip and I intent to use it. I will not be caught off guard or underprepared like I did at the Demon Continent. This time, I am prepared. My supposedly cousin's life is on the line.
