Chapter 4: Goal
In a certain city of ruin, a lone person sat in the corner of the walls.
Currently, the sky above him was filled in darkness even though it is still daytime.
How was it a daytime? Well, he is currently in a world that"s inverted, mirrored so to say, from the real world.
In this inverted world, everything was either black or white. A complete [Monochrome World].
And here, only this person has no counterpart in the real. And he too, has no color except for his eyes that glowed red.
His name is Warren Black, one of the shadow people, a [Phantom].
He can only exist in the shadows of the real world and is deadly to light. He can neither touch nor eat anything.
Right now, he is trapped, sealed even, in this city of ruins. He doesn"t know why or who did this.
Actually, he doesn"t remember how he came into being. It just started on a certain day, and he just happened to know his name, his race, his power and simple words and actions.
The barrier and Warren is invisible to ordinary people in the real world, only extraordinary or gifted ones can see.
["…I wonder…will I ever be freed off this place?..."]
He can only wait, wait for someone able to see him.
There had been many that pa.s.sed by here, adventurers, peddlers, all sorts of people and races for a place to rest.
But none of them can see nor hear him.
Time continued to pa.s.s until a certain day.
A certain white haired boy, whether by coincidence or not, sat on the same spot as where Warren"s counterpart in the real should be in order to rest and brought out his sandwich.
["Oooh, what tasty looking sandwich. I wonder if he"ll give me some if I ask. Not like he"ll see or hear me anyway."]
Warren said in a bored manner, expecting that the boy won"t hear him anyway.
Strangely enough, the boy raised his head from the sandwich and looked around.
"? Where are you? Are you hungry?"
["!? Y-You can hear me?"]
"? How can I not?"
Warren was surprised, overjoyed by the fact that someone was finally able to hear him.
So he decided to show himself.
He dived in the shadow of the white haired person and materialized in the real world.
"…W-who are you?"
["The name"s Warren Black. A Phantom also, I"m not hungry. Whether I like it or not, I cannot touch anything."]
This can be considered as a fateful encounter of sorts.
Be it fate or luck, Warren was eternally grateful for who, or whatever sent the white haired kid to meet him.
Warren learned of the person"s name, which seems to be Lucas.
He explained his circ.u.mstance to him and Lucas agreed to help him without any hesitation.
Lucas removed the orb responsible for the barrier in the middle of the city and the dark sky in the [Monochrome World] vanished.
Seeing as his world suddenly expanded, Warren has no idea what to do next. He was always in that city of ruins, he only heard of stories of the outside world from the adventurers that rested there from time to time.
He felt of wanting to go on an adventure as well but didn"t know where to start.
"Then Warren, wanna go see the world with me?"
And so began his, no, their journey.
+ + +
Warren headed for the castle while walking through walls in the [Monochrome World] and was remembering the past.
["I am really grateful for Lucas. To be given a chance to see the world with him, I can only be eternally thankful for this opportunity."]
That"s why he wanted to be of help to Lucas.
He cannot fight, so he can only help Lucas in any way he can.
And now, he is given that chance.
["Now, If I was a trash King, where would I hide the one thing that can destroy my reputation?"]
Warren treaded the castle in order to look for the contract and remember the positioning of the guards stationed.
["Should I try the royal bedroom?"]
Thinking that, Warren started to find the bedroom when he overheard something from the guards stationed inside.
"What do you think that slave wants in here anyway?"
"Are you an idiot, someone bought her and ordered her to take his majesty"s life of course. With the Queen and the Prince now dead, if his majesty dies, then there will be chaos, this whole city will fall apart! That"s when they will attack!"
"I see…geez, first his wife died from sickness, then his step son died while traveling back home from the neighboring town just recently, attacked by bandits. Now this thing happened…I can only pity his majesty…"
"Idiot, then be on your guard. And let"s protect him at all costs, we"re guards remember?"
The two looked proud and looked very attentive after their conversation.
["What idiots…they didn"t know they"re working for a failure of a King…"]
Well, of course since Warren knew the real picture, he would find them as nothing but idiots, the guards however, can only trust their King.
["But still…the Queen and Prince died?...somehow knowing that the King is trash, it sounds suspicious…I guess I"ll add it to the report."]
With that, Warren went off to find the bedroom.
After arriving at a door that looked very much different from the rest, with a "Royal Bedroom" kind of feel on it, Warren pa.s.sed through the door in [Monochrome World].
Only in that inverted world, can Warren travel in the light and also pa.s.s through anything.
Upon going inside, Warren searched everywhere to find the contract.
Pa.s.sing through his head on cabinets, drawers, chests, under the bed…everywhere but can"t seem to find it.
["…Hmm…looks like asking the King is the only solution. Guess I"ll go back."]
With that in mind, Warren dove in the ground as a shortcut to the first floor when suddenly, he found something interesting.
["T-this is…!?"]
+ + +
Back in the abandoned building, Freya was resting on the wall while Lucas was painting on the opposite side.
"Hmmm…what to paint…"
Troubled by not being able to think of anything, Lucas scratched his forehead using the back end of the brush.
This has been one of the problems for Lucas, idea.
Without any solid idea on what to draw, Lucas doesn"t get any motivation on what to draw.
Sighing as he relaxes his back on the wall, his gaze noticed Freya on the opposite side.
Upon eye contact, she immediately looked away for some reason.
She was very beautiful, with her silver short hair that seemed to glow in the dim room, those red eyes that make you feel calm yet in it, a strong unwavering gaze resides.
"Hm? Should I draw her instead?"
Finally gaining motivation, Lucas used [Color Picker] and [Color Mix] simultaneously to pick and mix the paints in order to draw her.
After finishing the base colors, Lucas worked on the details.
The wrinkles in her cloak, the different colors of shadows, the silvery glow of her hair, until he finally moved on to her face.
While drawing her face, Lucas poured in emotion.
He wanted to make it as real as possible.
*ting*
NoticeYou have created an art!
NoticeEnter name:
After finishing, those windows and a hollo-keyboard immediately popped out, somehow, the system knew that he was finished and asked for the name.
"…Somehow…she looks rather lonely…"
Thinking that, he typed in [The Lonely Vampire] on the name.
NameThe Lonely VampireRankEDescriptionA lonely portrait of a vampire. Those that gaze upon it can feel the loneliness of the vampire in the portrait.
Then all of a sudden, a surge of emotions flowed inside Lucas.
Loneliness.
He felt how lonely it has been for Freya. To be kidnapped and turned into a slave.
Alone in a cage for who knows how many weeks, waiting for some trash person to buy her only to get raped.
To be treated as an enemy, a criminal, a monster when she"s not.
Alone on the run, with only herself to count on. Only herself to trust.
Lucas bit his lip to control his anger, his anger to himself, he who was not by her side when she was lonely before. He who was not there to save her even by a day early. And most of all, mad at the demi-vampires that took her away from her family.
And to the King that bought her.
"Tch, I won"t let that happen…"
Lucas flipped the canvas and drew another painting, this time, it wasn"t Freya alone.
Lucas drew 3 more persons around her.
Sebastian her father, Emma her mother, and Lilith her little sister.
They looked happy to find their long lost family back.
They were crying tears of joy.
This was his goal.
He promised himself to get her back to her family, and he will.
"No matter what, I"ll definitely send her home, after that, I"ll find the rest of the slaves taken."
*ting*
NoticeYou have created a fine art!
NoticeEnter name:
"A fine art!"
Lucas was surprised to see the window. After all, the level of quality should be the same as before but for some reason, the system detected that this art was greater than before.
"Are there any factors involved?"
While thinking that, Lucas decided to pursue this further next time, for now, he entered the name [Reunion] to the name.
NameReunionRankCEffect+10 STR for a dayDescriptionA fine art that portrays the long last reunion of their family. Those that gaze upon it feel the importance of family and gains strength to protect them.
This effect does not stack with other art effects.
"Oh? So an additional effect can be given when it is a fine art?"
Suddenly feeling strength surge from inside him and somehow misses his family for some reason, Lucas tried to shrug off the feeling.
"Well, I guess I"m satisfied with the result for now."
Though when all said is done, he is still short in [Skill Points] by 1.
"Guess I"ll just keep using the basic elemental magics."
After raising all of them up to Level 2, Lucas finally gained that last [Skill Point] and was able to unlock [Hide Presence] which can only stay activated by the way, when the player is not moving.
+ + +
Going back in time a bit, Freya has been watching Lucas from the start.
This boy that said he"s met her family and has just got out of her village.
"I wonder what really happened back in the cave…he said not to worry about Denneth anymore but…I still can"t help but worry. I mean, I"m surprised about that skill from before but now…is he really that strong?"
For a while now, Lucas has been doing nothing but stare everywhere and sometimes even on Freya which made her turn away due to embarra.s.sment.
He also seemed amused as if he found something interesting, then when she thought it was over, he started to sit down and took out a canvas, paint brush and paints.
"He"s a painter? I wonder what he"s painting though."
Before he started to paint, he seemed to have noticed Freya and was staring at her, during this, Freya unconsciously looked away.
After he finished painting, Lucas seemed somewhat sad.
He was biting his lip as if suppressing something.
Then, all of a sudden, he started to paint on something new. Looking resolute, he painted fiercely on the canvas.
She didn"t know why, but she felt that the boy was carrying a heavy burden and wanted to root for him.
After finishing his painting, Lucas showed emotion as if he missed someone but tried to suppress it.
And now he seems to be playing with basic elemental magics.
"…He seems to experience constant mood swings…I wonder if he"s all right?"
And so, Freya began to nurture feeling for Lucas…of pity that is.
+ + +
"? Somehow, I feel like Freya"s looking at me with pity?"
Of course, Lucas has no idea what has been going on Freya"s mind the whole time he was raising his level, but his 6th sense seems to be getting sharper and sharper.
Well, he just thought it was just his imagination so he just shrugs it off.
Right after unlocking [Hide Presence], as if on cue, Warren finally returned.
["Lucas, I found the contract."]
"Ah, welcome back. So, where is it?"
["There"s a staircase hidden in the pillar beneath the royal bedroom, headed straight towards a dungeon like room. The contract can be found in the vault in there. As for the key, I suspect the King has it."]
After hearing the details in Warren"s report, Lucas memorized the positions of the guard knights and the layout of the castle just by having Warren describes it, using his painting job, he was able to draw it and memorize it.
He also heard about the dead Queen and Prince and also can"t help but think something"s fishy about it.
"I wonder if the story is as they say?"
At this, Lucas decided to call Noir and ask if he knows anything about it.
Lucas was relieved to have added him as a friend before all this happened, since he is now a [Red Player], it will definitely be hard to ask people around.
The reason why he became a [Red Player] was of course because he disobeyed the guards from before.
Opening the [Friends Window], which consisted of only Noir, Lucas selected the call b.u.t.ton.
[[Oh! Lucas! I"ve been hearing about the White Haired Adventurer turning into a criminal for a while now! What happened!?]]
"A-aaah, well you see…remember about the how the demi-vampires kidnap pure-blooded vampires to turn in to slaves in that movie?"
[[Hm? Yeah, what about it?...wait, don"t tell me…]]
Noir seemed to have guessed the situation but still asked.
"Yeah, I"m with Freya right now, she the eldest daughter of Sebastian that was recently kidnapped."
[[Oh wow…so it really was a quest!? I can"t believe this, am I going to be part of the movie too!!!???]]
So that"s what he"s excited about. Thinking that, Lucas can"t help but smile wryly.
"No, I didn"t get a quest…and I don"t know if this"ll turn into a movie as well but can I ask a favor?"
[[? No quest? Then you"re doing this on your own? Well…I guess I can help out, it"s interesting on its own anyway.]]
"Yes, about the Queen and the Prince"s death, do you know of any specifics?"
[[Their deaths? Well, I"ve heard of stories.]]
"It doesn"t matter, please tell me."
Turns out, the Queen was said to have a sickness but kept quiet about it and only her husband, the King, knew. One day, she just didn"t wake up, which led to her death. Everyone was saddened, after all, the Queen was a direct bloodline of the throne, in other words, she holds more power than the King.
Then, recently, the Prince was killed by bandits while going home after visiting the neighboring country.
"I see…thank you. Now everything adds up."
[[? You"re welcome?]]
Sickness? The King"s definitely the reason why the Queen died. She was a direct descendant to the throne, someone more powerful than him.
After killing her and staging her death, the next one is the Prince.
Since the Prince is only his step son, he feared that he will no longer be made King since he was only married into the throne.
This is his chance to reclaim the honor of his family, the honor of the true King.
According to Freya"s story, the King that ordered an a.s.sa.s.sins Guild to kidnap the vampire princess was killed, but his bloodline remained.
And that the demi-vampires of that time razed the kingdom and turned it into their base. Of which was later taken back by the church during the holy war.
Freya also said that the King today is a direct descendant of that King 100 000 years ago. Meaning, that the first born of the King 100 000 years ago managed to live and pa.s.sed on the contract over generations and generations until today.
With their kingdom gone, their royalty is now also gone.
And now that the King has made his way into the throne, he needed to get rid of the others.
What a trash King.
"…Noir, how is the auction going?"
[[Hm? Oh, yes. It was already finished. The winning bid was 120 Gold!]]
Lucas" mouth slackened at the amount. But not only by that, he was shocked that Noir seemed to be indicating only one item.
"W-wha-!? O-oi! Don"t tell me you sold it all in one go!? You didn"t sell them one by one!?"
[[A-aahhh….sorry…I was really excited to sell them that I….tehe?]]
"Don"t "tehe" me oi! We could"ve gotten more money if you had separated them!"
Right now, Lucas sounded like some cheap merchant that wants to cheat on his customers but he didn"t care about that.
"Ughh…whatever, I"m cutting 10% off from you, you hear?"
[[Uuuu…I"m really sorry. I should"ve thought more carefully as a merchant…]]
"Anyway, if you wanna regain your 10%, then do me a favor."
Now, Lucas sounded like some loanshark.
[[Y-yes, anything you say…]]
"Learn everything you can about the Prince"s death, the road he traveled, who killed him, and if possible, find out if he"s still alive."
[[Huh? Why?]]
Lucas let out a resolute gaze as he stared at the castle from the window.
"…Because I might kill the King, and this city needs a new ruler."
[[…E-Eh? W-wait, did I hear that rig-]]
Lucas ended the call at that.
Noir probably has a lot of questions right now, but Lucas cannot waste any more time.
He feels that he needs to move now, so he did.
"Warren, try to help Noir somehow in finding the Prince."
["S-somehow…well, I"ll figure out a way."]
"T-that…are you really going to kill him?"
Freya asked as Lucas was about to head out.
Lucas paused for a while, then answered without turning his gaze at her.
"…Yeah, this country doesn"t deserve a trash of a King. It"s high time their bloodline ends now."
And with that, the trio set off from the abandoned building.
Traveling through the alleyways, they safely reached the castle.
Lucas wondered if the players would be a problem, but as it turns out, no one seems to be looking for them aside from the guards.
Well, this was because of the pro-white haired adventurer fending off the anti-white haired adventurer but he has no idea about that.
The gate to the castle can be said to be very majestic.
It looked to be about two-storey high and about 12 feet wide. With two guards on each side making it 4 guards stationed on the gate.
The castle walls themselves were also quite tall, about 3-storey high and looks really st.u.r.dy.
"Hmm…Freya, can you get us inside without getting detected?"
Freya nodded, in the first place, she has already sneaked pa.s.sed here once. The place she was caught was already inside.
With that, Freya directed Lucas to the place where she went inside.
Searching his memories, Lucas remembers the place as the least guarded area.
Freya touched the bottom of the wall and chanted her magic.
"[Earth Bender]"
The wall bended at the touch of her hands and she literally pulled up a portion of the wall like it was made out of cloth and went in.
After making sure that Lucas also got in, Freya placed the wall back to normal and canceled her magic.
"…I wonder when I can learn that magic?"
While thinking of nonchalant thoughts, they moved on in order to find an entrance inside.
Carefully sneaking pa.s.s through the guards, Lucas searched for a room to sneak into.
"There should be a room close to the stairs right about here…found it."
With the window locked however, they still can"t get inside.
"[Fotiá]"
Sure this magic only reveals a small flame at the tip of the finger, but unlike other magics, you can control this however you wished it to be, but cannot make it bigger.
Thinking that, Lucas concentrated the flame in order to further concentrate the heat. Like a miniature blowtorch, Lucas cut a small hole just beside the lock in order to unlock it.
To this, Freya revealed a surprised expression.
"…I did not know that magic can be useful for this kind of situation…"
"Heh, pretty cool right?"
Lucas blew the tip of his finger as if it was a gun and sounded proud.
After all, there are probably a small few players that knew of the use of the basic elemental magics.
Well, with that done, the rest was a walk in the park.
Lucas, having memorized the layout and positioning of the guards, and with [Hide Presence] during the times where they can"t move, they wasn"t able to be discovered all the way.
After reaching the 2nd floor royal bedroom though, they finally met a problem.
Hiding at the corner of the wall while looking at the entrance to the royal bedroom, they caught sight of a person standing in front of the door so as to not let anyone pa.s.s.
This wasn"t in Warren"s report because he also didn"t meet him.
This means that this guard was only there just recently. Not only that, but this one is different from the rest.
He has flaming red hair tied together in a ponytail at the back.
His armor is a lot different than the others, with the red paint and all, he looked more powerful, his aura was also different in a sense that he never seems to lose focus.
"Show yourself. I know you are in here."
"Tch, busted huh?"
Lucas had thought of launching a surprise attack but held back since the enemy has already noticed them so he revealed himself instead.
"I am the Knight Commander, Fawkes of the Phoenix. Name yourself, criminal, before I kill you."
"My name is Lucas, for now, people call me the White Haired Adventurer. Let"s see if you can kill me."
Lucas started off in a joking manner but began being serious in the latter part.
He didn"t hate this kind of formal introductions, but he can never seem to be serious about it.
"I can still spare you if you hand over the slave."
To this, Freya shrank at the back of Lucas seeming to take cover.
Looking at her like this, Lucas can"t help but get p.i.s.sed off.
Activating [Dragon"s Wrath], black aura gather around Lucas as he glared at Fawkes.
"Just try it birdy."
Ill.u.s.trator: imaginexbreaker
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