n

n

n“Did you?”

nHe got closer to Arthur and wanted to kill him. One thing was the king dying, who made a pact with a demon and was a threat to everyone. But Jonan? Jonan was a good and talented man.

n“No, of course not. Let me explain everything to you, okay?”

nWith that, Arthur explained everything that happened, or else he would be in trouble.

n“So you met my granddaughter at this magic academy, then our family showed up and kidnapped her? And now you’re here trying to rescue her, and someone killed Jonan?”

n“That’s right, sir. I know it’s strange for me to show up at the palace, and someone magically dies. But I promise you everything I said was the truth.”

n“I know, kid.”

n“Yes, this is a misunderstanding and- wait. Do you believe in me?”

n“Of course. Your heart did not race, and there are no other symptoms of a lier. And the story you told me makes sense, and I didn’t see any flaw in it.”

n“Thank you for believing in me, grandpa!”

nFor a moment, Arthur thought that man would kill him. He was happy that everything worked out in the end.

n.

n“Nefion, that’s my name. Or you can call me grandpa. I don’t care much. But Arthur, if the things you told me are true, then we are in big trouble.”

n“How big of a problem?”

n“Uh, let me see. It could potentially destroy the entire kingdom.”

n“Damn it. But how can we do something about it? We are trapped here, and if we get out, everyone thinks we are traitors.”

nNefion laughed and said, “kid, this grandpa here can escape any time he wants.”

n“Why didn’t you?”

n“After what happened, there wasn’t much for me to fight for, so I stayed here. I didn’t want my family to look at me as a traitor. They told all of the kids that I died in battle. Imagine if they lie to Jane and make her think I’m a murderer,”

n“But things are different now. If that demon has my son’s body all of this time, and now suddenly Jonan is dead, then he’s starting to act after all those years.”

nNefion explained to Arthur what had happened a long time ago. Barion wanted power and went into dark means to obtain it. He made a pact with a demon. Barion got the power he wanted, but he was getting insane as days passed and became a threat to the royal family and the kingdom. Nefion was the only one who knew about what his son did and was the only one strong enough to put an end to it. He saved his family from the hands of a demon. The kingdom did not get destroyed because of him. And in return, they locked him there, forever.

nIt was a sad story. Arthur also got wrongly locked down there, and it sucked. Nefion was down there for many years, and Arthur could only imagine how that must feel.

n

n“Kid, we must kill this demon again, but for good now. And figure out who these hooded people were, and find out if they have something to do with the king.”

n“It is finally time for my family to know me.”

n~~~~

nThey did not leave immediately. Nefion was confident in investigating what happened stealthy, without anyone noticing him. But for Arthur was a different story. He wasn’t skilled in that sort of thing.

n“Look, kid. We don’t have much time. Even if you are a genius, there is no way you’ll learn what I want you to in a couple of days. But there’s another method, a painful one.”

n“Bring it on.”

nArthur did not get angry after Nefion said that. He knew that even with talent, it took time to learn stuff. But time was not on their side, and Nefion opted for a more dangerous route.

nWhat Nefion wanted to do was to implant the knowledge directly inside Arthur’s mind. It was something Arthur had not seen before. Marget, who was someone strong, couldn’t do that. Nefion was on a completely different level. And to think that he stayed down there without proper training for years.

n“This will hurt a lot, kid. I’m not lying to you when I say it might kill you. Will you do it regardless?”

n“Yes.”

n“Good.”

nNefion pointed his finger into his head, and a filament of light attached to his finger. It was the knowledge he wanted to pass on to Arthur.

n“This is all of my stealth techniques. I don’t have that many, but all of them are extraordinary. It is the best I can give you. I have a lot more to teach and pass on to you, but you’re still weak,”

n“Now, stand still, and endure.”

nWhen that small filament of light touched Arthur’s head, everything stopped. Time froze for him, and intense pain followed right after. It was a type of pain he had never felt before.

n“AAAAGHHRR!”

nArthur’s head was almost exploding, and he fell, rolling on the ground with his hands on his head. He wanted that to stop. The pain needed to go away. But how could he do that? The only way was to integrate the knowledge he got from Nefion.

nIt was not an easy task. Arthur was still weak compared to most of the people in that world. But, he had one thing that could help him. Most mages are used to absorbing small amounts of mana over time. Arthur was the opposite. When he absorbed something, it was the entirety of a spell. No other mage could do that without dying. No one knew how that felt. But he did.

nArthur tried his best to remember how it felt when he absorbed that spell in Wisa’s class. After many tries, he eventually found what he was looking for.

nConcentrating on that feeling, the pain diminished. It was still bad, but it was doable. Nefion watched everything and was surprised to see Arthur overcoming the pain so fast.

n“This kid is a genius. Maybe it is time for me to get an apprentice again after centuries? Hmm.”

nIt took Arthur some time to overcome the pain, but he did it. He lay on the floor covered in sweat. For a brief moment, he thought that would kill him. Nefion wasn’t lying when he said it would hurt.

nArthur returned to his senses and was expecting a system notification telling him that he had new skills, but it did not. He couldn’t understand at first, but with some thought, he understood.

nThe system he had was a special one. It belonged to Dream Realm beasts, and it only showed the abilities of the system itself. Nefion taught him a normal ability that had nothing to do with his system. Arthur still knew how to use the skill, as the knowledge of it was inside his head, but it required more concentration on his part.

n“This is how people learn things anyway. My system’s abilities are like innate ones. I don’t need to train to use them. They are a part of me. But if I want to learn other things, I need to do it like everyone else.”

n“Congratulations, kid. You impressed me. Now, let’s leave this place.”

n~~~~

nWhen Nefion said he could leave that place anytime he wanted, he meant it. With a wave of his palm, the lock on the cell turned into dust. Arthur was afraid that the guards would come there bringing food and then discover they weren’t there.

n“Don’t worry. They will wait three days before giving you any food. We have three days to end this ** that is happening here.”

nThey did not take the normal way to leave the underground area. Guards were probably at the stairs waiting for them. Arthur was still new to the stealth skills, so Nefion did not want to risk it. But, gladly, there was a secret passage that led to multiple underground tunnels.

n“There’s a tunnel in here that goes directly to a secret room where he stored weapons. At least they did.”

nNefion led the way, and Arthur followed closely behind. It was a bit dark, but Nefion seemed to know where he was going, so all Arthur needed to do was follow him.

nAfter some time walking, they arrived at the end of the tunnel. There was a door, and when they opened it, Arthur noticed that the room was somewhat familiar.

n“No way. Grandpa, we are in trouble.”

n“Trouble? What do you mean? There’s an enemy in here?”

n“No, but the thing is, this isn’t a place where they store weapons anymore. This is a secret room inside a building where people bath, and this is the female bathroom.”

n“What? Hahahahaha!” Nefion laughed.

n“Grandson, you have a lot to learn. This is no problem for us, but a blessing. This is the best way to practice our stealth skills. Let’s go kid, there are boobies for us to see.”

n“This old man is worse than me. Damn it!”

n