Astralius was a place where magic and supernatural existed, where Dungeons and Dragons come alive.

Ashe had been on many adventures, going through countless trials and tribulations. He had bled for himself and others and inadvertently had his fate go down a path where he was met with nothing but a trail of blood…and yet, his mouth remained ajar as he stared at the mansion with dozens of maids and an old man butler welcomed his arrival.

Ashe had entered Aliyah's four-story mansion. 

"Welcome back, Madam Aliyah."

The maids said in unison. 

Thalia, who had just returned home, didn't really care about all these pleasantries and tried pulling away Ashe, "Uncle, Uncle, follow me; Thalia will show you something in my room. Come on, come on, come on!"

Aliyah looked at Thalia and smiled softly, "Thalia, your Uncle just got discharged from the hospital; it would be best if we let him rest first."

"…Okay." With drooping shoulders, Thalia began going up the stairs to return to her room, "Thalia's going to read something in my room for now…bye, Uncle." Thalia yawned, and Ashe reckoned that the lass would sleep soundly anytime soon.

"Sebas, lead the way to the room I told you to prepare."

"Understood, Madam, please, follow me."

Ashe quietly followed the old butler named Sebas with a somewhat awkward smile. He did not expect this turnabout at all. He expected the old man to be named as such for obvious reasons, but that turning out to be true was even more of a shock to him.

They went up the third floor and there, the old man opened a heavy door.

Ashe was once again amazed.

"Hmmm… you're…rather well-off now, aren't you?"

Ashe stated as he entered a 40 square meter room. The room was fully furnished, and the bed was king-sized. There was also a TV, a bookshelf, a bathroom, and other things Ashe would need.

Aliyah was standing behind him. She wore a smug expression as she showed Ashe the fruits of her labor for the past ten years, "Hehehe, this is the mansion I have in Whitehaven City. I also have other homes in the other four cities, but as I currently reside here, you can call this my main base of operations."

Ashe couldn't care less about the smugness Aliyah had as she deserved to revel in its entirety. But he did have one question, "What did you do? Did you start a conglomerate or something?"

"Well… I do run a small company called [Crimson Guild] …"

"Wait, what!? I knew you were a Seeker...but, not the Master of that place." 

"You know of it? I wanted to tell you about it, but I didn't get the chance to do so. But don't worry, I have been on the sidelines since a year ago."

"…."

Ashe was surprised, for he actually knew what Crimson Guild was. 

The Crimson Guild was one of the biggest Guild in the continent, and it was one of the five Original Guilds created in the Heart of the Continent, that was now called [Union Capital].

"I heard it was started by someone referred to as the Red Flash and the God Tamer ten years ago. So, are you that Red Flash? If so, then you must be pretty skilled. I heard you earn Billions of Credits every year; seeing this mansion shows that it was not a lie.

"I wouldn't have been surprised if you had started a Conglomerate because you've always wanted to become a businesswoman, but a Guild Master? That's a surprise for me."

Aliyah then made a sheepish laugh, "Hahaha, I am not someone so grand. In fact, I am nothing but a loose cannon…and…I am not good at some other things either." Aliyah felt guilty as she thought of Thalia. 

Ashe was not surprised that Aliyah would start a company but a Guild of all things? It was too shocking for him…but then again, this was not the Aliyah he knew from when he was young. Underneath that smile of hers, Ashe could only wonder why and how she got to this point.

Walking towards his sister, Ashe gently placed his hand on her head, "Not everyone is perfect; you can always work through your imperfection."

"…yeah."

Aliyah left the room as he was settled. Ashe jumped onto his bed and opened the tv to see anything good was on, only to wander into the news channel where a horned lady reported the current happenings.

One news, in particular, caught his attention as he saw his blurred picture. 

"This just in, the identity of the newly found Wanderer that the Seeking Flower Team turned out to be the missing twin brother of the [Legend-Rank Seeker] Aliyah Crombel. Any information regarding the Wanderer remains unknown…."

Ashe turned off the TV; he released a sigh as he lay down on the bed. His mind remained to himself as he failed to make anything out of the situation.

"Since I returned…everything had not been what I thought it would be." 

Ashe closed his eyes and recalled the time when he decided to finally go back home. He was atop a misty hill, overlooking the ocean. From afar, one could see the setting sun and, on his hand, was nothing but a pair of broken war hammer…

This world was not his previous world; it was a foreign land where he could only see the past and yet fail to even remember how his parents looked.

He wanted to spend time with Aliyah, but even that was hard, for he had nothing to speak of his journey. The more he told lies, the easier he would be found. He couldn't possibly speak of Astralius, for even he could not understand that land.

It was hard living like this.

However, a girlish voice echoed from the past, 'Try! Don't be lazy...' 

'Yuria…' Ashe remembered one of the most romantic times in his life.

Ashe sighed and then slapped his face, which left red hand marks. He then shot up and threw his fist up the air, "Dammit! Stop moping around, you bastard! YOU ARE GOING TO LIVE, IN THIS WORLD, IN THIS TIME!"

Trying to find meaning in a life that should have ended. How hard could it be?

And with that question, two weeks had gone by without Ashe really know what to do.

It was 5:30 am, and his body was already steaming. He started two hours ago, and he had already completed his improved daily routine.

[Congratulations, you managed to complete your custom training course

Crunches – 250/250

Push-ups – 250/250

Pull-ups- 250/250

Squats – 250/250

Planking – 30/30 

Running – 30 km]

[Low-Vitality: 52]

His Low-Vitality skill had reached LVL 52 without doing anything without breaks. 

"Good thing I got the Low-Vitality Skill…my constitution is improving by the day."

Because Ashe was not in possession of a Physical Type System, he needs to improve his own body through his own effort. But that does not mean he's hopeless. He got Low-Vitality skill because he needed it to improve different aspects of himself.

Energy, Health, Physical Defense, and Overall Stamina: all of these are the benefits of having good Vitality. Ashe learned of these facts after a lot of trial and error. 

Ashe brought out different weapons and then swung them one by one. He was proficient in all of them, but he was missing the weapons he really liked using. 

"I need to get my main weapons." Ashe had no need to have his preferred weapon, but he would rather have some instead of not. It didn't feel right for him without them.

"I would also need to have an armor…I think I'll create one that suits the era. Should I make some using Zarkas? Or should I go looking for Yellow Weavings?"

He could create anything even if he didn't have the blacksmith class, the reason being…Ashe had the experience. The Blacksmith Class and Tailor Class only makes the creation easier, but it wasn't a necessity.

"The only problem now is where to…. dammit, I'm thinking of hunting monsters again." Without him noticing, Ashe was already leaning on the idea of making preparations for some non-existent hunt. 

Old-habits die hard.

At 6:30 am, Ashe decided to first take a shower before leaving the [Underground Training Facility], and yes, Aliyah's mansion does indeed have them. It was an underground facility that was hundreds of square meters big. 

Ashe spends his morning training here every single day. Since coming here, he had not missed a day of training. And without anyone watching him, Ashe managed to execute the movements that he wanted.

By now, he's sure he had regained 30% of his original strength… that's without the influence of any Passive Skills and Items, at least. If he considers the skills he had lost since coming back here, it would only be at a measly 1% at best.

He was impossibly strong back when he was still in Astralius. He's weak now, but that does not mean he regretted returning.

Ashe returned to the ground floor using an elevator. And as the elevator doors opened, there was a butler who was awaiting his return.

"Good morning, sir." the butler greeted.

"Good morning." Ashe nodded his head as he answered.

Alco was his assigned butler. He was the second in command of the butler next to Sebastian and wakes up earlier than Ashe. He was not human, as the other two tiny eyes under his two big ones and the slim tail sticking out on his back would tell. 

Alco was tall, poised, and elegant. His race was called the Ramascova, who are known for their meticulousness and loyalty.

"Did you have a good time training, sir?" Alco asked.

"Hmm? Yes, yes, it was pretty good. Hey, is the lass awake yet? She's finally returning to school, correct?"

"The Young Miss…is not an early bird when it is school days. She mysteriously falls into a deeper sleep when there are classes compared to when there is now. She also frequently misses class because of this reason. But it is of no matter as she always gets the top score despite being—Sir? Where are you going?" Alco asked, worried about what Ashe was about to do.

"I'm going to wake up the lass; she's going to be late," Ashe said with a smile and light steps.

"She doesn't like being woken up, Sir. She might cause a ruckus." Alco was worried and warned him about the dangers of waking up like Thalia. 

"Bah, don't worry about it. Aliyah was like this before. She doesn't like waking up for school, so it was my job to drag her out of her room. Let me guess, Aliyah doesn't want Thalia being woken up, right? She must be sympathizing with her. Heh, heh, heh, she has grown soft."

Ashe laughed and soon arrived before Thalia's door, which he kicked open, which failed to wake up Thalia. 

‘Just like Aliyah, I see.’ 

Thalia groaned and retreated deeper into the massive sheets. Ashe's smile only grew wider as he saw this. And with a worried Alco watching him, Ashe ran up to Thalia and jumped up into her bed.

The mansion was then enveloped with Thalia's discontent and Ashe's laughter. The maids who were doing their job were alarmed and sped up the stairs to check what was happening. But as they were going up the stairs, they saw Ashe carrying Thalia, who was biting his arm as she tried to escape.

"Let me go, Uncle! I don't want to go to school, I have nothing to do there, and they only teach us things we don't use in life!"

"Humph, shut up, kid. I was also in that hellhole for years. Do you think I'd let the next generation not suffer what I experienced?! Besides, school is like a life simulator where you suck up to the popular kids and let others rot away while being ridiculed; it's a good place to learn about life." Ashe…had been through a lot in School. 

But, he wanted to have Thalia go to School because she needed to have a proper social life. She's a bright kid, but she clearly lacks any friend.

"What's happening so early in the morning?"

With all the commotion, Aliyah was woken up. She had been taking care of the piled-up papers. When Aliyah looked down at the stairs and saw Ashe carrying Thalia, the mother and daughter suddenly created some sort of connection.

"Mama, please, help me!" Thalia begged for help.

Aliyah felt her motherly instinct kick in, and she responded with motherly love, "Wait a minute, I'll prepare myself too. Ashe, go and have Thalia eat." She turned her back to her flesh and blood, determining Thalia's fate. 

Thalia did not expect this betrayal. Thalia was made to eat, then was changed by the maids who could be seen on the verge of tears as their beloved Young Miss was actually going to School.

Precisely forty-five minutes later, the three of them were in a limousine. Ashe was smiling, Thalia was on the verge of crying, and Aliyah was ecstatic for this was the first time she would be taking her daughter to school.

She may have been successful in life…but the same could not be said in terms of being a mother. She was always away for she had the responsibility as a Guild Master, which resulted in her not giving Thalia enough attention.

When Aliyah noticed what she was doing, Thalia was already six. Seeing this, Faust, her husband, convinced her to retire for the time being to spend time with Thalia, and he took it upon himself to go on hunts.

But just because Aliyah retired, that does not mean everything was all okay. Aliyah had been feeling guilty all those years she was not by her daughter's side, which resulted in her spoiling her.

Aliyah was actually feeling somewhat guilty about all this, however…after seeing her brother drag Thalia out of her room, she reminisced of the good days when she too was being dragged out by Ashe.

She was only matured out of the house but not so much inside. 

Five minutes before time, the limousine reached its destination. Of course, attracting attention was inevitable, and Thalia was already exhausted, just seeing this. 

Ashe noticed this and chuckled.

'I see…' 

Ashe could see something was amiss, and as Thalia was just about to exit, he reached out and patted her head, "I'll tell you a good story when you get back from school."

"…promise?"

"Yes, I promise. But only if you behave. Oh yeah, if someone picks on you, forget about behaving, give them hell, okay?" Ashe gave his honest advice in life.

Thalia laughed as she nodded her head. 

The color of Thalia's face returned. But then, as she exited, she turned pale once more as Aliyah also got out.

'Oh no…' she thought but said nothing as conflict rose from her heart. It's not like she was ashamed of her mother…it was just that what comes after Aliyah arrives. The thought of being swarmed appeared on the back of her head.

Aliyah looked back into the limousine and asked Ashe if he would like to join them, to which he replied no.

"I failed to mention this before, but I'm going to a mall…"

"Oh, then wait for me; I'll accompany you," Aliyah said with a smile.

"NO! Ah, no, no, there is no need—I want to look around by myself. I've missed doing such a thing." Ashe said with awkward laughter. 

Aliyah was reluctant to accept, but in the end, she nodded her head. She thought that the stress was getting to Ashe.

Aliyah closed the door, and Ashe had the drive speed away. He was dropped by the biggest mall in the city [Golden Mart] and was asked, "Should I wait for you, sir?"

"You don't have to. Go back to Aliyah; I'll just call the house if I want to be picked up."

Ashe said and watched the limousine speed away. The mall was behind him, but he didn't enter so quickly. Instead, he stretched his body and had different people pass him by; he looked around while thinking to himself, 'Now, where was that place, again?'

Ashe then walked then disappeared into the crown. He didn't go to the mall or to any nearby establishment. He left for a place where he'd be able to get something that will fill his desires.