Chapter 29 - Memories 2
21/9/557 Continental Calendar
{RING RING RING RING RING}
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!!”
“Run!”
The once-prosperous town of Halion is now covered in flames from Wyvern and flooded with grotesque goblins. It was the collapse of Halion.
Although Dukelore's orphanage was quite far from the city of Halion itself, the orphanage wasn’t spared from the massacre. Goblins slaughtered the nuns and orphans mercilessly, enjoying the painful cries of both.
“Hurry and run, Lore! I will go back in and help the others escape.”
Klienia, an old nun, hurriedly pushed away an orphan boy, Dukelore or Lore for short. Klienia found Lore dying on the streets in an alleyway when she was in town to buy some bread before bringing him to the orphanage; she was a mother figure for the orphan.
“No!”
The boy cried with his tearful eyes. Klienia heaved a heavy sigh before putting her hands on the boy’s shoulder.
“Just hurry to the next town; I will meet you there with everyone, alright?”
“Promise?”
“Pinky promise.”
Klienia crossed pinkies with the boy and turned around towards the church. The boy wiped off his tears using the sleeves of his shirt before shouting.
“You better not lie!”
The boy ran in the other direction, towards the next town. Klienia could only give a wry smile as she waved goodbye.
She never returned.
After realising that Klienia wasn’t coming for 2 days, Lore rushed back to the Halion, which got burnt to the ground. A few soldiers were searching the area, but there was no sign of Klienia or any children from the church anywhere.
Filled with grief and disbelief, the boy sat in front of the church, which was just a pile of ash and debris, and cried out his heart in hopes of everyone coming back to him.
A knight, patrolling the area, saw the boy and comforted him by placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder. The knight and the boy sat there from morning until twilight when the boy fell asleep. The knight couldn't help but feel grief as he was once an orphan from the very orphanage in front of them. He decided to take the boy in and trained him.
That encounter was fate, the very same fate that betrayed him and made him suffer but also gave him joy and opportunities...
...
POV Charlotte
“Hey! Little girl, are you alright?”
Sister Klienia began shaking my shoulder, which snapped me back to reality. I gave her a long hug before settling down. Sister Klienia was confused, but she accepted the embrace anyways. She had a crystal-pure heart; if a random person were to hug me, I would've immediately called up my slave- I mean, friend, the FBI. I learnt to do it from Beth.
After the touching reunion, my vigour began exploding through the roof! I wonder if I can find myself here. Not to brag, but to brag; I was very talented with magic in my past life despite being stupid, so I could enslave my former self to become a secret weapon against Altrunia.
Just as I stepped into the church, an annoying voice popped up.
[Hey, I’m back! Did you miss me?]
“Hmph, not at all.”
[So cold and with no hesitation... I kinda like it. Perhaps tsundere?]
“Wait! You’re a masochist?! Also, what's a tsundere?”
[Anyways, you have a new quest now! Isn’t that fun? Just follow my guidance, and you will gain a super-duper good skill!]
Changing the topic just like that, as expected of the shady system. Also, why did the system have such a weird personality? I’ll have to ask the system about that later.
With the sudden reappearance of the system and a quest, I rushed out of the church with a swift goodbye.
I followed the system’s guidance and arrived at what seems to be a ruin. At the centre of the ruin was a massive arch.
[Tadaa! This is the remains of an ancient portal from the ancient era of Gods! Using this, you simply need to circulate enough mana into it to activate it!]
I felt a rush of joy when I realised I could see my parents again, but I quickly went into deep thought. Could I return back here? After all, this is an opportunity for me to power up and actually work. Absorbing energy at home to gain mana wasn’t enough, and I got kidnapped very easily. I also have a lot of people I want to save in this world…
[Worry not! This system is linked to the ruins, and therefore, I can allow you to travel between worlds. Although, it’ll cost $500,000 and 95% of your current mana pool.]
“I shall formally promote you to the Amazing Glamorous Scammer System!”
I never knew the system could be so useful! I probably should absorb some more mana from the dragon vein so I can properly protect myself. I finally have a good source of mana. Though, $500,000 extra debt...
…
A week has passed since I began absorbing the dragon vein, which is still abundant now. The conditions for travelling have reduced to only 77% of my current mana pool, which was quite a massive improvement. My stats have changed quite a lot; I should be able to chantlessly cast spells easily now. Absorbing mana from a dragon vein so prematurely and so much in a short time span should've killed me but, I had the power of the system and several decades of absorbing mana! So, suck on my toes, dragon vein poisoning! Unfortunately, I had to pay the system to get rid of the poison, so I'm severely in debt now.
[Name: Charlotte Irlandi
Age: 9
Gender: Female
Skill points: 0
Skills: Otherworldly powers(2), System(X), Accelerated learning(8), Peak Mortal Mana circulation(2)]
Now, it was time to return home. Although I wanted to return right away when I learnt I could use the portal, I couldn’t afford to risk an encounter and get captured again.
As I walked into town to say goodbye to sister Klienia, I encountered some rich carriage, and several guards stopped me on my way.
A snobby looking teenage boy with rich looking clothes stepped out of the carriage and approached me. I had a bad feeling about this.
“Hello there, beautiful lady. I’m heir to the Dukedom of Vasci, young master Peng! Would you like to join me on a date?”
He creepily pulled my hand towards him and kissed it. I would like to call child protective services; thank you very much.
I have been tainted by this snobby kid, and now, I can’t get married anymore! *sniff sniff*
I cried in my head as I suddenly remembered the Duke of Vasci, one of my former clients. He was the guy that killed my apprentice. I could feel the rage burning up inside of me, but I calmed myself down and took a deep breath.
“I apologise, sir Vasci, I would be honoured to accompany you, but I have matters to attend to as I’m here from a different continent.”
I politely told him to fuck off. Luckily, he relented but not before kissing my hand again and asking me to visit him, with hidden threat as well. At least he didn't kidnap me since he thought I was the daughter of a diplomat. He was pretty cunning and smart in my past life if not for his lust.
I quickly went to the orphanage and said my goodbyes to the orphans and sister Klienia. The orphanage and I are on friendly terms since I often visit and donate food. After saying goodbye, I teleported back in front of my house. I could feel space distort and my mana draining.
I appeared in front of my house. Walking into the front yard and to my house, I opened the door to see my depressed mom and dad eating lunch. I feel sort of bad now. Maybe I can cheer them up using power rangers?
I quickly used my magic to play the power ranger theme song before jumping in through the kitchen window and shouting.
“I AM HOME, MOTHER AND FATHER!”
Needless to say, I almost got shot before getting suffocated in a group hug, not that I’m complaining about the latter though since it felt warm. I decided to come clean with my origin with them since I couldn't really hide it.
Surprisingly, they handled it pretty well. They were shocked and quite weirded out but just accepted me for who I was since my memories from my past life were practically fading away. Also, I didn’t technically possess Charlotte since I was there from before birth.
“No wonder why you were so weird, your past life must’ve been tough.”
My mom comforted me while my dad just stood next to her with a wry smile.
“Now, why do I smell the scent of a male on you? Are you perhaps cheating on your childhood friend while you were in another world?”
What are you, a dog?! How could you smell the scent of a male?! Also, when did I become a couple with anyone at all?!
I complained in my head. Of course, I didn’t say it out loud since I would've gotten murdered on the spot.
I explained the whole ordeal with the Duke of Vasci, which made both of my parents flare up in anger. I just retreated into my bedroom after some hugs and catching up, before contemplating my next move. I was up against a cult with a God-like being supporting them, while all I had were children and some shady government agency. Perhaps I could recreate the power of power rangers in real life using magic-boosted technology?
“Aggghhh!!! My brain hurts, I don’t want to think anymore, I have no drive to think.”
I complained. Laying in bed, I reflected on myself whilst thinking about everything. Why was there a connection with those ruins? Where did the system go during my time in Tercendo? If there are parallel universes, does that mean parallel versions of Altrunia exists?
[For your first question, the ruin was a dimensional gate during the wars between Gods in your world that was a gate belonging to one of my creators. As for the second, I can only say that I was visiting someone in hiding. For the final question, it is a no. Altrunia is a unique existence, all Gods are considered unique existences, and some mortals are as well. You are also a unique existence, meaning there is only 1 of you in the multiverse. You are the only one of your kind to be recycled in the soul system.]
That was quite a lot. Does Altrunia even have a goal other than causing destruction? It seems pretty damn pointless.
[Altrunia’s goal is likely to gather souls. When I said I could only choose your soul instead of the souls of heroes from the past, it was because their souls were consumed by Altrunia to reach Godhood unlawfully. There are many methods to reach Godhood, and using souls is one of the banned methods. Usually, 5,000,000,000,000 souls are needed to ascend.]
“Damn… I should probably check up with everyone since I’m pretty sure they'll be quite worried.”
I muttered as I stared at the ceiling. It’s going to be a long day...
! p.s totally didn't forget about this at all, um, tehe?
¡ehe te nandayo!
Interesting, and good to see that you are back!