“I'll be on the road for a while, so I was thinking I would check out one of the guild quests. Perhaps there'll be one I could complete by the time I reach the next city.”

“Suit yourself up, and I'm sure you'll find something worthy,” the receptionist replied with a warm smile.

With a nod of gratitude, Aiden turned and headed toward the Quest Board. Unfortunately, it happened to be located beyond the tables where the men, who had been eyeing him strangely from the moment he entered the guild reception, were seated.

With a respectful nod toward the men, Aiden continued on his way and arrived at the Quest Board.

“Let's see what we have here,” he mused to himself, his eyes sweeping over the array of quests displayed on the board.

 

“A-Rank Quest:

Escort caravan to YellowPeak Mountain range

Reward: 70₠,”

Aiden mused aloud as he read the parchment.

“So cheap. Yellow Peak, that’s literally across the kingdom,” Sigma commented.

“So that’s a no go. Let’s see what else we have here.”

 

“A-Rank Quest (5+ Adventurer Party only):

Protect caravan to Mellow Tusk Refinery (Probable monsters: Flesh-Eater Mosquitoes and/or Graveshade Crawler)

Reward: 40₠.”

“If you intend on using this as an opportunity to raise your swordsmanship, what might want is monster slaying quests, not escorting ones.”

“Slaying quest it is then.”

“A-Rank Quest:

Slay and collect the eyes of the Grayskull wolf pack roaming south of Eldenholm.

Reward: 1₠ per pair of eyes,” the parchment read.

 

“It's paying a literal pittance for what doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but it seems like it's going to be our next quest, right?”

Plucking the parchment from the board, Aiden turned around only to find himself being approached by the same men who had been sitting at the table earlier.

“You,” a man built like a brick called out, clearly the leader of the group of adventurers.

“Me?” Aiden responded.

“Yes, you. Do you see anyone else I could be calling to except you?”

“I guess not.”

“Sigma, do you not know these gentlemen?”

“I really do not. But I saw them yesterday in…. in a bar, they asked me questions I did not answer.”

“I see that makes more sense now.”

“So, is something the matter, Mister?” Aiden inquired.

“You're the one, aren’t you? The priest who’s said to have been the only one to come out alive from the last raid on Gardavah, the Dungeon of Ember?” the man inquired.

“I’m not a priest, but a Paladin. Yes, it's me. What of it?” Aiden responded. In an instant, as if he had just uttered something he shouldn't have, the man and his companions turned somewhat hostile.

“Erm, Aiden, actually…” Sigma trailed.

“See, that's exactly what I said,” one of the adventurers chimed in, followed by another who echoed the same sentiment.

“So you aren't even going to deny it this time,” the bulky man retorted.

At that moment, on these words, Aiden who was still confused about where the sudden animosity came from, instantly grasped the situation.

“Oh, I think I finally get it. We did meet yesterday, didn't we, at a bar somewhere? I'm sorry, I must have been quite intoxicated by then. I'm that kind of person. I'm not really myself when I'm drunk. I hope I didn't spout out any nonsense or behave disrespectfully…”

“Do you know Davion of the Covenant Ruins?”

“... Mr. Davion.”

“Yes. So this time you finally acknowledge knowing him. How could you not? He died in that dungeon, but not you. He was my brother.”

“I see... My condolences. He was a nice person and a brave adventurer. I'm so–”

“Spare me your crap!”

“You're not sorry, weren’t you the one fully enjoying yourself in that brothel yesterday?”

“Brothel?” Aiden questioned himself internally.

“I can explain,” replied Sigma, but naturally there was no one to hear that but Omega himself.

The atmosphere had turned tense, and Aiden could feel the weight of their anger directed at him.

“My brother was a bona fide adventurer—an adept in dungeon crawling. He was brave and strong. There's no way he just died like that in a dungeon, especially not one he had ventured into on numerous occasions,” the man asserted, “while you were simply able to make it out alive.”

Seeing how things were unfolding, Aiden stepped forward to interject. “I'm not going to pretend that I understand the pain of losing a brother, but the fact remains—I made it out alive, and he did not. I don't intend to apologize for anything other than your loss. So, if it does not bother you I would like to go.”

Despite Aiden's request, as he attempted to make his way past them, the man's hand shot out, effectively blocking his path.

“Mister?” Aiden asked, his gaze meeting that of the man.

“You see,” the man said, reaching onto Aiden's shoulder, “it does bother us. Yesterday you ignored us, and today we have questions—a lot of them, we'd like you to answer, since you're so cooperative.”

"I'm cooperative, but not to that extent—” Aiden began, only to be silenced by a sudden pressure on his shoulder.

“Mister, don’t you see the blades on my back, I’m an envoy of the church, I believe you understand what that implies.”

“You think you’re threatening anyone with that? You’re not. Certainly not me,” he said, increasing the pressure, bringing Aiden down to one knee.

“I would have preferred you did,” Aiden mumbled, reaching onto the man’s wrist.

"At first, I didn't want to believe it. Then, as days went by, I was left with no choice but to believe the rumors. My brother died, and some brown-noser sent by the church survived. I didn't want to believe it. But then I saw you, in that brothel surrounded by harlots, feasting like there was no tomorrow. At first, you'd tell me exactly how the who—" the man's words were abruptly cut off by a strange popping noise.

The sound was that of bones being crushed, the noise reverberated so clearly that it was impossible for anyone nearby to miss.

The man instinctively retracted his hand, his body shivering with a pale and livid expression on his face. He stumbled, nearly falling, saved only by the men standing behind him who caught him in time.

Confusion marred the man's features as he looked down at his arm, expecting to find it injured. To his bewilderment, he saw that his arm was practically untouched, showing no signs of injuries one could’ve presumed from the previous noise.

“What did you do to me,” the man barked, still trembling.

“What did I do to you?” Aiden repeated, popping his shoulder. “Nothing obviously? What could I have done to you?”

"You little bas—" one of them began, but before any of them could voice anything further, they were cut short by Aiden. He raised his hand, holding the quest parchment, and waved it to get the attention of the receptionist.

“Gentlemen, as you can see, I have in my hand what I came here to retrieve. It's time for me to go register this quest, so if you could excuse me,” Aiden stated, making his way past.

This time, the man didn't obstruct his path, allowing Aiden to pass through. However, just as he made it past him, Aiden seemed to freeze in place. He turned around, locking eyes with the man, his gaze and expression completely different from what he had displayed earlier.

“Jest and courtesy aside, I have my limits, and I won't stand for anyone breaching them. The first time, I exercised restraint by ignoring your presence back then. The second time, you dared to lay hands on me. You've far exceeded the boundary I've set for vermin like yourself. So, heed my words and heed them well: let there not be a next time,” Aiden warned, his tone merciless and absolute.

The next instant, Aiden resumed his usual demeanor as he headed over to the counter to register the quest he intended to undertake.

 

***

 

After registering his quest, Aiden left the local guild, walking silently in the direction of the city's Southern gate. The sun began its descent toward the horizon, painting the sky with warm hues, as he made his way forward.

“Sigma.”

“Yes?”

“What were we doing in a brothel yesterday?”

“I can explain.”

“You better be.”

“I was… I was looking for friendship?”

“In a brothel?”

“Yes. I can promise you nothing happened, it was absolutely platonic. We were just talking.”

“Platonic, huh?”

“Yes.”

“ In a brothel?”

“Yes.”

“And may I ask what you were talking about?”

“Erm, a lot of things.”

“Like?”

“Like how hard it’s sometime is to raise a child on one’s own.”

“I guess one can say that you have a lot of experience when it comes to that, can’t we?”

“I guess yeah. We definitely can say that?”

After that, a brief yet seemingly endless pause hung between the two, until Sigma finally added, “Just in case it's still on your mind, I really didn't do anything?”

“Don't worry, I trust you. I don't plan on imposing restrictions on what you do when I'm not the one in control. After all, you have just as much right to this body as I do,” Aiden assured Sigma.

“…”

“So don't think that I'm trying to blame you or anything. I'm not. Besides, it sounded like from what they said that you actively avoided confrontation, and that's not bad at all,” Aiden clarified to Sigma.

“Why does it make me feel like I was some unreasonable creature?”

“…”

“Okay sure I can be stubborn at times but I’m usually a calm and reasonable person.”

“Are you? Just like earlier, perhaps? Hahaha, I was sweating beads when you suddenly took over and broke his arm. Luckily, you had the decency to at least heal his arm.”

“Heal his arm?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“You healed his arm, right?”

“Yeeeeeaaah. Of course, I did. Why wouldn't I be nice enough to do that? Surely nothing will happen the next time he carries something heavier than his arm.”

“ ... I'm going to erase that part of our discussion from my memory.”

“So will I.”

With the incident at the adventurer guild left behind them, Aiden soon made his way out of the bustling city. The city's gate loomed ahead, its massive doors open to the world beyond. By the time he had crossed the threshold, evening had already descended.

The city's walls and its safety loomed behind him, he was now out alone, or perhaps not so much, into the wilderness yet, with confidence, he checked his Inventory.

 

_____________________________

 

[ Aiden Ω's Interface ]

 

Inventory:

- Mid Grade Healing Potion (x3)

- Mid Grade Magic Potion (x3)

- Elixir of Stamina (x2)

- Stone of Appraisal

- Holy Symbol of the Church

- Staff of impotence

- Oathbinder

- Oathbreaker

- Spacial Ring (A++-ranked Artifact)

 

Inventory (Ring):

- Oathbinder (A+-ranked Artifact)

- Oathbreaker (A+-ranked Artifact)

- Summon Stead (B+-ranked Artifact)

- Bread (x7)

- Baguettes (x14)

- Bottle of Water (x12)

- Bottle of Wine (x21)

- Pineapple (x8)

- Cheese Wheels (x13)

 

Currency:

- Eldrin : 1,314₠

- Celestium: 27✦

- Dracorn: 156Ɖ

_____________________________

 

He retrieved his [Summon Stead] artifact from his spatial ring, but as he did he also came to notice something on his interface.

“Oh, a message. It’s from Omicron.”

 

_____________________________

 

[ Aiden Ω's Interface ]

 

- [1] New message from [Omicron (Ο)]

_____________________________

Omega (Ω) has entered the chat…

 

Omega (Ω): It has been taken care of. The Dungeon Core was just as you surmised, a sentient Dungeon Core. He has already been subjugated. I’ll be waiting for your next mission. I'm here anytime.

 

Omega (Ω) has left the chat.

 

Omega (Ω) has entered the chat…

 

Omega (Ω) has left the chat.

 

Omicron (Ο) has entered the chat…

 

Omicron (Ο): Well done.

 

Omicron (Ο) has left the chat.

 

_____________________________

“Wow! Talk about a way of praising a job well done,” Sigma exclaimed. “But well, it's Omicron we're talking about. Expecting more from him would be expecting too much.”

“Um,” Aiden nodded. “Even if it’s true that his words are rather short, they still make me feel like my efforts are appreciated, especially given how small my efforts and achievements are compared to yours and to the others.”

“You… so you like praises after all?”

“Of course, I like them,” Aiden replied, summoning a spectral steed with his artifact.

“Oh, I see. I was under the impression that it was not the case.”

“Well, I’m just like everyone I guess,” Aiden declared riding the stead.

“Like everyone, huh? I guess we can say that," Sigma mumbled before asking after a pause, "Can I take control?”

“Huh? Sure.”

With Sigma in control, Aiden said, “You know, in the good old days,when we were riding a car…it’s something similar to, erm, let's say “carriage”, for a long journey, we didn't simply do it in silence like people of this world do. We did it by listening to something called 'Radio'.”

“Radio?”

“Yes, it was a tool that... I wouldn't know how to explain it, but it played music like this.”

Activating his special ability, [Memory Manipulation,] a melody began playing in Aiden's mind, audible to both Sigma and Omega.

"This is a melodic masterpiece that transcends time and space. So, open your ears and let it carve into your soul," Aiden dramatically said.

The melody began with a whistling, followed by a distinct soft strumming of guitars and the harmonious voices of the singers resonated in their shared consciousness. Literally.

The opening notes transported them to a different time, a simpler time, where the worries of the present were temporarily forgotten. As the melody continued to play in Aiden's mind, its harmonious notes intertwined with the rhythmic cadence of the horse's hoofsteps. Together, they forged an unparalleled atmosphere, one that was both nostalgic and present, serene and purposeful. The song's soothing tones seemed to blend seamlessly with the landscape around them, enhancing the journey with an ethereal quality.

As the last notes of the song echoed in their minds, the melody gradually faded away, leaving behind a sense of serenity. The horse's hoofsteps became the predominant sound once again, as if the song had gracefully handed back the reins of their reality.

“So, what do you think?”

“I loved it. But that song… could it be the one that Upsilon was looking for?”

“Yes, it is.” Aiden confirmed before remarking, “I'm impressed by how you were able to tell from those lyrics of his.”

“So you knew about the song he was looking for. You could’ve told him.”

“If he forgot about it, that’s on him. He’s the one who lost his pride as an earthling. Anyway, wanna listen to another one?”