(Robin's POV):
We arrived to the entrance of the underground town. Jay was looking a little nervous with entering a dangerous establishment but he somewhat gets through just fine.
We entered the town and saw that it's quite a decent place. There is one issue which revolves around everyone watching over us while we're busy touring ourselves around the area.
"Jay, you think they're being wary here?"
I simply whispered that to Jay who seems to have an idea about the occurrences happening in this area.
"This is an underground area after all, hidden from the people in the surface. They might be selling high end weaponry if we actually manage to buy some things around." - Jay
"So, like a black market huh? That sounds pretty troublesome."
"Yeah, I don't really enjoy the atmosphere here since they sell everything. Including those that shouldn't be done in real life like prostitution and stuff..." - Jay
"Really? What the best course of action then..."
I started pondering over myself while both of us are walking down the somewhat noisy underground town. After some time, I gave myself a small idea which I pretty much went with instantly. I stayed silent which made Jay somewhat curious.
"Robin?" - Jay
"Ah, we shouldn't try to make a move right now. In our case it might be pretty difficult to fight against more than a thousand enemies this easily."
"I see, so we're just gonna be scouting out for now?" - Jay
"Yep, and if something happens we head straight to the surface to exit. That's our first stop, a way out to the surface."
"Alright." - Jay
After moving around again for a while, we bumped into a large staircase on the way to the surface which is inside a large pillar in the corner of the town. Honestly, this looks pretty neat when you put that there.
"Good. Now that we have a way out, we may actually have a chance when entering combat against these guys."
"I see... Hey Robin, can I hear that story now?" - Jay
"Story? Ah sure, I'll listen to your side when we return."
We moved towards the fountain and sat down for a while, we both grabbed some snacks from some place and I started telling the entire story.
"At first, I met Seymour in a party at a young age. He was really damn scary at first sight however, overtime he became a real genius despite having that kind of body."
"He looked powerful at a single view when we saw him in the tarot card tournament." - Jay
"Well, he's like that since he was a child. He lived normally but is a genius with some problems that went through him. It was mostly normie problems like bullying and such but he got through all of them in less than a day. At that point, nobody wanted to deal with him in any way."
"Bullying? Physically?" - Jay
"Nah, I mean every single type of bullying. From verbal, to physical, to even social. He just proves everyone wrong pretty quickly. During fourth grade, we met Michael who was seen as another genius but actually behind Seymour. We became a group of three that are dominate the top grades within the grade. It was only a few years when we met Denzel, the most peculiar one in the group."
"Peculiar? - Jay
"Well, to explain... You must keep this a secret at all costs."
"A-alright..." - Jay
"Denzel is the person who lost both of his parents in bloody murder. If you watch some news, you'll see that the cause of the murder is completely unknown despite Denzel being safe."
"Yeah, who did it?" - Jay
"A child may not be able to lie but Denzel abused it in some form. He admitted to murdering his parents on our group only during 8th grade."
"Eighth grade?! But the incident occurred when I was five! There's no way he could kill his own parents!" - Jay
"And that's what he did, he simply stayed silent in the interviews and cried in the most convincing manner. Four years passed and the mystery is solved with a large offer."
"Offer?" - Jay
"We got him back on track with the school and his necessities. After that, he became one of us and is now a higher up in this group."
"I see, that's why he's also one tricky person to fight against." - Jay
"He's the person with experience to killing so I'd get what he means, he also did first blood here anyway."
"I see, I'm surprised he managed to get through just fine." - Jay
"Not really, he actually had to go through four years without parents. He broke down multiple times in his house, and almost killed himself a few times."
"Wait what?!" - Jay
"And some people knew too much when we tried to get him back on track. So he was alone for another few years trying to survive a grueling life in isolation. This was after eighth grade, when we tried to get him back on track."
"N-no way... What happened? Why?" - Jay
"That point is classified information, I was also similarly isolated but Denzel's case was entirely different."
"I-I see... How he's going back to normal..." - Jay
"Soon enough I guess, he does have a girl right now but that's unclear."
"I see, what about you?" - Jay
"Well, in my case... I was also isolated by my parents because they're congress. They want me to be a person that will show true leadership towards the people in the future."
"They want you to become a politician?" - Jay
"Yeah, to the point where it's impossible for me to live a normal life as a single person. I wasn't able to interact with various people excluding Seymour's family who they trust well. The only people I have interacted with positively were Seymour, Michael, Denzel, other Asylum members and you guys."
"Really? That's pretty surprising... In terms of raw intellect, how great are you?" - Jay
"Raw intellect, the three of us are equal below Seymour. This includes academics, trivia, and specialized subjects. Seymour knows pretty much everything in equal. Denzel specializes in extremely fast calculations and instant analysis. I specialize in visualizing the situation, adjustments, and improvising. Michael is a person who wants to enjoy his time well. He's also smart in some ways that could be pretty terrifying. The thing about Michael is that, he cannot be tricked easily."
"I see... So I guess you guys had troubles in your lives?" - Jay
"Yep, Michael was disowned, Seymour grew annoyed of this world, I grew isolated, Denzel was broken down and stayed broken for a very long time. There was one time where he felt genuinely happy and well but after he got isolated again, it's barely possible to get him back to the positive persona."
"I see... Guess you had it rough huh?" - Jay
"I'm rather glad that everyone pulled through such stuff, what about your side?"
"Well..." - Jay
Jay was somewhat hesitating on what to say because he's going to talk about his past.
"Me and Kaede are born twins, I was actually born normal while she was somewhat broken. So we could've led a normal life where we slowly tried to treat her emotional problems but..." - Jay
When I looked at Jay, he somewhat started to tear up in some form.
"Our mother, she died from a disease at a young age... Because of that, Kaede is completely broken..." - Jay
"Damn, that's a bad start and a bad situation. Sorry to hear that..."
"It's alright, I feel fine... You guys went through some more, specially Denzel?" - Jay
"Yeah..."
"Well anyways, we met some nice person during our elementary. Kaede was really close to this person, even I was close to him as he tried to help me out in the studies." - Jay
Wait a second... This sounds familiar.
"I don't remember the person but I remember a phrase he said one time while helping me." - Jay
"What is it?"
"I think he said something like 'If you need me just search around. Pretty sure I'm nearby...'" - Jay
"Yeah, I don't think I know that person."
Yeah, this is most likely Denzel but I don't have enough proof. I should ask him later.
"He helped me and Kaede out in some ways, in academics, emotional support, and even prevented Kaede from committing suicide..." - Jay
"Suicide? O-oi, are you sure that your twin sister is alright? She seemed okay when I saw her last time."
"She's most likely showing a guise right now. I can tell if she's happy or not easily, and I know she's troubled with her boyfriend." - Jay
"I see... What happened to the person?"
"When the school year ended, we obviously didn't have a chance to interact with him. Kaede was gloomy but she was really looking forward to seeing him again when the school year was about to start. In the end, he never showed himself again. He either died or moved out... Kaede was broken, she really tried suicide but somehow she's still alive. That person may have influenced her to not do it but Lester is making it doubtful." - Jay
"I see... Want the Asylum's help once we got out of this game?"
"A-Asylum?" - Jay
When I looked at Jay, he was trying his very best to hold back the tears. It was really surprising that he managed to do well in his life trying to protect his twin sister and looking for ways to fix her emotional status. I'm somewhat jealous of him having a solid connection to his family while I was mostly isolated. Not even my family were good friends in my life.
"Now... Don't get yourself in too much trouble and protect your sister alright? Just do it in moderation, a little tip from a good friend."
"Alright!" - Jay
I tapped his shoulder and stood up, we walked around the town area to try and exit for the time being since we have no purpose on this area. I had gathered enough information but upon nearly reaching the exit of the cave, a large ball of arcane magic landed in front of us.
"Back step!"
Jay and I dashed back by a little bit to avoid the splash damage. At this point I start thinking about what to do in this situation.
"Jay, escape through the stairs. I'll hold these guys out until you're good."
"G-got- No, what about you?!" - Jay
"I just said what I was about to do, now go."
Jay started retreating quickly towards the pillar staircase while I turned around and saw the enemy.
"Oh? I have a feeling I saw you somewhere before, Lightcaster." - ???
When I saw the unfamiliar voice and face, I saw a person with a blue shield protecting him. I brought out Mana Breaker and Mana Phaseblade and prepared myself for battle.
"Surprise surprise. It is the lightcaster with the null sword. Care to explain barging into the underground city?" - ???
"Who are you?"
"Call me Arcturus peasant, if you're looking for this... Get it from me." - Arcturus
Arcturus brought out a bubble which holds an absorbable item. The symbol of the item represents one of the thirteen zodiac signs.
"Virgo."