Haruto hesitantly walked over. The way he saw Nork walk off, he knew he wanted no part of whatever was about to happen.
"Nice work, kid. Though not high ranking, taking out two higher-ranked warlords back-to-back is no easy feat…. The name's Jack. I'm the Guild Master of Orion's Heart."
Haruto now understood Nork's reaction. He remembered Sylvie mentioning the Guild Masters being right under the Vanguard in terms of strength. Haruto was surprised at the compliment, but the notion was quickly shattered.
"Don't get it confused, kid. You're only breathing right now thanks to Jynx. You're reckless and impulsive. What would have happened had we not been here? After watching those fights, it's amazing you even scraped by in those wins." Haruto was stunned by this direct and brutal honesty, and Jack could see it.
"Look, you have potential, don't get me wrong, but here's a piece of advice. You need to know your enemy before going around picking fights. Sometimes doing the right thing is only right if you have the power to back it up. If that had been anyone under Rank 190, you would be dead right now."
These words hit Haruto like a ton of bricks. Suddenly Dimitri's words came flooding back to him. "You are responsible for your own decisions. If you die, that's it." As Haruto thought about this, he looked up to see Jack already walking off. "If you want the power to change things… In four days, choose wisely."
As he pondered over Jack's words, he realized the sun was starting to set. With everything that had happened, he completely forgot he was heading home to see his mom. He decided to go with the old-fashioned method and started running with the wind behind his back.
He made it home much faster than he expected. He wasn't sure what Jynx's power was, but he felt great. He walked in the front door and yelled, but no one answered. He found it weird and walked through the house. As he moved throughout, he noticed the back door open and walked out to see his mom sitting. "Mom, you're here. I was calling out for you."
His mother looked tired, but once she heard his voice, she immediately got up to hug him. "Oh, you're home! I didn't hear you come in." She immediately noticed the gold armband. She took a step back and started to lightly cry. Haruto was unsure what happened, then realized his mother was smiling. "I let you leave here, and now you're an official Warlord. Every time I see you, I see your father."
Haruto stepped back, surprised by his mom's comment. "What do you mean?" Now she looked at him surprised but didn't answer.
Haruto sat down at the table as his mom grabbed him food. "Have you heard anything about Dad since I've left?" he asked as his mother sat down a delicious-looking meal. He hadn't eaten anything since the morning and couldn't wait to dive into the plate.
His mom gripped a necklace on her neck and looked off into the distance. She was conflicted but knew she had to stay strong. "I did. He burst through the door like a beast when he arrived, but almost immediately, he was notified he was getting sent out with a big group to investigate some pond or river…. A lake. Something was special about it."
Haruto almost choked. 'If it's those black lakes, Dad can be in danger. But such a large group would be ok. Wouldn't they?' After he finished, his mom couldn't help but smile. After dinner, he laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. Both Jack's and Dimitri's words stayed in his head. If he was going to be here and be given this mission, he had to go about this smart and not take unnecessary risks. 'I will find out what's going on here and grow the power to stop anything that comes at me.' He thought this over and over until the day's events and mental exhaustion finally set in and he drifted off into a deep sleep.