CHAPTER 17
"Congratulations! You have unlocked The Vault of Villains Book 1." Rang a voice in his head.
Earlier…
~Boom! ~
Ares's bike suddenly hit a stone and he was sure that the stone wasn't there before. As he had been startled, Ares lost his grip on the bike handles and just as he thought that he'd topple over, a white light flashed quickly swallowing Ares together with his bike.
"What was that all about? Who did what to my bike?" he bellowed as he ran towards his Harley that was very beat up and broken.
'This is going to cost me a pretty penny to repair, the tires, head and tail lights! Oh my God! I might as well buy a new one. Just who is responsible for…' he thought as his inner voice trailed off after he took in his surroundings.
"Grass… nothing but grass." For miles, all he could see was boring grass and he found it strange. 'just a while ago, I was at a street. What kind of sorcery is this?' he thought.
Picking a random direction, Ares followed his gut into the wilderness…
*
'Oh my, it's so hot!'
Having walked for only a few minutes, Ares was sweating and panting like a dog. 'I need water, and shelter, plus a fan and my phone and a pizza.'
This was the only thought going through his head until something caught his eye.
"Is that a bull? But bulls don't look that way. Horses perhaps. Just what is going on and where am I?" He asked no one in particular as he walked closer.
Looking in the distance that grew shorter with each step he took, Ares saw a creature that made his jaws drop.
With a human upper body and a body of a horse for the lower half, Ares gazed upon the majestic creatures known as centaurs!
"Centaurs, half-human, half-horse creatures from Greek mythology. They have the body of a horse and the torso, head and arms of a man. These are the majestic creatures you see before you." Rang the voice from earlier but Ares was too busy utilizing the once in a lifetime opportunity for him to hear anything.
"Amazing! Aren't these things extinct, though? Just where have I stumbled into and why are those things charging towards me?" exclaimed Ares as he watched with his mouth wide open.
The centaurs were all acting deranged and crazy and they dashed towards Ares. As he was still stuck in amazement and wonder, it took him a while to notice.
"I suggest you run, user 721." Rang the voice again and this time Ares heard and he took off.
The powerful thumps and stomps from the centaur herd sounded like those of actual horses and this put Ares on edge as he had never liked horses.
"It just had to be horses. Why must it be those fillies?!" he shouted as he ran for his life.
Ares had never been a track star but he felt like he run miles in the unfamiliar terrain. Spotting a bridge in the distance, he decided to run toward it to avoid being trampled to death.
'I can't die like this. People will make fun of me if they ever found out!' he thought as he sprinted towards safety.
Ducking behind a pillar, Ares listened closely as the centaurs run out before coming out.
Ares found himself standing before an old dark street whilst he was sprawled on the ground. His eyes caught sight of a peculiar figure.
The boy held a bun in his hand and one could make out that it was dry.
When Ares approached the boy, he felt his body being pulled back a few meters from his original position. Trying for a second time, the same thing happened again and Ares realized that something was wrong.
Just as he lifted his leg to try again, a voice rang in his mind with a warning, "Stay put! Approaching the villain may cause an energy transfer and I bet you don't want to get evil energy transferred to you!"
Ares watched the story before him unfold like a film. He couldn't believe what he saw as he watched history unfold right before his eyes. The villainous Jude Logan was initially a beggar, a down to earth beggar however, that wasn't all, he acquired his power from an unnamed being, a seemingly demonic being.
Ares denoted that this being seemed to approach vengeful people, those with desire for power, power to destroy and revenge. This being a disguised transaction, the followers of dark magic came into being and these were called villains.
"Wait, why is he holding books?" Ares asked while watching with a keen eye.
Currently, the demonic being was holding a pile of books that had golden embellishments at the center of the front cover and this had caught his attention. Just as he was trying to get a closer look, the memory disappeared.
"Hey! I was watching that!" shouts Ares to nothing in particular as he turns around looking for any semblance of a human. What he sees instead is everything turning to dust and it was collecting in one place.
"It wouldn't do you any good to know some things beforehand."
Shocked, Ares didn't know what to do when a heavy and ancient pressure filled the room as the dust soon took the shape of a faceless human.
"Who are you?" Ares asked in awe a she gazed at the ethereal being.
"I am an embodiment of the system and my name is YTA 79, user 721." The ethereal being replied as his body gave off a brilliant light. As the surroundings were dark, the light was brighter and blinding so much so that it irritated Ares.
"I am not user 721! My name is Ares…" Ares retorted before being cut off by the system.
"Ares Maltimore, yes. I do know your name. User 721 stands for something else. However, that isn't why you are here. You have a quest to fin…"
"Now, hold it right there, system. You are messing with me, right?" questioned Ares. Gone was the boy who was joking just a few seconds ago.
"Why would you say that? You are wasting valuable time! So much is on the line!" answered YTA 79 angrily.
"Heh, do you take me a for fool?" Ares asked angrily with a frightening aura and one could see a shadow of his grandfather from his stance.
"When you appeared before me previously, you were in my reflection. The next time you were a little boy so stop acting like this is the first time we are meeting and tell me what is going on!" he added furiously.
YTA 79 was shocked before a smirk adorned the previously faceless shape. A cloud of dust gathered around it, engulfing it completely whilst leaving Ares speechless at how he was being ignored.
When the dust cleared, all that was left was a little boy who looked to be around seven or eight years old.
"Now that I have confirmed that you can't easily be deceived, let's get down to business." Said the boy in a childish voice with the seriousness of a grown up and Ares couldn't be even more confused.
"Just what is going on here?" Ares thought.
"For now, I am going to send you on a mission then from there we shall see." Answered YTA as he waved his hands.
"Why are you waving your hands?" Ares asked and YTA just sighed.
"Get ready for another adventure."
"Wait! No! No~ YTA~"
*
~ "What is he?" ~
~" He seems to be taller than us. Maybe … different spec… of dwar..." ~
~" You du…y, we are c…d dwarves … a reason!" ~
'Where am I? my head hurts. Who is speaking?' Thought Ares.
"WAKE UP, sleepy head! You sleep like a log! Oh my goodness, what did I do to get stuck with such a descendant?"
"YTA, is that you? What do you mean descendant?"
"Never mind that. It's time for your first mission."
"I thought that time in Mobodoon was my first mission."
"Well, it wasn't. these dwarves are trying to relocate. Help them."
"And why should I? What's in it for me?"
"THIS IS A MISSION! Of course there's a prize. Now, wake up!"
YTA set a bolt of electricity through Ares, jolting him awake. Of course it was enough only to wake him and not kill him.
"Wow. Look at him, mama. He is so pretty!" exclaimed a little dwarf baby being carried on her mother's hip.
"Well, he looks as delicate as a princess to me." Muttered a gruff looking man. He looked like he stayed behind a furnace, banging away at molten iron, a black smith.
His statement caused many to laugh and the cacophony caused Ares to sit up and rub at his ears. Even when seated, Ares still peered over their heads.
"Where am I?" Ares asked and some girls started screaming.
"Oh my, he is so handsome and he also has a nice voice. Ah~" They shrieked making most of the dwarf men frown.
'Girls. Anytime, any race they will always succumb to my charms.' Ares thought with an inwards smirk. YTA felt like kicking the god of the world who chose the Maltimores, particularly Ares to save the multiverse.
As Ares was thinking of his beauty, the dwarf people made way for their chief as someone had gone to call him once Ares had awoken.
"I am the chief of the dwarf people, Zeltron Selkath. Who are you and what are doing in dwarven land?" asked a big and buff looking dwarf.
Ares scrutinized the dwarf standing before and felt that he and his great grandfather, Dalfour, could be good friends. Deciding to probe on their situation, Ares told them of how he is a lost traveler, which wasn't a lie parse.
The dwarves, kind as they are, allowed him join their group. Recalling what he knew on dwarves, Ares felt it weird that they were on the move as dwarves aren't nomads. Looking at their condition, Ares realized that they might have just faced disaster.
"Took you long enough. You're really not the brightest in your lot, now are you?" taunted YTA causing Ares to feel really angry.
'YTA, what is going on here? Why do the dwarves look like they have been kicked out of their homes?' Ares asked through their telepathic connection.
"Well, they are your mission."
,