*Groan*
A man in priest's robes regained his consciousness with a groaning sound. As soon as he opened his eyes to look around, he was slightly surprised. But there was more relief and confusion.
"Did I... survive?"
As he sat on the bed, he rubbed his forehead to relieve the slight headache.
"What happened?... How come I am here?" He mumbled subconsciously.
From what he remembers, he went to the base for the monthly inspection, but some unknown forces suddenly attacked them. Moreover, the enemies were extremely powerful. Before they even had the time to counter, they were immediately suppressed.
"Who the heck were those bastards?!"
Rubbing his forehead, he gritted his teeth in irritation. Until now, he has no clue about the enemy.
"Let's think about that later. First, I should figure out what happened after I fainted and how did I get here."
While he was still sorting out his thoughts, a deep voice sounded beside him that caught his attention.
"So, you are awake… Ren."
The familiar voice made Ren's expression ecstatic. He looked at the person who entered the room and immediately went to his knees and shouted fanatically.
"Your Excellency!!"
"Do you know who did it?" The voice was plain and unhurried.
"I… I am not sure, Your Highness…"
As Ren said that, he broke down in a cold sweat. "I am ashamed of my incompetence."
"…"
Not receiving a response made Ren nervous.
"Who am I, Ren?"
This question startled Ren. Although he was confused, 'Why would his highness ask such a question' he still answered honestly.
"Your Highness is Orneus Aiverson, the crown prince of the Aiverson Empire."
When he said that, his fanaticism towards Orneus couldn't be hidden.
"Then tell me Ren, for what purpose did I start this Assassin organization?"
Orneus' deep voice sent shivers down Ren's spine.
*Gulp*
Ren gulped and answered. "For them to work as a knife for his highness to purge the darkness of the empire from the shadows."
Although what he said was high sounding, in a literal sense, it was just doing Orneus' dirty work.
*Crack*
After this, there was no further conversation, as Ren found the space around him cracking. The crack further deepened, and everything shattered like a broken mirror.
That's when he heard an unfamiliar sighing voice.
"Hah~ It seems this is the current limit~"
'WHAT?!!' Ren was in disbelief. Suddenly a thought came into his mind and the conclusion he came to horrified him.
"No way…"
"ILLUSION?!!!"
Before he could think further, he heard the voice say.
"Jack, knock him down."
The next moment, Ren felt pain at the back of his neck and his eyes rolled white as he went unconscious. At the last moment before he fainted, there was only one thought in his mind.
'I messed up!"
***
Luis was sweating profusely while drinking mana potions to recover his mana.
'It seems with my current strength keeping such an illusion for a longer period is still very difficult. Maybe I shouldn't completely recreate the environment and focus at one point to save mana.'
While Luis was thinking about ways to improve his illusion magic. The faces of people beside him were expressing different emotions.
'So, it was them!'
Although Ronald and Lumine had some doubts before. But now getting the confirmation, their hatred towards the Aiverson royal family magnified.
As for Alicia, Luis had already speculated that it might be someone from the royal family, so she wasn't very surprised. Though she had many questions, she wanted answers for, at least for now, her target was clear.
"Orneus Aiverson!!! Although I don't know your purpose but this unfulfilled revenge, I, Alicia Raven, will complete it myself by taking your head."
Maybe it was due to Luis' influence. Alicia's head at this moment was extremely clear. So, though she was angry, she was still calm.
Hearing Alicia's oath, Luis also smiled lightly and said while nodding.
"Well, sooner or later we will settle these accounts with him. But for now, let's deal with the current situation first."
As he said that, he also glanced in the direction of Ronald and Lumine. Both were aware of what Luis meant. It's nothing but the aftermath of this raid. Because this time, they affected the interests of both the royal family and the church. So, if this matter is not handled properly the Suarez family will bear the burnt. And it was still a little early to face them.
"Leave the aftermath to us. You just focus on improving your strength and preparing for the academy." Ronald said with a fatherly smile, looking at Luis and Alicia.
Lumine also gave her assurance. "Yeah, let us adults handle everything."
With that said, Luis let Jack take the unconscious captives, including Ren Varnish, back first. Then asked Lumine and Ronald to follow behind.
"Lily, scan the whole ruin and help me find the way to the Ruined temple."
{Yes, Master!}
His actions piqued their curiosity, leaving them silently wondering about what kind of surprise he would give them this time.
Following the navigation of Lily, they arrived at the supposed Ruined Temple, which was mostly destroyed because of the battle and was now full of debris.
{This is it, Master!}
Looking at the state of the Ruined Temple as he tried to overlap it with the image in his memory, Luis couldn't help but smile wryly.
'Fortunately, the platform is not destroyed.'
"Dad, can you clear the debris out for me?"
"Hm? Well sure."
As he said that, Ronald instantly activated his spells.
"Wind Shield!"
A spherical translucent shield enveloped them before Ronald chanted his next spell.
"Mini Hurricane!"
A fast-moving tornado was formed, completely clearing out the debris in front of them. After the dust cleared and winds passed by, what appeared in their sight was an ancient circular platform with weird symbols transcribed on it.
Before they could ask anything, Luis was already ahead of them as he started rearranging the directions of rocks engraved with symbols forming a weird pattern.
This Summoner's quest can be triggered by following the route of one of the heroines at the academy. Only after completing a chain of quests and obtaining all the symbol codes can the final reward be obtained from this Ruined Temple. But for Luis, all that was unnecessary. It didn't take long for him to rearrange them as per his memory.
"Done!"
With a faint smile, Luis moved back and the next moment, light appeared on the platform. Then it started vibrating, and an ancient-looking staff came out from its centre.
'This is it "The Summoner's Staff!" It looks very mysterious.'
After he took the staff inside his pocket space. Luis turned back and said with a faint smile.
"Let's go home."