Julian and Cerat sat inside the same tavern as before, puzzled.
"What the hell was that?" Julian scratched his head.
"He attacked us and just ran off..."
"No, not that. That summon thing. I've never seen a [cast] like that."
"I have."
"Really?"
Julian's eyes widened. This was the first time Cerat had pitched in with something like this.
"It was a while back."
Cerat rested his foot on an open chair, laying back.
"Come on, old man. Tell me!"
"The brother of the woman I loved had a brother with an ability just like that."
"Don't joke with me, old man. You, with a lover?"
"I'm dead serious."
Cerat stared at Julian.
"Okay... continue."
"The ability is a portal to another realm."
"Another... realm?"
Cerat stuck out three fingers.
"There are three realms that Kailu documented."
"Kailu..?"
"The brother. Jeez. Use context clues."
"Right, right. Whatever."
"The first realm... Stubaran. It's this barren land. You won't see any greenery or any life. Well, if you count those... creatures as life, then I guess there's some."
Cerat shuddered.
"Have you been there before, perhaps?" Julian asked.
"Yeah... I've been there. Kailu asked me to come there with him, just for funsies."
— Funsies..?
Julian scratched his head, hearing Cerat's strange way of speaking for a dragon.
"The second realm!" Cerat stuck out two fingers.
"..."
"Iatoxar. A realm in a state of forever cold. Surprisingly, life does exist there, and it's as advanced as us. But, they use a different form of power."
"A different form of power?"
"As you know, in this realm, mana is stored in the Velian. But my buddy Kailu somehow found out about them having a different energy system."
"What's it called?"
"I don't know. But anyway, the third realm is habitable as well. Ioyathra, or something. It's quite similar to this realm, actually. Besides their form of power."
"Ah! Something like this must not be common knowledge."
"Yeah, yeah. But, get this. Hypothetically, there's a... fourth realm."
"A fourth realm?"
"Yeah. A realm that is outside of both time and space. Several dimensions above ours."
"If it's outside of space and time... how could you have possibly discovered it?"
"I don't know. Ask Kailu, not me. He's the scientist."
. . .
. .
.
A man whistled in the street alone. He moved from side to side, with his hands in his pockets. Intoxicated, perhaps.
"That's him, right?" a voice whispered.
The man quickly turned around. It was Nhelan. His face was blushed, and his expression was dazed and confused.
"Yup."
The two came out of the shadows.
Nhelan sighed. "You masked freaks..."
Cerat spoke with a cold and grim voice. "We're here to kill you, Nhelan."
"Stop lying to him. We're just gonna collect his bounty."
The two dashed at him.
[Cast: Summon]
A magic circle appeared in the air, right next to Nhelan's hand. Out of it, he pulled out a large sword.
Julian said to himself. "His [Summon] cast must work like a pocket dimension."
Julian unsheathed his daggers out.
Cerat took out his sword.
[Cast: Blink Step]
The distance between Cerat and Nhelan was cleared instantly. It caught Nhelan off guard.
"!"
"Pay attention."
Cerat sliced at Nhelan. A horizontal strike that came from low.
As quick as Cerat moved his sword, Nhelan avoided it.
"You must've forgotten about me, Nhelan."
Julian slid under Cerat's legs.
"Deja... vu?" Nhelan was lost in thought.
Julian gripped tightly onto his dagger, with an icepick grip. As if he was landing an uppercut, he punched straight up.
Nhelan finally snapped back into reality, evading the attack.
"That was close, huh? You would've killed me with that."
Nhelan pointed his sword at Cerat.
[Cast: Blood Beam of Extermination]
There was barely any time to think. It was an attack faster than light.
[Cast: Stone Form]
The beam pierced through the stone, but luckily, didn't leave a shallow wound. Cerat panted.
"This guy is stronger than we think, Julian."
"I know that!" Julian sprinted toward Nhelan again.
Julian's resolve has grown.
He threw several attacks at Nhelan.
Even while intoxicated, Nhelan was still pretty fast.
"Daggers are supposed to be fast. But you're really slow."
He aimed a swift kick in Julian's direction.
Unexpectedly, Julian blocked it with his dagger. It caught Nhelan off guard.
[Cast: Frostbite Chains]
The air got cold, and the floor became icy. Chains rose from the ground, wrapping around Nhelan's arms.
Cerat began running at him, with his sword in hand.
"This again?"
[Cast: SHC-
Julian punched Nhelan across the cheek. It was as if Nhelan's head was trying to escape its body, but the chains stopped it from doing so.
He threw another punch, with his left hand. Equally as devastating.
Cerat raised his sword, ready to deliver the final strike.
[Cast: Burning Blood Palm]
Nhelan's hand broke through the ice, stabbing through Cerat. A clean shot through the gut. He collapsed.
[Cast: Summon]
A large magic circle formed in the air next to Julian. It grabbed him, crushing him and pulling him into the circle. Then, the circle closed.
Nhelan panted.
Cerat winced.
[Cast: Immense Regeneration]
His wound wasn't healing well, due to his low mana and the burn damage.
"I never thought I would find myself having to kill a kid."
Nhelan slowly got up, walking towards Cerat's body. He plunged his sword into Cerat's chest.
Cerat desperately grabbed onto the sword, hoping to stop or at least slow down its descent. It was useless.
"You feel that futility, kid?" Nhelan laughed.
Cerat looked up at Nhelan. "You... b-bastard."