The darkness of the early morning, around 2 a.m., cloaked their path, and their high-quality horses were visibly exhausted from the continuous travel, desperately needing rest.
It had been eight hours since they left Reinhardt City. The journey had been a relentless escape from not only robbers but also Jane Vyl's pursuers. The trio was also worn out, their bodies aching from the constant vigilance and two brutal skirmishes with robbers.
Now, with Jane, a bloodied whale, attracting dangerous predators—sharks—they were stuck in a perilous situation.
As they traveled, they encountered several checkpoints where travelers were being questioned. During these moments, Jane used an artifact that made her invisible and erased her presence, making it seem as though she was not there at all.
Thanks to this clever ruse, they passed the inspections without raising suspicion, receiving the cleared sign and continuing on their way.
The number of people searching for Jane was steadily increasing. Most of these searchers were on their level, but engaging them would cause too much noise. They needed to be careful, avoiding direct confrontations as much as possible. Along the road, they observed travelers being questioned.
The searchers were not polite, often rough and aggressive, but the trio endured it, not wanting to cause a commotion and risk getting caught in it. When nothing suspicious was found, the searchers would leave a cloth marked with a zero sign, indicating the travelers had been cleared.
Jane remained silent, her face a mixture of pain and determination. The coordinated search pattern of their pursuers made it clear they needed to find a place to rest where they wouldn't be easily spotted.
After all, they were tried along with their steeds.
They found a secluded spot off the main road, hidden by dense foliage. Quickly, they set up a makeshift camp while remaining vigilant. Alec took the first watch, his eyes constantly scanning the darkness for any signs of movement.
Once they were sure there were no prying eyes, Jane undid the mist-like magic obscuring her face. The trio was stunned to find that she was a blonde beauty with a perfectly balanced appearance—no less, no more.
Her pale complexion, a result of her injuries, added an ethereal quality to her looks, and her damaged and broken armor made her seem both vulnerable and strong, evoking a protective instinct in anyone who saw her.
Jane broke the silence, her voice steady but laced with exhaustion. "I suppose introductions are overdue. I am Jane Vyl, a loyal subject of the 2nd princess of Vernor," she began. "This task is very important for the princess, which is why I am here to complete it personally."
Trio saw her from far in the auction on the upper floor when she made the final bid, attracting everybody's attention. They heard about her from people nearby talking about her after recognizing her.
The trio listened intently as she continued. "I apologize for taking you hostage for my escape. It was not my intention to involve you in this dangerous situation."
The trio bitterly smiled after hearing her apologize. They were already in a dangerous situation after being ambushed by robbers twice. Now they had to escort a ticking bomb.
Alec replied to the trio, "It's ok if we can help the princess by helping you." He emphasized that they were not helping Jane but the princess, so they got to be rewarded.
"Didn't you use teleportation magic to leave the auction? How could you not have arrived at the capital now?" Harry asked, hiding his frown by lowering his head.
After taking a deep sigh, Jane replied, "Somebody had already used Space Lock magic on the area and changed the path to a ruin where they were ready to ambush me."
"It's high-level magic that I don't understand; I shouldn't have used that teleportation scroll there."
"Didn't you have any extra?" Sasha asked without hiding her irritation.
Jane didn't mind her. "I have come with three scrolls; I used one to travel here from the capital and used the second in an auction house. And after fighting them, I used the third to get capital, but somebody interfered, and I ended up near you guys."
Hearing her, the trio went silent. They didn't have anything to refute her. But they were screaming inside, "Why us?"
Jane's eyes hardened with resolve. "I blame myself for being powerless. The enemies pursuing me are formidable, and their goal is to prevent me from delivering this scroll. But I am determined to take revenge on them. They have wronged not only me but also the second princess."
The trio listened to her and nodded in approval. But deep inside they were, "So what? Why do we have to be in this situation? You cringe, bootlicker knight."
They smiled sourly.
After a long silence, she asked them, "You guys seemed to be going to participate in the Royal Academy's admission test. Where are you from?"
After quickly thinking, Alec told her, "Yes, our goal is to get admitted into the academy." We are from Artesia, from a merchant family. Our family has fallen to our competitors, and we are seeking refuge here and want to grow strong enough to take revenge against our enemies."
Alec said it like he was grieving his loss and showing his unbreakable spirit.
Hearing Alec, she said in confusion, "Don't you know people from outside the country are not allowed in the Royal Academy?"
Hearing her, Alec said innocently, like he didn't know about it and was in a deep loss where he lost the game before starting and there was no path ahead, "Is there such a rule? I didn't know. What would we do now?"
Jane smiled proudly. "If you can escort me to the capital, I can arrange for you to enter the academy as a reward for helping the princess."
Alec and the party cheered for this sudden luck. But Alec smiled inside, as if what he said earlier was for this, and he knew he could succeed.
They asked, "Really?" in unison.
Jane said without thinking too much, "It's my promise."
Listening to her, they showed emotions of being happy, like they had no words to describe their happiness.
After that, Harry kept watch, and everyone rested.
As they rested, the trio couldn't help but feel the weight of the situation. Jane's presence and the ancient scroll she carried were more dangerous than they had initially thought. The scroll wasn't just powerful; it was a key to something bigger, something ancient and dangerous that could tip the balance of power.
Though they got some written benefits, they could only get them after they successfully escorted her to the capital in this dangerous situation.
After a brief rest, they mounted their horses again, and the animals were slightly rejuvenated from the short break. The sky was still dark, but a faint hint of dawn was beginning to appear on the horizon. They resumed their journey with renewed determination. Every step brought them closer to their destination and deeper into the mystery surrounding the ancient scroll.
They remained cautious, aware that at any moment they could be ambushed. The road ahead was fraught with danger, but they were resolved to protect Jane and get the benefits. The journey to Lymhurst was perilous, but they knew they had to press on, their mission becoming more urgent with each passing moment.
While they were traveling, Alec was deep in thought, reflecting on a peculiar dream he had during a brief nap. He had found himself in a room overflowing with research papers scattered across the floor and pinned to the walls.
The papers were covered in intricate diagrams and failed magic circles. The text they contained was blurry. The room was sparse, with only a table and a chair. On the table, a holographic book manifested, hovering just above its surface.
The screen displayed some strange text: [System: Support Type; Ability: Calculation; Unspecified; Host Requirement: Humanoid Beings]. But what really shocked Alec was that the screen was manifested by a bracelet—one that looked exactly like his, except it had additional symbols beyond the leaf ones.
There were also many dice scattered on the table, each engraved with a different symbol. Alec had tried to touch one with a sun engraved on it, but his hand passed through it like it wasn't there.
The dream felt too vivid and too real to be just his imagination. The bracelet had always felt like it held more secrets than he could comprehend. This experience only deepened Alec's sense of mystery.
The leaf symbol on Alec's bracelet was originally dim, devoid of any other markings. But after he encountered a dice with the same leaf symbol and touched it, the dice melted and were absorbed into the bracelet, adding another dim leaf symbol.
Remembering this, Alec searched and found the dice with the leaf engraving once again. This time, he was surprised to find he could touch it, unlike the other dice. "I knew it," he exclaimed.
Thinking quickly, he brought the dice near the bracelet. Tiny, hair-like tentacles emerged from the bracelet, absorbing the dice. The leaf mark on the bracelet shone with a blinding light.
When Alec regained his vision, the book on the screen had transformed into a transparent neon display with the word [initializing] in a black-lined circle. The circle gradually filled with red, and as it was completed, Alec's vision went dark.
When he came, a holographic screen floated in front of him with large words saying, [Welcome, host." The words then faded, replaced by a new message: [I am Aria, a tool to assist my host in breaking free from the curse of *#@*].
He couldn't see past the words "curse of" as they remained blurry. Soon, new words appeared on the screen.
The functions that you can use now are:
Status: Check everything about yourself.
Calculation: You can use it to calculate certain things; the currently available calculation is emotions.
Skills Sea: You can engrave skills and use them anytime.
Currently available: Wood Elemental skill,
Engraved skills: 0.
Copy: You can directly copy skills from a skill book to the Skills Sea.
To use any function other than checking status, you need to use points. [Points can be earned by killing monsters or consuming certain items.]
Next, the screen displayed another message:
You can open the status by saying 'Aria' in your mind.
It will go away automatically when you don't need it.
To use any skill, you need to say the skill's name in your mind and target any person in your thoughts.
Using any skill costs an appropriate amount of points.
After Harry called him, Alec snapped out of his thoughts. Jane was sitting quietly behind him. Harry informed him that they had completed half of their journey to the capital.
It was morning, but the sun was obscured by clouds, casting a shadowy ambiance over the scenery. The group moved slowly, noting that the number of checkpoints had decreased significantly. They breathed a sigh of relief but remained vigilant.
Jane, curious, asked about their family business. Alec showed her a silver badge with a griffin sitting on gold and explained that his family business was related to antiques, along with many other ventures like clothing and armor making.
He added that Harry and Sasha were his cousins. They belonged to a Roy merchant family that had fallen due to their greedy subordinates. When Jane heard of it, she showed a sympathetic look.
Alec further explained that they had been working in the adventure guild to make a living by doing small tasks.
During one of their jobs, they were discovered by their enemies, who destroyed their family business, forcing them to flee from Artesia.
This made Jane feel their grief even more. She promised, "I will thoroughly help you until you can reach a stage where you can take your revenge."
Seeing her showing sympathy, Alec thought, "Status." A status screen appeared in front of him, visible only to him. Alec was surprised to see that he had 100 points on his status.
Curious, he thought of Jane and used [emotion calculation]. A few texts appeared: [pity, sympathy, and suspicion]. After pondering a bit, he nodded in understanding.
A notification popped up at the bottom of the screen: [Used Emotion Calculation: -5 points]. Checking his status again, Alec saw that his points had been reduced to 95.
He was surprised, but he had already guessed her emotions. He considered using it on the twins but stopped, unsure of how points were earned and how quickly they could be replenished.