85 Ch 83 – An Unusual Coincidence

Within a room filled with paintings, luxurious furniture, golden figurines, and expensive magical crystals running along the walls, two people could be seen sitting. One was a lady with flowing brown hair, ocean blue eyes, and wearing a tight-fitting suit colored a dark blue along with a pair of glasses covering her face. On her wooden table, two potions could be seen containing a pink and green liquid. On the couch opposite of where she was sitting, a certain man could be seen with an androgynous appearance that one can't determine his gender without him saying what it is, he has neck long black hair, violet eyes, and wearing a white cloak over a long-sleeved tunic white shirt and a pair of black pants.

"So, these are your special products, huh?" the lady said, her eyes turning to Lute as he smiled in response.

"Yep, those are my special babies," Lute nonchalantly said, his eyes darting around the room with a faint grin on his face. His wooden staff could also be seen lying on his lap.

"Hmm, what price do you sell it normally?" the lady said, her eyes showing a glint as she stares intensely at the two potions in front of her.

"Oh come on, Grace. I know you've been spying on my little stall for the past fucking week, okay? Let's just cut to the chase, a 50-50 split. This is my… uh… whatever this is, my conditions?" Lute said, tossing a piece of paper to the table as it spun in midair like a sharp blade, but Grace caught it with two fingers without difficulty.

As she silently read the terms and conditions of their partnership, she can't help but raise her eyebrows and look at Lute like he was a dumb animal. "You're telling me I'll do all of the work, and you're getting a 50% share of the money your products earned. Oh please, we both know how ridiculous that sounds."

"Ridiculous? Come on, Grace. You and I both know the value my two potion holds, we both know, everyone who bought my potions know how it's so helpful at keeping people alive, especially adventurers who throw themselves at death's door every day. A stamina Potion can keep the fight longer while Regeneration Potion can help Fighters manage the fight in a safer manner. Just imagine the benefits it holds, so many adventurers would be flocking at your stores' doors just to buy the special products, unlike those healing potions that anyone can fucking make, even villagers and country bumpkins probably know a bootleg version on how to make it! My babies are special, unique! And you know that, Grace-chan." Lute snickered, his words unrelenting and cornering Grace without giving her the ability to retort, trapping her into a pitfall without a chance to retaliate.

"Fine! You and your pleasing words, production starts next week." Grace sighed, standing up and signing the paper without a second thought, all while silently listening to the constant thumps on the ground produced by Lute. Tap, tap, tap, the sound slowly warps her mind without her noticing. A thousand-year-old monster won't have a problem hypnotizing a young 'un with just sound alone.

Standing up, Lute walks forward to Grace while flashing a toothy smile.

"It's nice working with you, Grace-chan." Lute stretches his right hand out, an indication for a handshake.

"Likewise." Grace reciprocates, both of their hands interlinking and shaking.

"Well, that's it for today. Bless you and your family, I bet my son Raiden is already waiting for Dada to come home." Lute muttered, his body turning around on the sole of his foot, and walked out of Grace's room.

'Wait, he has a son?' Grace thought as her eyes widens in shock.

'When the fuck did he have a son?!'

As Lute walked through the busy street of Pendragon Kingdom, his eyes darted around everywhere while silently listening to everyone around him.

"Holy fuck, there's an actual A Rank Dungeon that was found in Tyburg! Many adventurers are already flocking to it like wildfire! Sigh, it's just too dangerous for us newbies, I heard that no adventurer has been able to enter it yet, not until Tyburg decides to allow adventurers to ransack it like bandits."

'Hmm, my senses are tingling!' Lute thought as he arrives in front of a wooden door, his small grin widens as he knocks on the door three times.

"Dada!" the door slams open instantly, and a little boy could be seen appearing right in front of Lute and taking him into a tight hug.

"Did you miss Dada, Raiden?" Lute said, his eyes glancing downwards to greet two crimson red eyes.

"Mmm!" Raiden nods his head as Lute pats his head affectionately.

Letting go of the tight hug, Raiden's full appearance was seen by Lute as he nods his head.

With long black hair that reaches below his neck, two big crimson eyes that has the innocence of a child, wearing a brown tunic shirt and dark green pants. His appearance was the same as the boy they took down that was "possessed" by an "Evil Spirit" that ravaged three villages.

"Do you have any presents, Dad?" Raiden said as the two entered the home, and what greeted them was a cozy living room with a couch, a Magical TV, floating balls of light on the ceiling, potted plants, bookshelves, and more that made it look like a very comfortable place to be in.

"Of course, I have a present, here," Lute said, his hand rummaging through a light brown pouch hanging on his waist and taking out what appears to be a wooden wand.

"A wand?!" Raiden shouts, his eyes widening in shock as he can't believe what he was seeing.

"Does that mean…"

"Yes, Raiden. We're going to teach you magic!" Lute shouts as Raiden squealed in joy, that was until a hand suddenly patted him on the shoulder out of nowhere.

"Papa!" Raiden shouts, his eyes darting to a man with a tall frame, wearing a white shirt and black pants just like Lute, along with a featureless white mask covering his face.

As Kira silently took him into a hug, Raiden giggled and went to sit down on the couch like a kid receiving a Christmas present, which was kind of true, but a lot cooler because magic is cool.

"So, who is going to teach me Magic?" Raiden asked as his two fathers sit around him, while Lute turned on the Magical TV.

"Well, we already hired an instructor who is also going to be your nanny when we're gone for our short trip to Tyburg," Lute said as Raiden nods his head.

"How long will you two be gone?" Raiden asked, his stubby hands fiddling around with the wand as blue sparks erupt from the glowing white tip.

"We'll only be gone for like a week max," Lute replied as Kira's hand was over Raiden's head, patting it silently like the silent man he is.

"Are you guys going to the dungeon?" Raiden inquired as Lute chuckled, the indistinct noise coming from the Magical TV giving a more serious atmosphere to the cozy room.

"Indeed we will. You really are smart, huh? Just like your Dada!" Lute said as Raiden giggled.

"Thank you, Daddy." Raiden blushed, receiving compliments from his father never ceased to make him embarrassed.

"Hehe, no need to be shy. We're a family! Come on, let Dada kiss you on the cheek," Lute said as Raiden stretches his head out, receiving a peck from Lute on the cheek.

"I love you, Dada," Raiden whispered.

"I love you too. And your other father Kira here, also…" Lute said, his eyes making eye contact with Kira and his eyebrows raising to Kira who stayed silent the whole time.

"I love you too, Raiden." Kira finally uttered his first words after Lute came home which caused the duo to chuckle.

"Love you too, Dad," Raiden said as the two fathers silently had their arms over Raiden's shoulders, the aura of a loving family emanating from the trio. But what lies in that precious family was a malignant force, hiding within the shadows of lies and deceit like a predator waiting for the chance to strike in one single blow.

"Officials say that Tyburg will allow adventurers to start entering the dungeon starting tomorrow with a costly fee of 75 Gold for entering. But the treasures that lie inside A Rank Dungeons can offset that cost, and would allow the conquerors to earn, statistically speaking, tens of platinum!"

Inside a room with a long wooden table surrounded by nine chairs, two figures could be seen watching a gigantic Magical TV prop on the wall in silence.

One was the world-renowned "Dual Wielding Black Swordsman": Kilt. And the other was the "Looper": Honda Yuuya. Two heroes that were bestowed with absurd cheats, cheats that allow them to rise to the sky like an unbridled dragon amongst men.

"Umm, what can I help you with, Kilt-san?" Honda said, breaking the long silence as Kilt turned his eyes to him. Those pair of abyssal black eyes seemingly reflected something within Kilt himself that appears to hide something dark, perhaps the past sins he has committed.

"I want you, to enter that dungeon," Lute replied as Honda raises his eyebrows in confusion.

"Hmm, why?" Honda said, confused at why Kilt wanted him to enter that dungeon.

'Is there a secret that dungeon hides? Kilt can make dungeons so there must be a reason why he wants me to specifically enter that dungeon.' Honda thought, trying to find the reason why Kilt wanted him there.

"Honda, I know you have been avoiding death, a lot," Kilt said unexpectedly.

"Of course, I have been avoiding death, that's my ability, right?" Honda jokingly replied with a smile, but Kilt remained stoic.

"What I am saying is, that you are afraid of death. I can see it inside of you, you have never been exploiting your cheat to the fullest, have you? That fear of death, how ironic, the one who has died the most fear it the worst," Kilt said, letting out a disappointed sigh.

"Come on, Kilt. You don't know what it's like to die! The pain, I have been having nightmares nearly every night where I died to a dragon, a demon, a death worm, a wraith, I had died an innumerable amount of times already, I think I'm developing PTSD at this point!" Honda said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"And that's why you need to go there, unsupervised. An adventure if you will, where you will just go there, with the single goal of conquering it, defeating the dungeon. Who knows, you might meet some interesting people over there, maybe you can finally even make your own "Hero Team", a team that you can depend your life on, and a team that has their life, dependent on your death to live if push comes to shove," Kilt said with a monotonous voice.

"… Fine," Honda said after a long pause of thinking things over, his head shaking.

"Good, a girl will prepare your own items, but the rest are up to you. This was the same to me from before, when I was the only Reincarnate around here. I had to walk through mountains, ride uncomfortable carts, and other stuff that you, haven't experienced yet. You should appreciate you had an easier start compared to me, now go on, you should find a cart for tomorrow's journey already," Kilt said as Honda nods his head, standing up with a sigh, Honda left the room.

But unknown to Kilt, a pool of cold sweat has already formed on Honda's back as his heart palpitated in fear.

'Holy fuck, holy fuck. He wants me to exploit my cheat to the maximum, doesn't he! Holy shit, if he fucking knows about my second cheat, I for sure know he will make me die over and over again, power leveling me to his level like a maniac, phew, good thing I haven't shown the others my second ability, if not, well let's say my death count would go up by ten folds.' Honda thought as his breath trembled, the fear of death that he felt from releasing his grave secret made him want to be far away from Kilt who he knows will exploit him to death, literally.

'I will die over and over again to gain more abilities, shit, why did my ability have to be related to death, both of my abilities are related to death! Sigh, I guess you get what you asked for.' Honda thought, not knowing that his fate was about to get entangled by a certain duo.

AN: This is 2123 words, you're welcome.

Honda is actually my favorite character out of the nine bunch, second being Louis, or maybe Imerda. They're just so human, like they are what humans would be given the same circumstances, like being a piece of shit, or afraid of death, all kinds of bad stuff. Oh right, I forgot about Don Will Dead, he's actually the second favorite Reincarnate of moi.

Now, what do you guys think is Honda's secret cheat? It's a pretty good ability with tons of potential, if you are willing to die painfully that is.

Writing takes a lot of time and dedication, so sending me your power stones would give me a boost in motivation.

(July 11, 2022 – 229th day of writing)