Avelina

After standing up on his own, Neonidas looked at the brown-haired woman. She was probably the main character, but just to be certain, Neonidas decided to ask her name.

"Excuse me, are you okay?" Avelina asked, her face showing that gentle expression.

Neonidas felt almost allergic when he looked at Avelina, but he controlled himself and replied. "Yes, I'm fine. No problem. So, What's your name?" he asked directly.

"Oh, my name… My name is Avelina. And yours?"

Yes, it really was her. Avelina. The main character of the novel and the beloved of young girls everywhere! As for who Avelina was, she was actually the daughter of Emperor Gredor, yet her mother was a slave. Avelina was never given princess status; she was only granted a noble rank. In fact, this was why the theme of the novel felt so clichéd. This novel, written by Neonidas's ex-girlfriend, was not much different from the old love stories dating back hundreds of years.

It even had the evil stepmother and stepsister clichés. Compared to Princess Allea, Avelina had lived a much more pitiable life, constantly humiliated by the empress in the palace. And, of course, there was the other cliché: the man who loved her was also desired by her stepsister. Yet, most women loved the father-figure cliché in the novel—though Emperor Gredor, despite being considered a "good father," wasn't attentive enough to notice Avelina's miserable life and would feel a deep regret later on.

This was why Neonidas used to get angry at the novel's clichés before he died. Plus, Avelina's resemblance to Neonidas's ex-girlfriend was another irksome reality. They looked alike not only physically but in character as well. So Neonidas had already begun to hate Avelina.

That's why Neonidas didn't respond to the woman's question and just started to walk away. If he wasn't currently in a weak and powerless body, countless curses would have poured from his dirty mouth, but he didn't have that luxury now.

"Hey, wait! Ignoring people is rude! Hey!"

Neonidas continued walking, ignoring Avelina's shouting from behind. Every word from Avelina reminded him of his ex-girlfriend, and he couldn't stand anything that reminded him of the ex-girlfriend who had left him.

But Avelina turned out to resemble his ex-girlfriend even more. She was a woman who, just like her, did not like being ignored. So she ran after him and grabbed him by the arms.

"It's not nice of you to ignore me like this, sir. I'll overlook your rudeness for now," Avelina said, keeping her arms around his waist.

"…Alright. Now I need to go," Neonidas said and, once again, started walking towards the exit without caring about the woman.

"Hey! But you didn't tell me your name!"

Neonidas had underestimated her. Avelina resembled his ex-girlfriend more than he thought. She was just as stubborn as her. Neonidas turned around and looked at the woman's rather beautiful face.

"…My name is Neonidas. Now, stop bothering me."

Neonidas continued on his way, and thankfully, this time, Avelina didn't follow him. After all, everyone knew Neonidas's name and roughly what he looked like. The useless son of the honorable Duke Leonardo! That was Neonidas. Everyone knew him, but the reason they knew him was mostly because he was a useless brat.

When Neonidas headed to his carriage, it wasn't Avelina he was thinking about; it was more about his new appearance. Since this world might have been created within the rules of existence, many other things could have changed if certain things had been altered for it to come to life. For instance, had the secret powers or special items he knew from the novel, their locations, or powers changed? Or, worst of all, did they still exist?

These questions made Neonidas itch from stress. Every plan he made was based on information from the novel, but still, Neonidas was hopeful. After all, there were things that existed both in the novel and in the current reality. For example, the character Soren was exactly the same as in the novel, or the ducal ring, or the mana stone mine that Neonidas had sent an exploration team to.

Meanwhile, Neonidas had received some good news from the mana stone mine exploration, and the second phase of the excavation had now begun. Initially, only shallow excavations were conducted, which yielded positive results. Now, deeper excavations and mana stone exploration efforts had already started.

So many things that happened in the novel were also happening in this reality. There had been a few significant things that hadn't been in the novel but caught Neonidas's attention in this reality, so it was still too early to draw a definite conclusion.

Thus, Neonidas's next target would be the Northern Mountains. If he didn't find what he was looking for there, he might as well arrange a grave for himself.

Before Neonidas and his guards quickly moved towards the nearest teleportation portal, he took a few items from the special treasury belonging to the duchy. Among them were powerful tranquilizers strong enough to soothe even the soul, as well as a rather expensive white stone belonging to the duchy, which he placed in his bag.

---

After riding their horses swiftly, Neonidas and his guards reached the teleportation portal. This journey to the Northern Mountains was a key point in his plans. In the original story of the novel, there was a legendary, sacred animal imprisoned in these mountains. This creature's potential was so immense that it could even frighten Allea.

When Neonidas and his guards arrived at the portal, they clutched their cloaks tightly as the cold wind struck. Progressing through the wild terrain of the Northern Mountains was a journey that demanded courage from every soldier, but for Neonidas, it was just another day. In his own words, it was an ordinary death journey.

The mage standing guard beside the portal noticed Neonidas and gave a slight bow. "Sir, are you planning a journey to the mountains?"

Neonidas sneered. "No, I'm going to pick flowers for your mother," he said with a mocking smile. Then, he rolled his eyes and turned his head slightly. "Of course, we're going to the mountains. Just do your job quickly."

The mage pressed his lips together but evidently Neonidas's reputation had already reached him. He raised his hand gently, activating the portal, and the magical blue light surrounded them. Without any hesitation, Neonidas stepped through the portal, followed by his guards.

Upon reaching the mountains, Neonidas lifted his chin slightly, surveying the area. As the cold air hit his face, he smirked to himself. "This is it," he murmured. "If anyone can survive here, the rest will be child's play."

One of his guards mustered the courage to ask, "Sir, are you sure the sacred creature is truly imprisoned here?"

Neonidas raised an eyebrow. "What does it matter to you? Your job isn't to think; it's to follow my orders. Don't forget that."

After a while, they arrived at the ruins of an old, decrepit temple. Neonidas looked around carefully and grumbled to himself. "If I come all this way and find an empty temple, I swear I'll chase my ex-girlfriend to the depths of hell."

But just then, they heard a faint growling sound coming from within the temple. Neonidas grinned. "Look at that, we've found some unfortunate soul answering our call," he said sarcastically, turning to his guards. "Let's see who's making that noise."

As his guards cautiously followed him with hesitant steps, Neonidas confidently walked toward the source of the growl. If a legendary creature truly awaited him, he was ready to make it kneel.

Neonidas and his soldiers began entering the temple.

"Ha... of course this lousy temple would be dark, wouldn't it?"

Neonidas chuckled sarcastically as he walked on the echoing stone floor inside. "Of course, it suits this freakish place. Did they waste all this fuss on these old stones?"

His guards silently followed Neonidas, and one of them dared to whisper. "Sir, perhaps we should be cautious. The magic of this place might still be strong…"

Neonidas shrugged mockingly. "Forget about the magic; the most these old piles of stone can do is collapse on me." But then, a rumbling sound echoed from the depths of the temple.

Neonidas looked in the direction of the sound, clenching his teeth and continuing forward with a contemptuous expression. "If there's anything here that could scare me, I'm ready to challenge it."

Finally, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness. Neonidas smirked mockingly. "Ah, here's the mystery of the mountains! You'll need to be more creative to scare me."

Trying to maintain his sarcastic attitude, Neonidas looked at the red eyes shining in the dark corners of the temple. But behind those eyes, a massive shadow moved, and a colossal creature appeared in all its glory: a ten-meter-tall, powerful wolf covered in silvery white fur. The intense mana energy radiating from its body created a tremor that shook the interior of the temple. Each breath the wolf took swept through the surroundings like a cold wind.

The guards recoiled in fear; this creature was no ordinary beast but a legendary entity. Each hair on its body radiated light, casting shadows across the temple walls and reflecting off Neonidas's face in flickering glows. Neonidas could feel the immense power of this colossal being, but he would never show fear. He simply grinned, stepping forward.

"So, you're the guardian of these mountains, huh?" he said in a mocking tone. "Oh, but how unfortunate… You're injured, aren't you? Or rather, you've lost most of your strength and are still trying to look intimidating, aren't you?"

Then, Neonidas revealed the tranquilizers and the white stone he had taken from the ducal treasury. With his guards following cautiously, he began to approach the wolf.

_____

There might be some grammatical mistakes in this chapter, because I didn't have time to check it. Sorry for that!