Chapter 21: Choices

"This… is going to be fun."

As his whisper escaped his lips, a thrill surged through—pulsing straight into Julian's veins, causing a grin to stretch on his face.

"He…hehehe…" His heart raced as the blood dripped from his sword, a euphoric haze completely clouding his thoughts.

"He… he killed Dirk!?"

"Isn't Dirk level 12?!"

And while Julian was experiencing some sort of… climax, the usual arrogance of the soldiers from the Order of Artemis slowly shattered. They hesitated, and the only thing they could really do was look at each other with wide, fearful eyes.

Their leader, Dirk, had fallen. Although a level 12 was considered to still be in the lowest tier of soldiers, Dirk had a class that granted him extra strength—he shouldn't have been defeated by someone like Julian. But of course, Julian had no idea about that at all.

Was this stranger in front of them… actually been hiding his strength the entire time?

"Should… should we run?"

"There's only one of him! We can do it if we all attack together!"

"But he killed Dirk!"

"Look at him! I'm sure he is in his last HP!"

Julian barely heard them as they squabbled amongst themselves. His mind, drowning in the weight of his sword—It… felt alive.

"Let's just—"

"Let's just kill each other." And before the soldiers could gather their resolve, Julian lunged at them; the smile on his face even more maniacal than before.

"W…what the!?"

"He's coming!"

They tried to react, raising their swords and shields, but Julian was too fast. His strikes came with precision, like a butcher carving meat—his steps and form may be lacking, but the strength behind them was truly nothing to scoff at—this was the swing of someone who had spent his entire life surrounded by nothing but violent metal.

And with just that, fear turned to chaos.

"R…Run! We're no match for him!"

"We need to report this to the Church!"

The soldiers screamed, some dropping their weapons to flee.

"No! Stand your ground! This kind of Evil Spirit should not walk through our lands!" Others charging in desperation… but it didn't matter.

Julian danced among them, his blade cutting through them one by one. In truth, they might have had a chance—after all, aside from Julian's abnormal reflexes and senses, all of them were at the same level.

Julian's actual lack of battle experience would also start to show if they just continued to bombard him. The only reason he even won against Dirk was because Dirk was already looking down on him—with his current stats, he would not be able to defeat Dirk if he wasn't caught off-guard.

"Wait… wait… we should run!" But alas, none of them were thinking about that as all of them were now running away.

As the last few soldiers turned to run, Julian paused. His breathing heavy, he watched their clumsy retreating forms.

"Should… I let them go?"

But almost immediately as he said that, a thought crept in—he had already killed a lot of them, if they escaped and they tell the church about him…

…he will be hunted down like a rabid dog.

And so, there's really only one thing left to do here. Before he gets hunted…

"...I will hunt," Julian's grin returned, dark and dangerous. And without hesitation, he rushed toward their retreating, defenseless back. He was like… a demon, swift and relentless, cutting down the fleeing soldiers like they were not people at all.

And Julian… Julian was not even hearing anything anymore; not their dying breaths, not their cries, not their screams… they were all drowned out by the pounding of his heart.

"Last one…" And finally, he caught the last soldier by the neck, slashing his throat from behind—this time, however, a stammering breath escaped Julian's lips; placing his ear close to the man's cheek so he could hear his flesh tore very slowly.

He dropped the body on the ground like trash—and soon. The battlefield was silent now, save for the whisper of the wind through the trees.

"This…" Julian stared at the bodies surrounding him. He then very gently dropped his sword on the ground, the complete opposite of what he did to the body.

And with the weight of the sword gone from his hands, they began shaking slightly as he wiped the blood from his face. The thrill was gone, replaced by the unsettling realization of his actions.

"They… they would have killed me," Julian repeated to himself; his mind, trying to justify his actions—and they are. He truly was only trying to protect himself.

But still, Julian remained like that—still as his thoughts turned into chaos. After a while, however, he let out a long and very deep breath.

"They would have killed me." He was justified.

And soon, his gaze shifted to the road ahead—according to the twins, if they just follow this this road, they would reach Ethaca in a few hours. Should he just take the carriage and leave? But could he even control the horses?

"!!!" Before he could decide, a rustling sound came from behind. Julian quickly turned around thinking there might be more of them... only to find the twins calmly dragging the bodies of the soldiers and hiding them behind the nearby bushes.

"What the…" Julian's eyes narrowed as he watched the twins. Their movements were calm, efficient, as if they did not just suddenly disappear and left Julian to fend for himself.

"Oh?" And when they noticed him watching, they both raised their thumbs in unison.

"Good job, Julian Winters," they said, voices eerily synchronized.

"Where… did you even go?" Julian hummed, unsure of exactly how to respond.

"You have to understand…" Edward began.

"...If our clones die here, we also lose our jobs at Humanity Engineering," Jacob finished.

"Forever." "Forever."

"We have more at stake," they said in unison, as if that excused their disappearance.

"And… what if I died?" Julian sighed heavily.

The twins exchanged a glance, their faces blank.

"We've never seen a newbie fight like you. Are you sure you're only level 3?" Edward asked.

"You're not some kind of higher-up checking in on us, are you?" Jacob tilted his head, studying Julian, "If so, we apologize for leaving."

"No. I'm not," Julian rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, "Just… let's just move on. What do we do now?"

The twins just once again looked at each other, their blank expressions making it impossible to tell what they were thinking.

"I'll drive the carriage," Jacob finally said.

"Wait…" And finally Julian shifted his gaze, and amidst the soldiers he had slain, was Marcus—his head severed, the body now cold and lifeless, "...We can't just leave him like this. Please help me at least give him a proper burial."

"Bury him?" For a moment, the twins just stood there, their blank expressions unreadable. But then, they nodded.

Together, they dug a shallow grave by the side of the road, placing Marcus's body inside as gently as they could. It wasn't much, but it was something. As they covered him with dirt, Julian felt a heaviness in his chest. He stood in silence for a moment, staring down at the fresh mound of earth.

He did not really say anything, and soon, they all turned around.

It was time to go back to be on their way to Ethaca.

***

As they approached Ethaca, Julian couldn't help but stare in awe. The city loomed before them, vast and vibrant. People filled the streets, the buildings painted in a kaleidoscope of colors, and the atmosphere was alive with energy.

Kaleidoscope—he has been using that term too much. Well, perhaps for him, everything was still a kaleidoscope.

He had been told that the technology here was primitive compared to Earth, but standing here now, Julian couldn't help but wonder just how different Earth really was. Could it be grander than this?

"What's… that?" His eyes were drawn to a towering structure that stood out from the rest, almost reaching high into the sky.

"That's the Tower of Mana," Jacob said, noticing Julian's curiosity. "Our destination."

Julian nodded, though his focus shifted.

"Where's… the smithy?" he asked, "I'm sure a place like this would have a—"

"You can go once your mana evaluation is done," Edward replied. "Please, just follow us for now."

"You are already lucky I have a healing skill because of my class, Julian Winters," Jacob glanced back at Julian, "If not, you would not be walking at all. Please, just follow us for now."

"O…Okay," Julian stammered, his usual demeanor coming back to him.

As they walked through the city, Julian's hands moved instinctively, as if searching for the cane he no longer carried. It was a hard habit to break, even though he had sight in this world. He glanced around, trying to take in every detail.

But while he was looking around, someone from the crowd was actually also looking at him.

"Is that… Sword Junkie?"

***

"W… woah…." When they arrived at the Tower of Mana, Julian's senses were overwhelmed once again.

"Are those… people floating?" The inside was a chaotic swirl of activity—people and books alike floated through the air, the buzz of conversation filling the space. It was noisy, but there was something about the chaos that made Julian smile.

"Brother, look."

"I see it." The twins, noticing his expression, once again exchanged glances. They couldn't help but compare the Julian who had been grinning as he slaughtered soldiers to the one who now looked like a child seeing magic for the first time.

"Julian Winters, follow us," Edward called, snapping Julian out of his reverie.

"Right," he mumbled, trailing behind them as they ascended to a different floor—almost the complete opposite of the sight that welcomed him back at the entrance. He…

…could almost smell and feel the depression coming from the people as they groveled on the ground.

"Please wait here for a while, Julian." Both Edward and Jacob seemed completely used to this, however, as they just asked Julian to wait near the wall as they walked away. And not even a second after they left…

…the depression materialized itself.

"Why… why don't I have mana!? My parents… my parents spent so much to train me!"

"Grandfather. I… I failed you."

"I spent millions in this fucking game and I don't even have magic!?"

All sorts of colorful words screamed in the air, and Julian could not help but just stare at them; not really knowing what to feel. He then watched as one of the people complaining was suddenly dragged away… by people wearing the uniform of the Order of Artemis.

"Julian, follow us." After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Julian was called again. He followed the twins down a long hallway, their footsteps echoing off the stone walls. At the end of the hall was an intricate door, symbols glowing faintly along its edges.

"This is the Mana Chamber," Edward said, gesturing to the door. "Once you enter, you will face trials."

"A test of resolve," Jacob added. "Or perhaps a test of your deepest fears. It's different for everyone, so we don't know what you'll experience."

"There's no point in explaining further," Edward said. "Just go in."

"And for your information," Jacob continued, "this is where you'll be granted a class, depending on the trial's results. Don't worry. The [Guidance of Artemis] will offer you options."

"A class…?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper, "I feel like we should talk more about—!!!"

Before he could get another word out, one of the twins shoved him through the door.

And almost immediately, the familiar world of darkness welcomed him.

Julian panicked at first, blinking hard as he thought he was blind again—but soon, with another blink, he found himself staring at…

…himself.

He was lying on a bed, the LinkGear still strapped to his head.

…And Ellie crying beside him.

"Ellie.." Julian's heart lurched. He took a step forward, wanting to reach out, to comfort her… but then he heard the sound of metal clanging behind him.

He turned to see another version of himself, standing at a forge, crafting weapons. His face was one of pure satisfaction, a smile of contentment as he hammered the glowing steel.

Suddenly, words appeared before him, floating in the air like a silent command.

[Julian Winters.] Suddenly, words appeared before him, floating in the air like a silent command.

[Choose.]