Mayapur Incident

"Hah! Your words have no sincerity. RED DRAGON UNSUMMON."

Dragon disappears and its aura envelops the boy. Boy clutches his hands and the aura gets back to normal.

Muscleman approaches cautiously.

"Who are you? I thought..."

Boy cut him and said, " Oh! Has the dungeon not been cleared yet? I don't see any changes though."

A Muscleman who was afraid a moment ago calmed down and also plunged into the thought that they were there for a dungeon raid.

As the boy looked weak to him before, now the situation has turned the opposite.

At that same time, signs showing the dungeon being cleared started to show.

Zero's system again nagged him,

"DUNGEON CLEARED."

"You're sometimes late too huh!" Zero spoke out loud to the system which startled the Muscleman.

He gulped as looked at the boy.

"Zero! My name is Zero. What's yours?"

Zero folded his hands and turned back to Muscleman who was following back behind him with the luggage which were supposed to be used for clearing the dungeon.

"Huh! Ah! My name is Baali." He gulped as he answered.

"Baali, huh! By the way, I don't understand the language around here. But the language you use seems to be like mine. Where did you learn my tongue?"

"That... I know a few languages from different worlds and yours was which I learned especially for something and couldn't get a chance to do."

Zero looks at his physique and smiles.

"It suits you."

And both exit the dungeon.

After settling the dungeon spoils which Zero carried in his dimensional bag, they arrive at the inn.

"How do you want to divide the money?" Baali asked.

"How you say?...equally"

Zero's reply makes him think and speaks no word.

"What happened? And please help with selling mine too."

"Sure!"

"I was thinking about something for a while." Baali seemed like he wanted to ask Zero something.

"I am not strong just extremely and stupidly lucky." Zero replied without Baali asking him.

...

TWO HOURS LATER

'knock!'

'knock!'

"Come in!"

Baali throws a large bag of coins towards Zero and Zero puts it directly into his dimensional bag.

"I want you to teach me."

Kneeling down putting head on the floor, with loud voice and very sincerely, Baali shouts,

"Please be my mentor."

This was something new for Zero, who experienced all sorts of things in those nine years.

"Hmmm! Why should I?"

Baali had no answer and just stayed as he was.

"Well. Frankly speaking I have nothing I can teach you about."

Baali looks up to the boy and says, "Ummm But please can I tag along with you. You know you don't have any means to talk around here and with me besides it might help you a lot too."

Baali's futile attempts looked as if a lover begging to his partner.

"Okay! But there will be problems....."

As Zero was not even finished saying, a large portal appeared and sucked them both into another world.

"MAYAPUR!!!"

Baali shouted out loud. As if he knew the place in front of or the world they were thrown into this time.

"Well now I have something to ask you?"

Baali looks at the boy but suddenly lowers his head.

"This is the birthplace of mine and my brother. Just like the portal before, my brother and I were sucked in but got to different places. And one day I got a hand on mage's handbook and tried going back to my homeland but failed and got dragged into the wasteland where we met. After searching for more than 30 years I couldn't get any information to return back. I was ready to give up but when the white-blue light engulfed you before in the dungeon, I felt the same feeling as back then when we brother's were sucked into it..."

"So you knew the light back then... Hmmm It is kinda interesting."

Zero now has a clue to the system.

"You know that white light is what I travel between the worlds, more specifically to be said, I get dragged around. When I inquired about it, I couldn't get any info too but It may get solved with you."

Baali looked at Zero as he was having a monologue too.

"Let's go to where your house was then.."

Zero walked across the vast grassland in front of them. Fresh air and greenery, was nostalgia for Zero and Baali.

Taking in a full breath, both dashed towards the city, in the sight far away.

....

AT THE CITY GATE

"Stop! Who are you? What is your purpose for visiting here?"

Gatekeeper stopped them.

Baali looked taken aback. This whole Mayapur kingdom and the city ahead were supposed to be free to enter and peaceful land but those gatekeepers acted out of his knowledge.

"We want to visit the city as we came from afar and here there are our relatives."

Gatekeepers' looked at each other and laughed.

"What? Relatives? How can you say such things?"

Gatekeeper's were intensely looking at their physique and especially to Zero. His appearance was out of place.

Zero couldn't understand and looked at Baali.

Baali spoke as he knew who and what Zero was to some extent,

"He is a friend of mine. I have my friend to visit here."

Looking at Baali's stature, gatekeepers asked for identities.

"Identities? Show your affiliations."

"Identity? What do you mean?" Baali spoke unknown about the current situation of the kingdom.

"Like this." Gatekeeper showed them a card with some names and flags on them.

"We don't have one."

"Then we can't allow you to pass. Please go back."

"What's happening?"

A similar statured person arrived there with armour and sword in his hands.

Gatekeeper looked back and immediately bowed down.

"They want to enter the city but have no identities on them."

"Who are you people?" As that senior person asked, Baali turned back and looked at him.

"BAALI!!!"

"Oh! You know me?" Baali didn't recognize him but he did.

"I am Benard. Vice-commander of this city's army."

"How do you know me?" Baali was cautious.

"Don't be alert. I have heard about you alot." Benard welcomed me with a gentle smile.

"And....?"

"I am just a traveller and his companion." Zero spoke as Benard tried asking his affiliations.

"Traveller...? Well let's go inside and talk over the tea." Benard was as cautious as he could be and led them inside.

"Okay."