Chapter 14

Clifford’s brows furrowed, unable to hide the dread creeping into him upon checking his system. The window has been popping up with the same message repeatedly. Especially after arriving in the third town.

It showed, “Warning, entering restricted field. Proceed with caution.”

And then his ‘editor’ and ‘controller’ option ends up blinking, making it impossible to be chosen, leaving him only with the choice for character, as it was the only one unaffected.

A sense of foreboding took over him, understanding that there was a risk if he moved forward. The only consolation was the fact he was going farther from monster infested areas.

He stops upon hearing familiar noises from afar, prompting him to listen in on the exchange that was happening. Curious about what the youths were discussing.

Gathered at the gates, the heroes remain in a circle as they faced one another, still not over the incident that happened a few days ago.

Bad blood seems to have worked its way into them. After the misunderstanding, added the two front-liners remained hostile towards each other, until that day.

“Jack, remember what sir Clifford said?”

Arty pulled onto his friend, stopping him from taking another step. As the guy was not backing away when their other companion approached.

“Yeah, I know, keep my cool on.”

Jack’s smirk twitched, his gaze remaining on the person in front of him. His blood continued to boil, simmering with rage, still not hearing an apology from them.

As both guys battled it out with a staring competition, the other lads remained restraining each of their side, staying in the middle to make sure their friends do not end up clashing.

This lasted until the two thought they’d have enough of looking at each other’s faces, turning the other way to finally avoiding eye contact.

It gave the casters time off, heaving a sigh as they wiped their forehead from the sweat that trickled down their heads.

At last, there was a moment of peace between them, giving the other youths a chance to take a breather and relax.

“I still don’t get it. How’d he see your summoning while all of us were invisible?”

Pedro continued to wonder about that, scratching his head as he remembered the time he got taken.

The feeling of helplessness while floating into the portal, no one hearing him no matter how much he shouted for help, sent shivers down his spine. And the experience of being ignored created this gaping hole within him.

“Maybe he’s got some kind of those third eye things, you know the psychic sense!”

Arty lifted a finger, pointing out that one keen thought he had.

“Yeah! I mean, there are people from our world who are like that.”

Pedro’s face lit up in agreement. Somewhat now understanding the possibility.

Both of them suddenly became cheerful from the fact that the same idea ran through their minds.

“I don’t know. How can we even be sure he’s from our world? What if the dark lord has sent him?”

Marco was keen to set aside such an odd belief, unable to remove the dread he felt recollecting how the man looked at him.

Those gazes told him something, warning him. Just remembering it was enough to put shivers crawl into his skin.

“Then, how can you explain all the stuff which he knows?”

Jack was quick to snap back, now wanting to hear those excuses.

He will not let the guy talk badly about their companion, not after what they tried to do to him. Also, there was no way he was going to forgive them.

“What if it’s some kind of skill, like reading our minds or memory?”

Marco’s expression turned menacing, throwing the same sharp glance.

He was not backing down. Especially since they were only answering the call of those temple monks.

And it was an honest mistake, but, of course, he ain’t gonna admit to that, not wanting to look weak in front of the others.

“Oh, yeah, which explains the stuff he knows that we don’t? Or can there be someone here who is familiar with those old role-playing games?”

Jack rolled his eyes, mimicking the other guy’s mannerism.

The two casters were quick to intervene this time, sensing the tension building up in the air. They were aware that it was not going to end well if this continued.

“I don’t.”

Arty raised a hand, throwing a warm smile

“Me neither.”

Pedro second it, giving the same jolly expression.

Their cheerfulness caused a sudden awkward atmosphere into the argument, causing them to halt from their bickering.

“We can’t all be sure about it.”

Marco sighed, shaking his head why it seems their friends were oblivious to that possibility.

That did not sit well with Jack, ears twitching upon hearing that.

“If you have a problem, you can just go back to your old team. Oh, wait. I forgot you got kicked out.”

He snorts.

“Hey! It wasn’t my fault that they were a bunch of bullies.”

Marco’s face turned red, grinding his teeth upon remembering why they were there in the first place.

“Maybe you guys should tone it down a bit.”

Arty fans a hand at his friend to get his attention, stepping in the middle of their friends, as they were clashing again.

“Yeah, you’ve been at each other’s throats since this morning.”

Pedro immediately joins in, not wanting to leave all the grunt work to his companion.

Yet, even with the both of them pushing the two, it was near impossible, considering their difference in height and strength.

“He started it!”

Jack snarled, baring his gritted teeth at the guy.

“I did not!”

Marco sneered, throwing the same murderous gaze back.

Before they could manage to touch one another, a hand grabs hold of their ears, pulling the quarreling youths away from each other.

They ended up flailing their hands as they whined, but cannot escape the pinch they were in, knowing their skin would get ripped off if they tried.

“Cut it out, you guys. I can hear you from the other street.”

The calm and authoritative voice cause all four to freeze.

Mainly, Marco and Pedro. They both swallowed hard, their insides trembling from the sight of Clifford, who threw a straight and bored gaze at all of them.

He steps in after seeing how the two were no longer restraining themselves, along with noticing the increase in energy around them. As they boy were releasing a fair amount of power on the area.

He did not want a repeat of what happened to the temple a few days ago, remembering the damages their fight had caused.

“Welcome back, sir.”

All three youths were quick to put in their best smiles, along with bowing their heads.

Seems he also had an effect on the newcomer after what had transpired. As the kid showed the same docile demeanor as the others. All except the fighter class boy.

“Where did you go off to this time?”

Marco’s eyes squinted, throwing a wary gaze at the man. Until now, he can’t remove the fear that had ingrained itself inside him.

Of course, Clifford was not going to have any of that, considering he remains the oldest among their group. A part of him wanted to make sure the youngsters remained humble and in check.

“That’s quite the tone you have there. Do I need to explain my every action to you?”

He scoffs, throwing a challenging stare at the lad.

It seems the title of hero was getting into his head, forgetting to respect his elders, which did not sit well with him. As he remembered how the boy acted all high and mighty in front of the clergy before.

Somehow, the kid did not reciprocate, immediately averting his sights from him. This led to a sudden dreary silence between them.

This prompted the others to fill in, raising their hands to gain his attention.

“I’m also curious, sir. You’ve been gone since this morning.”

Arty couldn’t resist himself, as the man had been always disappearing for a set amount of time.

“I just went to check some stuff at the temple’s library. Thankfully, this pass that the clergy gave me works wonders.”

Clifford chuckled, lifting the iron medallion the elder gifted him before they left Barsted. This allowed him to gain access to those buildings without a problem.

“How come you always visit those places whenever we stop, sir?”

Jack cannot help but frown, making him cringe at the thought of going to such sites.

“Knowledge is power, kiddo, or haven’t you ever heard of that quote?”

Clifford couldn’t hide his amusement at them, chuckling as he gave the youth a pat on the head.

And there was no lie to that, as he wanted to understand more about that world, especially the deities that were being worshipped there.

As it boggled him why they chose youngsters to summon, and maybe find out the why he also got thrust along with them.

“Did you manage to learn anything new, sir?”

Pedro’s eyes grew. His stare had this inkling of anticipation as to what was the man studying.

“Nothing much, really. It seems they all have the same types of books. Hopefully, the next one has something more informative.”

Clifford’s shoulders fell, along with his face.

He hadn’t found anything useful during his entire search, even after visiting several of them already. Though he manages to learn a few stuff, it did not answer the main question which plagued his mind.

Their conversation paused, seeing the group of knights approaching. They were quick to notice their number and the unfamiliar faces that were mixed in with the ones they were familiar with.

“Sir Clifford, are you done with your business?”

Malver gave him a bow, smiling as he moved to the man’s side.

As usual, the man wore his beaten down full plated armor, making him stand out among the new group, who were all wearing newer and shinier ones.

“Yes, thank you for waiting for me.”

Clifford also lowered his head in a gesture of respect.

He glances at the well-equipped knights, as they seemed tensed, their posture straight as a tree and they seem like statues standing in place.

He did a quick check on them. All of them were around level forty, ten points lower than Malver’s, and they all boasted the same title.

“Nonsense, sir, it’s the least we can do.”

Malver chuckled, bobbing his head as he turned red from the sheer embarrassment.

“And who are these men?”

Clifford’s gaze shifted to the group, noticing how they were flinching in place, as their sights changed from staring straight and then looking at him. It told him he needed to greet them for the sake of decency and introduction.

The person on the front steps up, giving him a full on salutations.

“Good day, sir otherworlder. I am one of the royal guards of his majesty, Brell Briskworn. By order of the king, we are to escort you back to the castle, along with the heroes.”

The knight tried to sound as stoic as possible, but his voice seem to tremble.

The announcement put a frown on the youth’s faces, as they turned with confusion to one another. Each throwing a meaningful look at each other as if asking for the reason for it.

Even Clifford had the same notion, yet he had a bit of an idea of what it was.

“Of course, it will be an honor.”

He gives them a bow.

He’d rather not have any enemies at that point, as he knew what that can spell for them.

Also, he wanted to meet this so-called ruler. As he remembers, the person was one of the individuals who had the authority to allow the summoning.

He checks his system again. It continued to show the warning message, which did not bode well for him. But then, a part of him wished to gain more insight into things within the place. And his subconscious was telling him the answer might be there.

So, though, he was having the apprehension, losing an important ability in his arsenal. He blatantly put that aside, understanding the importance of this meeting.