Motherly Love...

Another 7K words chapter.

7.somethingK to be precise, and this is before I edit it.

So it may be more.

Exactly: (Insert new value)

Anyway, time to see just what the frick happened last chapter.

And will this result in...

Now that I think about it, this may actually result in Philip's very third, 'serious' fight in Eden ever since he fought after leaving the Palace a month ago according to the timeline.

2 months if we go by this world classification.

His second serious fight was against the Insect monster to save Ivia.

Although in those 2 scenarios, Philip had yet to do his all, only against Fabrin did he try his best, but that wasn't a serious fight, that was sparring... Even if Philip suffered extremely grievous wounds at the heavy hands of Fabrin, and even seemingly died a few times.

Will he have a true life-and-death fight for once?

If so, what kind of fight would you like to see?

One in which he overwhelms his enemy, showing his progress.

Or one in which he faces a strong opponent on equal footing?

Perhaps the old classic, a stronger opponent that results in self-growth?

We already determined last small arc in the Academy that Philip's power was around that of a 6th Tier Wizard, and that was before everything that happened here...

So how strong would he be now?

For once, I've started to draw lines in how strong each character is in order to make a baseline for the future.

We already know that there is a big difference between everyone else, and those that went beyond Level 99.

But we have no idea how strong or meaningful this change is.

So I decided to make a line.

That would be 9th Tier.

Long ago when I introduced the Elven Princess Philip saved, I said her guard was a pretty strong Swordsmaster so much so there were only 12 like him.

Each around as strong as the Human King's right hand, the Red Knight.

I decided to make things a bit more clear.

If we were to put them on a line of power, the Red Knight would likely be at the top 3 in terms of power, otherwise, the Humans would be a tad too pitiful.

Albeit, how strong her guard actually is... I would put him at 9th tier nonetheless, but where in it will have to be left for another time.

There are still more layers of power waiting to be unfolded, we know Demi-Gods exist, and why they are so important.

And the gods themselves that wish to descend once more...

And what is that about that strange Machine outside of the world? What is the Judicator?

Well, hopefully, I have enough drugs to go through this...

No, don't do drugs.

(PS: Important!)

Two things.

First, I was thinking of making a Kofi Account if there is anyone willing to help, nothing's done yet, and honestly, I was conflicted if this is even necessary.

Second, I was also thinking about buying a subscription for one of those Ai Art Generators, there is a lot of things going on with them recently, and honestly, seeing some of the art they can make is honestly pretty good.

You know, make use of the P@treon money to actually improve my own working experience... I know right? Crazy...

Just kidding.

Even if I spend 10 dollars a month for 200 tries since that's how some of those Ai work, if I can use 100 of those tries to make one perfect image of a character... Then wouldn't that be worth it already?

I had tried to see if I could buy the bot to add to my Discord, but I have yet to find one such AI that fits my needs.

My dream would be if everyone there could just use the Bot to generate whatever they wished.

Honestly, that is just so my work decreases... Its a bit shameless, but it is what it is.

If one person just gives the AI the right commands to make the perfect image... So who am I to complain?

If you have one in mind, make sure to tell me.

Anyway, enjoy.

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Join my Discord!

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If you wish to support this series, take a look at my P@treon.

//www.p@treon.com/join/AbadomWriter?

And if you are bored, remember to check my other Novels.

(Including the one on my other account, its called: Azimuth: The Elden Throne

You can also find it by searching for my other account: Follower_of_Abadom)

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/Drip…/

/Drip…/

'Droplets of water slowly fell on the cell's ground, creating a small puddle.'

'Philip raised his hand, letting a few of them fall on his hand.'

'The water was cold, bone-chilling...'

'He shook his hand.'

"How comfy." Philip joked as he looked around, sizing up his surroundings

Around 2 meters wide and tall, and about 3 meters deep.

No windows, no airflow, and the air are completely still, so if I breathe too fast this place will get full of Carbon Dioxide... And I'll suffocate.

Hm... Not quite, there is a small entrance beneath the door, it was made to be hidden, but because of the filth, it's completely clogged.

There's barely any space to sleep… Neither there is a toilet for me to use.

What a great place.

'Getting up from his seat, Philip first started by whipping out some of the blood on his lips.'

"They surely didn't hold back."

I had to bite my own tongue in order to bleed, they sure have soft fists for thugs.

'But how did he get here, caged somewhere dark, damp, and dwarven-sized room?'

'Good question…'

"Hum…"

'Philip closed his eyes, touched one of the walls, and also focused his senses…'

"..."

There are 17 more cages like mine laying around this corridor.

Of these 17, at least 8 are occupied.

There are also 2 people in the corridor outside, they aren't really that big of a deal.

Their breathing is irregular, their blood flow is thin, and their steps are disorderly.

Their equipment is subpar, no matter how much I try, I can't see any sort of special equipment or indication they have something hidden.

Grunts, they aren't anything special, at most, 2nd tier warriors of some kind.

Even the first-year students in the Academy started at 3rd tier at the very least, and those were 15 to 16-year-old kids.

How shameful.

/Thud/

'Philip sat down on the dirty ground again, thinking.'

"At least I've gotten inside."

But what to do now?

"First... How about some light?"

'He raised his left hand, half closing it as a small ball of white light formed within, illuminating the room.'

(Image?)

/Fwoosh…/

/Clink!/

'Without much thought, Philip threw the pristine ball of light into the ceiling as if it was a piece of trash.'

'And the poor ball stuck there like glue, working as a small lamp.'

"Guess this still works fine... Unsurprisingly."

Although I was being too pessimistic thinking it was going to fail… It ended up going just fine.

That was to be expected, so far, none of the things I brought from other worlds failed to work...

'Philip opened his Status screen, looking directly at his Skill.'

This Skill of mine... Just how does it work?

Managing to compile such distinct systems, allowing them to work together...

Despite this being one of the most basic applications of Magicka, it still is something...

Out of this world.

'And indeed it was, as Philip had just used Magelight, one of the most basic spells of the school of Alteration, the upgraded form of Candlelight.'

'As the name implies, it's but a simple floating orb that produces light, and has the ability to stick to a surface, nothing much to say.'

'A mere trick some may say, but one very useful nonetheless, one that saved many young magicians money in night oil expenses over the Eras...'

[DING!]

"Hm?"

'The moment he cast the magic, his system was quick to interfere with a notification of its own.'

"... Oh my."

'After he read the notification, he smiled, certainly not expecting this.'

I see why the system slowly fell into disarray, becoming more and more glitchy until it somehow repaired itself...

It was due to these actions of mine.

And although I still don't understand exactly why it suddenly started working again, I appreciate this change.

Still... I'll go over this later once I'm back home, I don't have time for this now.

'Philip's gaze then turned from the system window to the room.'

"It's worse than I thought."

'With a clear source of light now nearby, the room's condition became clear for him to see.'

'It was filthy! Philip even saw a big ass ugly ass spider in the corner, of course, he wasn't surprised, he already knew it was there.'

'So did the spider, the little critter even seemed to understand the great peril it was currently in, so it remained still... So very still...'

'Dirty and lime were prominent on the ground, moss grew on the walls… There were no windows for air to flow, it was almost airtight.'

'Whoever owned this place had no intentions of making it any hospitable for those inside, it was almost like a coffin, and perhaps, it was supposed to be one.'

'The last place you would be before dying.'

'But then again, considering how small this place was, their captives' physical health was sure to be the least of their problems.'

"I've been in worse places."

Although this doesn't make me any happier.

I'm long past my days of being in the mud like this.

To be treated like this... I'll be sure to prepare something in kind.

'Philip then proceeded to cast a few more spells, such as transforming a small rock on the ground onto Marble, and converting a small portion of his blood onto Magicka for him to use.'

'Once those experiments were done, he stopped.'

"Should I push further?"

'Philip thought for a moment.'

I didn't properly test how Magic would fare in this world, opting to postpone it for later… For when the training grounds were renovated.

(Magic based on Magicka obviously)

The very reason I left in this small adventure was because of that.

Since it would be too much to stay in the Manor and practice more.

Although I do like training, especially the feeling I get when I increase my own abilities, I must tread lightly sometimes... Before this drives me into an unhealthy obsession.

It's just a day anyway, and I have an excuse for being away.

And by the time I'm back and the training room is renovated, it wouldn't be too late to test some things...

"... I'll just have to figure it out on the fly." He said as his fingers started to dance in the air

'The air distorted, and purple mist started to form.'

'His fingers moved, weaving the purple cloud of energy into an abstract shape.'

/Sha!/

'The purple cloud flashed, and with it, small shapes started to form on the walls around him…'

'Or better put, they were beyond those walls.'

"With this, I can safely say this school of magic also works fine."

'What he had just used was a more advanced spell, it was called, Detect Life.'

'Through this Spell, Philip confirmed the positions and the outlooks of everyone within a range of 50 meters, and this was him being conservative.'

'He could perfectly see their positions, their gestures...'

"Hm?"

That guy…

'He quickly interrupted his spell, because he saw something rather interesting.'

So people can still react to my Magic, I had an inkling that was going to happen eventually.

'Philip stopped because somewhere in this place, he saw a man that seemingly reacted to his spell.'

'He didn't know how, and the man himself looked rather confused.'

'But that was enough of a cue for him to stop and move on.'

Actually, this hadn't been my first time using this type of Magic in this world.

Previously, I had tried to use Clairvoyance to find my way to my target, but obviously, that didn't work.

Clairvoyance isn't as omnipotent as it was back in the game, showing the way to whatever quest I had marked...

It won't show the way to everything… Much less of things I have no idea of.

More often than not, it's pretty useless, at most useful at helping you find something trivial like your eraser that fell on the ground and disappeared.

Although, its usefulness also varies depending on the skill of the caster.

Clairvoyance can be used to find the way out of a cave, and also to track down harder things like the airflow...

That may be not that useful here considering my normal senses are good enough for that, but back there, a normal Wizard isn't that physically strong.

As for the rest... If you could use it to search for abstract things such as the location of a ruin, this Spell would've already been banned for infringing on the law…

If it was that powerful at finding things, you could've just used it to search for underground mineral veins, or even the key to invade someone's house, or worse things, such as finding criminal evidence on someone.

Although for the Ores... I don't think it would be that hard to actually make a Spell from the ground up for that purpose.

But by then, it wouldn't be Clairvoyance anymore.

Honestly, the cleverest use for this Spell would be to find coins in the Middle of a city, or if you are new to some place, if you have a map in hand, the spell becomes like a GPS.

It's honestly that good at it...

'Despite this, he quickly shook his head.'

"I can check the other Schools of Magic later."

"Now, time to go back to what I was doing..."

That was figuring out what to do with my current situation.

First, it's not like I allowed myself to be punched and dragged in here for nothing.

The reason for that was so I could bypass their defenses... Without causing too much noise.

Despite everything in my arsenal, I have few options if I want to be sneaky.

I could try using Armament, as it is the evolution of the techniques I inherited from the Old Hunters, and the Martial Arts I acquired from Samuel.

Well... Armament is much more than just that, as I evolved all of those at least once before fusing them together... And evolving them again.

But in the end, I have yet to fully measure it against something else, it would be a tad much to fully believe in it before testing it fully...

Although... I'm fully aware that what I'm doing can't be said to be anything else other than reckless...

Regardless, it's not too bad either.

There's also Magic, but I don't really have something that potent...

Invisibility can easily be pierced through, and other forms of removing my presence and tracks can also be spotted.

And the efficacy would depend on how the Magic System of this world interacts with the one I currently use.

Like that dude that felt my Magic...

I'll leave these tests for when I'm back in the Manor, I do have a pretty good Magician there to ask for help...

"As for how I came here..."

After talking to that man and learning of the existence of the 'Dead Cold' Bar, I made my way there to see what I could learn.

Bribes... A few terrible drinks I completely threw away... And good old communication, I came to learn something rather good.

Next to the bar is a hidden fighting ring, one of the many income sources for this gang.

And when I learned how things went in there, I knew what to do.

That being, betting a fuck ton every time and pulling a few strings so the person I betted on won.

And that in itself wasn't hard in the slightest.

After a while, they got pissed off and told me to scram, but when I refused to do so, they dragged me here.

After giving me a 'beating'... But as I said, their punches were so light they were more akin to a massage.

But to keep up the facade, I pulled up a few tricks and bit my lips... Honestly, it was rather hard to bit my own lips.

My Skin is already so hard and my regeneration is so fast the moment I bit myself I healed...

Just like that, their defenses were breached, easy.

They might've thought they took all of my possessions, but those weren't really anything fancy, everything I need is somewhere they'll never be able to access.

But frankly, after coming inside and taking a look at them, I may have overestimated their… Combat power.

No, it doesn't matter anyway, I came here to check things out, not to cause trouble.

So it's of no importance how capable they are, at least for now.

"With everything out of the way..."

Time to check things out.

'Philip got up from the ground once more, it was time to leave.'

"First… I have to take care of the guards."

'So he focused his senses… Outside.'

...

"... Again?"

"... mess down there, those 2 bastards."

'Extremely faint noises echoed in the hallway.'

'Despite his room's sound insulation, Philip could perfectly hear their conversation.'

"Hm?"

'He stopped his hands dead in their tracks.'

What are they talking about?

'Before opening his door, something he could easily do in 20 different ways, he became complied to listen to what those 2 guards had to say and see where their conversation would lead towards.'

'He lost most of the start, but it was never too late to start…'

'Their conversation went on like this:'

"They've been there for the entire day, and the problem is, we can't really do much about them."

"Is it because…?"

"Yes, they've brought some pretty annoying people with them, some of whose we can't really touch right now… Smart rascals."

"We're already at a loss dealing with the Street Palace, if we touch them and cause more trouble with other forces, things won't end well."

"That is true... But it's not like they can touch us either, right?" The other guard asked

"That is true."

"They might've brought some friends, but they aren't powerful enough to make the Boss change his decision."

'The guard then let out a grunt.'

"But the problem is, they just won't rest, when will they give up?"

'The other guard was quick to follow:'

"There is just one thing I don't understand about all of this…"

"Why capture this lady in the first place? Yeah, she did cause some trouble for that boy, but that could've been resolved simply on the spot, I don't see the point in dragging her here…"

"Ah, that? You know how that kid is, he's probably waiting for the opportunity to torture her or something."

'He said that in a pretty casual manner as if it was pretty common...'

'It had definitely happened before, more than once.'

"For now, he's resting in his room, but the moment he's recovered, and those Dwarves helpers leave, if they don't shove off while they have the chance... They'll be done."

"Either that, or the Director will call an end to this mess, after all, he was the one that captured her in the first place."

"All in order to give his son a chance to redeem himself..."

"How do you know so much?"

"I just listen... And I made friends with some people after some drinks..."

"You should do the same, instead of spending everything you have on that shithole."

"If you want to make more, then you ought to learn how to spend..."

"Anyway..."

"If the boy can't work around it, you know the Director's personality, he'll likely just end it right there, kill her on the spot, and be done with this, saying he has other things to worry about instead of carrying for his son's mistakes."

"Yeah… That does sound like him… How unlucky of them."

'The other guard looked left and right before pointing at the other guard's chest with a frown.'

"Don't say that, if someone hears you, they may start questioning your resolve."

"And I won't be there to say otherwise."

'The second guard was a bit stunned.'

"I-I never said anything…"

'From there, the two guards just started to talk about other nonsensical things, including even him and what they planned to do with him.'

'Philip did listen for a little longer, but their conversation was eventually brought to a sudden halt when 2 other guards entered the corridor to do a shift change.'

'And that was the end of this.'

"..."

"Two people causing trouble? Now that seems like the kind of thing I'm looking for." Philip said with a smile

'His expression soon soured.'

Although... Who do those guys think they are?

Planning so many things for me, but without my consent...

/Pop!/

"Hm? That was fast."

'With a small pop, the Magelight vanished, casting his room onto darkness again.'

"Was I too conservative? It barely lasted a minute and a half."

(You sure are weak... Mine can last an hour!)

But this is good, I was about to dispel it anyway.

Since it's way over the time to leave.

'With a basic plan forming on his mind, his hand touched the metallic door…'

/Shine…/

'Orange light shone on his palm as he played with magical powers, infusing them onto the door…'

/Click…/

'The faint sound of metal clicking was heard not so long after.'

/Crunk!/

'Philip pushed the door, and it creaked heavily…'

"Huh?!"

"Why's the door opening?!"

'The guards immediately reacted, but they only saw the door opening slightly…'

'Right at the next moment, darkness.'

...

"Escape part 1, complete." Philip mumbled as he held the two guard's faces, one in each hand

/THUD.../

'He threw their bodies to the side before casting another spell…'

"Urg…"

"Stiff…"

'The two guards rose from the ground, but their eyes were a bit out of focus, their posture a bit more lackluster… Like dolls being pulled by strings.'

"Just stay there for now." He said as he gave them a quick glance

'He then took a pensive stance, with one hand on his chin.'

Since I want to take a look around, it would be proper of me to make sure no alarms are rung as I move.

I want no surprises.

/Crack…/

'Philip cracked his fingers, looking around…'

"You there?"

/Fwoosh…/

'A dark shadow jumped from the ground with immense speed, clinging to his pants before turning into a pocket watch.'

"I've been waiting for a while, took you long enough, this place is super dirty." Laplabe replied with some displeasure

'It was the mimic, of course, previously taken by someone else when the guards captured him.'

'Apart from him, Philip had nothing of value on his body apart from a small pouch with some documents and money, it was part of his... "Costume".'

'His other items were inside the Golden Orb, but that wasn't easy to be found, much less if Philip wanted it to remain hidden.'

'Of course, despite acting so carefree, Philip only had one copy of those documents, and he wanted very much to have them back.'

"Sorry about that."

'After apologizing with an awkward smile, Philip vanished from sight, leaving a faint gray mist behind...'

/Shaa.../

'And not so long after, the mist dissipated.'

…

/At the same time, back at the Manor…/

"Processing... 12 incongruencies found."

"Miss, please redo the drawing."

/Thud.../

"Huh? What did I do wrong this time?" Viera asked in confusion and visible frustration as she looked at the magical lights floating around her

'In front of her was the handy Multi Toll, projecting a large hologram screen full of different things...'

'From a drawing board with many colorful runes in it to several books open at the same time, allowing Viera to source from each of them at the same time…'

"You drew 'Kh' wrong, please refer to the source material." MT replied in its mechanical voice

'As it said that, the books in the hologram shifted, and a large rune was displayed in it, with many texts near it going into full detail about the nature and specifics of this character.'

"I… I did?"

It's the 13th time I've made a mistake...

'She read the book again and compared, and she then realized her mistake.'

"Urg! This is so frustrating."

6th Class Magic is that more complex.

Even though I spent the last few hours learning how to use MT, it still took me an hour, even with its help to simply draw the glyphs required…

And this isn't even an active Spell, it's just an outline.

If it's like this… It'll take me a week to learn even a single Spell.

But even that is fast… I shouldn't be complaining at all.

During my entire time in the Academy, I only managed to master 2, 6th Class Spells, and even so, they were almost impossible for me to cast...

Of course, at that time I was 5th Class, so being able to utilize magic above my current self was already good enough for me.

If I am to compare the speed before and after...

As my understanding of this wonderful… Machine… Deepens, my studies will improve as well.

Previously, it took me around 2.5 years to gather enough of an understanding to advance from 5th Class to the 6th, and most of that time was spent beside master.

She helped me stabilize my Circle, appeared at the end to help me solidify everything and advance, and even helped me solidify the 6th circle as well.

I wonder how long it'll take now… I have a feeling it won't take that long at all.

Although it feels far-fetched to think it would take less time... Because wouldn't that mean I would become an Archmage before 20?

(She's around 17, her age will become clearer soon)

'When she thought about that, she suddenly shivered... Archmage Viera... 20 years old...'

"Miss Viera, please focus, I've detected severe fluctuations in your attention."

"Ah! Apologies I'll resume it right away."

"Understood."

"But upon the conclusion of this exercise, you should take some time to relax and calm your mind."

'The hologram changed once more, this time, displaying many activities from taking a nap to just swimming before showing a brain...'

"Taking a time off can improve learning efficiency, making it easier for the brain to absorb knowledge as doing something forcefully leads to bad memorization."

"Even if what you're doing is something that entertains you, rest is of utmost importance."

"Considering the time, it wouldn't be a bad idea to end the day with a shower prior to a light lunch before sleeping."

"I… Sure!" She said eagerly

'She looked at the upper corner of the hologram, seeing a small clock ticking.'

It's getting late… 11 Pm already.

"Where is that guy?" She mumbled to herself as she looked outside

"Processing..."

"From the data within me, there's a high likelihood master Philip is 'causing trouble'."

"..."

'Viera let out a sigh, resting her head on her hands as she looked at the window.'

You think so too MT?

'With a dry chuckle, Viera turned her focus back onto the floating runes around her.'

'She was determined to finish this today.'

(You think MT should have a better name?)

…

/Back underground…/

/Fondle…/

/Flip flip…/

"Hum…"

'Sitting atop a chair inside a decorated room, Philip patiently read a stack of papers in his hands.'

'It was a report regarding their most recent incident, how it happened, why it happened, and what would happen afterward.'

'The truth revealed with utmost detail.'

"MHM!"

'Besides his chair was a man with his mouth gagged, trembling non-stop, not in fear, but anger.'

/SMACK!/

'To his display of silent displeasure, Philip kicked his face without moving from his seat, making a few teeth fly...'

"I told you to shut it."

Regardless...

'Philip raised an eyebrow at the report.'

"For all of their brutality, these thugs are quite thorough with their reports."

Everything from time, location, clothes, and even what they said to each other is here, including even some bystanders' perspectives.

I do question the necessity of such details, but the more the better.

You can't complain of there being something missing if you do need it later.

But the reason for this is more or less clear.

Since this is a matter related to the son of the Manager Director, it came to my mind that they've taken deeper measures to make sure all variables are accounted for.

'His expression sharpened greatly.'

However, what's this?

'He held the papers with some frustration.'

From how this is organized, it gives me the impression that this "encounter" wasn't merely accidental.

More organized... Expected... Planned for.

As if they had some sort of prior knowledge these things would happen.

It's simple... Here...

"Alicred arrived at the auction half an hour prior to him being beaten up, but he stood outside of it, waiting."

It doesn't say that he was there waiting exactly, but the lack of details regarding this is suspicious.

What could he be doing if not 'nothing'.

He was waiting of course, and hidden from sight.

So this raises the next question: Why was he waiting to meet with the mother and son pair?

What did they do to gather the attention of this criminal organization?

Why are they special?

Of course, I'm not taking pity on them, I'm just a tad curious about this mess.

It could've been a coincidence.

Alicred could've been waiting for someone else, but something bothered him, and he decided to cause trouble for the mother and son pair that were returning from the auction for some reason...

But in these papers, there's nothing explaining that, Alicred's reasons for being there?

None. Nada.

Also... What's this with the guy that wrote this report?

Why was he there?... It's obvious already, he was waiting for something to happen and to write a report.

But why?... Why were they being so through with something that was nothing more than a bratty kid's whimsical desires at first glance?

Well... Because this isn't that.

Of course, I do believe this was nothing more than Alicred causing trouble.

But what if he was compelled to cause trouble there?...

What if he was inclined to pick on that mother-and-son pair?

If so, by whom?

"Heh..."

"I guess there is a reason why Sherlock Holmes was so popular..."

Investigating can be interesting.

'He flipped the pages, seeing a small portfolio with an image.'

'A young boy, no beard, trimmed hair, and his eyes were soft.'

"Now that I think about it..."

Aren't these people all... Dwarves?

Hum...

"Gert Junior Jas Zu..."

"Uh... Dwarven names..."

"27 years old male Dwarf, nothing outstanding about him, not strong, not weak either."

"He's very young for Dwarven standards, the equivalent of a 14-year-old Human at best, but of course, that would be a pretty insulting comparison."

Even if he's comparable to a 14-year-old, he still has lived for 27 years... And he looks like one too.

At least it's not like some High Elves that live for a few decades and still look and act like children... They live very long, but they take just as long to mature.

'He continued to read the paper, but at this introduction, there was a lot of useless info, so he just brushed past it quickly, turning the page.'

"Works at… Hm? Assisting his father in… His research labora… Tory?"

'Philip suddenly became very interested in this.'

"Next, his mother."

'He took a look at her profile image.'

'The first thing he thought was, rough.'

'She was tall and rather muscular, nothing absurd, but still pretty chiseled.'

'Her hair was tied, making her seem even more imposing and mature, and she had a scar running on her right arm, it was a pretty bizarre one as it was spiral in shape, going all the way to her hand.'

"Palimo Zu, guess this is where his surname comes from."

"82-year-old Middle-aged Dwarven woman..."

"82?? Sheeesh, Dwarven woman sure age well..."

/Cough.../

"Veteran Mercenary, retired after a severe injury in her right arm..."

"I can see that, if despite all of the ways this world has to heal a scar, she still kept it, that thing must've been pretty serious."

"She settled down and eventually met her current husband, that was over 35 years ago, so they met around their mid to late 40s? Well... From their standards, that's like 2 young adults in their early 20s meeting..."

"They've moved to this city about 20 years ago when their son was really small, that was also about the time her husband started his own research on…"

"Ancient Dwarven Artifacts… Huh…"

Pretty interesting, but honestly, many in here study Ancient Dwarven technology, most are Dwarves, which is one of the many problems I'm faced with.

"It's not like this is some high-end job, but it's definitely worth the competition."

"The ancient Dwarves weren't exactly ahead of their times in magic, but they sure were way ahead in regards to MagiTech."

While most people used Magic as an answer to most of their problems, the Dwarves chose a path similar to the one humans on Earth took, albeit, of course, they still made use of the many mystical forces that habit this weird planet.

And the reason their technology still is the most advanced today is mostly that this area of study isn't that valued and explored, even though it's slowly rising in popularity.

One thing though, the Dwarves of today are in no way comparable to the Dwarves of the past, they took quite the hit on during their crisis...

And they do put quite a lot of effort into recovering and understanding their past traditions.

Since, the Dwarves of today came from the Dwarves of the past, and although their Empire has fallen, scattering into Tribes, each tribe would be very keen in understanding their own past in order to solidify their authority and right to rule.

For example, what if one of the Tribes found out their leaders were descendants of the Dwarven Royalty? Even if it matters little now, it could certainly add to their prestige and honor.

"Let's see the rest..."

"Her rank as a Mercenary was about the same as the Purple-Gold Adventurer Rank, which would place her about the Level of an ordinary Tier-5 Magician."

Pretty much, she is a pretty decent Mercenary.

Because of the way I came to this world, interacting only with the high society, my views became a bit distorted.

If you were to divide those in power, probably 70% of everyone is beneath Tier 3.

"How precise this is… Now that's another question entirely."

Tier 5...

That was her before she got injured, she could've gotten weaker not only due to that but also due to time.

/Flip flip…/

Aside from that, nothing important comes to my eyes apart from her going into the ruins every once in a while to make some extra money and to make sure her skills didn't rust into oblivion.

Given the fact she took down Alicred and his guards, she definitely did not rust at all as one of his guards is an Ex Mercenary about the same rank as her.

There isn't anything on him though... So I can't really compare their accomplishments...

"As for the father…"

'Philip flipped the pages into what would likely be the climax of this small investigation.'

"Hm…?"

'His eyes stopped on a single line, finding it rather funny before he brushed it off…'

"Huh?"

'Then, he found it rather odd...'

"Wait a minute…"

'Then he re-read the whole thing at once!'

/Slap.../

'He put his hand on his face, looking at the ceiling with a stupid expression.'

"... Haa... Haha..."

'And then, he smiled widely, showing his full teeth.'

…

/A little while later…/

'After he finished reading, he crouched down on the ground, touching the head of the unconscious man he threw on the side.'

"I need you to wake up… You have a great task…"

Also... Have your teeth back, just in case.

"This will hurt a little though... Not like you can reply..."

'With a devilish smile, he jolted the man awake.'

…

/Back at the cells…/

/CRUNK!/

'Philip closed the metal door, controlling the 2 thugs outside to lock it for him.'

'And he made sure to pull it with strength so it made some noise!'

…

/Tremble…/

"Hm?"

'In the room next to his, a woman opened her eyes tiredly.'

'It took her most of her strength to do so, to the point that if it wasn't for that sound, she would've likely fallen prey to her weakness, falling into a never-ending spiral of trying to keep herself awake, and losing her energy in the process.'

'Because each minute that passed, she felt her strength being drained away…'

'It didn't help she hadn't eaten anything in the past 24 hours… Or… Better not talk about it.'

Did they throw someone in the cell next to mine?

Bastards, just what are they doing?...

"Urg…"

I can't move my toes anymore, my legs feel like they're chained.

Just what did they feed me?

I can't sleep… Not now.

My family is out there, and they'll come eventually.

I need to be… Ready.

'She closed her eyes.'

/Chatter… Chatter…/

"Huh?"

'She suddenly started hearing sounds coming from outside…'

I thought I had gotten too dull to hear what was going on outside anymore…

'Because of her weakness and lack of focus, she had long stopped hearing the sounds coming from the outside, no matter how much she tried.'

'But it seemed she wasn't that rusty!'

'So she tried her best to move closer to the door, resting her head on it as she tried to listen…'

…

/A minute or two later…/

/Smack…/

"D-Dammit…"

They're planning to…

I can't let them!

'However, reality was cruel.'

'No matter how much she tried to move, her body could barely stand.'

'Trying would just be a waste of the little energy she had left, and if she were to collapse now, the worst possibility would happen...'

'Because there would be a pretty high possibility she wouldn't see them again upon waking up.'

'If she even had the opportunity for doing so that is…'

"What to do…"

'Slowly drowning in sorrow and helplessness, she tried her best to think of a solution…'

'Until her eyes fell onto the wall.'

'That's right...'

'If she couldn't do so on her own… Then perhaps someone else could in her stead?'

'It was a gamble, likely the biggest she ever did, but right now, if she didn't move, there would be no way she would be getting out of here intact.'

'If she didn't move, nothing would change.'

/Thud…/

"Haa… Shh… It…"

'Breathing heavily, she finally managed to move her body to the wall.'

Now what? Think…

'She thought and thought, but the only part in her body that still had energy was…'

'Was… Her neck…'

"!"

Just what am I thinking…

/SMACK!/

/Crack…/

'She hit her head against the wall with unwavering eyes! Making a small dent in it.'

'She had a silly smile on her face as her hair fell on her bloodied face.'

/SMACK!/

/Crack…/

/Smack!/

'Again and again, she hit her head against the stony hard wall.'

'But it wasn't like she was made of metal, it was clear, she was in pain… Very much so.'

'Hot blood flowed down from the back of her head, and it seemed like she could get a concussion at any time…'

'However, the determination to continue took over her, she had to return, she needed help.'

'She wasn't willing to let her family die… At least not as long as she was alive.'

'When she had no other choice, betting on someone else became her only choice.'

'Regardless, even if she failed, she would only be reaching the other side first...'

/Fwoosh!/

"That's enough." A voice echoed from behind her

"...?"

'She barely had time to say anything before something soft enveloped her head.'

'It gave her a warm feeling… It was better than the fluffiest pillow she ever had.'

'But she wouldn't be there to experience it.'

"Hm?"

'Because the moment Philip caught her head, Palimo fell unconscious.'

'Leaving him there, speechless, from the other side of the wall.'

'He had been watching her movements from the start... As for her hearing the guards talking... That had also been planned by him.'

'Their entire conversation was naught but a stage he set for them to perform in...'

'Albeit… Her actions were beyond his predictions.'

"How brutal."

'Those were the only words Philip uttered as he used his left hand to make the wall between their cells fully crumble to dust.'

'He never really touched her, instead, he kept observing her through a mix of Magic and his senses...'

/Crack.../

'And as the wall crumbled into ash, her current status was revealed to him.'

'It was that of a terribly mistreated woman, with her head shinning in faint golden light.'

Hopefully, this will be enough for now.

Rest easy, we still have some time.

Once you're up though…

'Philip smiled.'

…

/The minutes passed.../

"Mmnn…"

'And Palimo opened her eyes tiredly.'

'But to her utmost surprise, she wasn't in pain, nor was her body tired.'

'On the contrary, she felt well rested, brimming with energy.'

"You're up…"

/SMACK!/

'The moment Philip spoke, she grabbed a stone on the ground and threw it behind her!'

'But of course, Philip easily grabbed the stone.'

'Even though her eyes were a bit used to it, due to the darkness, Palimo had difficulty discerning Philip's image with detail.'

'She could only barely see his outline… And a pair of eerie blue eyes staring at her from the corner.'

"What a way to greet the one that saved you."

"Saved… Me?" She asked, touching her arms and legs

'Albeit her gaze never left him, she didn't trust him yet.'

'Nevertheless, as time passed, she understood very well he was responsible for helping her, as she knew very well the state her body had been at.'

'It also made her a bit embarrassed, since despite her savior not saying anything, she knew very well her current state...'

'She had been trapped here for a day... And not even for a moment had she left...'

"Thank you."

'After understanding what had happened, she thanked him without much hesitation.'

'Philip smiled.'

"How long..."

"Around an hour."

"!"

An hour!

"Also, no worries, you were in a pretty bad state… All I did was close up some of your wounds."

"Had you slept before meeting me, you wouldn't have awakened."

"..."

'She didn't say much, she had some suspicious, but now it was confirmed.'

"In any case, nothing will happen if we stay here staring at each other."

"I agree." She replied

"Still… What should we do?"

I have no time to ask who he is or what he wants...

I need to leave this place! I've slept long enough!

My strength has returned, but if I were to...

'She was thinking very hard, but no matter how much she did, she couldn't figure out what to do next.'

'Now that she was mostly recovered, fleeing wouldn't be a problem, these walls weren't solid enough to stop her from leaving, she was only trapped previously due to her extreme state of weakness.'

'But that would create a commotion.'

'The main reason she surrendered herself was that she understood the fact that, had she resisted, the chance of the Conjunction counterattacking with a greater force was night inevitable.'

'She could only see one possible way to survive this… Escaping and bringing her family as far away from this place as they could.'

'This would definitely make them enemies and in a sense, criminals, since her husband had a contract to stick to…'

'But was that worthy their current situation?'

'If she can't trust their employers to protect them, then what worth was there in continuing to work with them?'

'From her perspective, she was 90% sure her current situation wasn't a product of chance, but one pre-planned beforehand.'

'And she blamed herself for biting such an obvious bait… But was she supposed to let those thugs beat up her son?'

'Perhaps even if she left, not retaliating, they would've just created another excuse, and everything would repeat...'

'Or had she not bought the material for her husband, then he would've been unable to finish his project on time, and the contract would've been breached, creating a whole other heap of trouble.'

'That may be a bit extreme, but her husband was already late due to the constant mishaps from the investors due to their own agendas.'

'If only she could remove them all from the situation altogether, then perhaps, they could return to their normal lives…'

'But she shook her head, there was no way that was possible.'

Money… How much money can we pull together?

How should we leave the city?...

What about…

'So many things to do and think about…'

'But so little time to act.'

"I can hear you thinking from here." Philip proclaimed

"Uh? I'm…"

'But she stopped, no point in telling a stranger what she was going to do.'

"Do you have a plan?" She asked

"Do you?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a no."

'Philip raised his hand, creating a Magelight, having it stick to the ceiling.'

"!"

'The sudden brightness startled her, making her squint her eyes.'

"...?"

'It had been an entire day since she saw light after all…'

'But after she got used to it, she looked at Philip, surprise written on her face.'

"What is it?"

'Philip was wearing his traditional hunter clothes, his pointy and trusty hat on top of his head, and the black leathery bandana covering his face.'

'When did he change?...'

'She didn't really know why, but Palimo felt the urge to make some distance from him.'

'But she couldn't…'

'However, she understood... This guy meant business.'

'That was what her senses living as a mercenary for close to 3 decades told her.'

"Don't worry miss, I don't bite."

"So instead of worrying about me, you should be worrying about how to leave this place."

"!... You're right."

'But as she looked at her empty hands, frustration overtook her.'

'Seeing this, Philip said:'

"You seem very eager to leave."

"I…"

"No… I don't care." Philip replied bluntly

"..."

"Instead, how about we strike a deal?"

"A… Deal?"

"Yes."

"We are in equally shitty positions, so why don't we cooperate?"

"... How? There isn't really much I can offer…"

I'm nothing but a piss-stained old woman now...

How awful, at least they aren't here to see my current state.

'Philip smiled beneath the mask.'

"I came here with a simple objective…"

"But you got my attention first you see." He said with some amusement as he pointed at the wall

"You're quite tough, and your strength is enough."

"So I'm giving you an opportunity."

'Philip raised his right hand…'

/CLANG!/

'Several metallic weapons fell on the ground between them from seemingly nowhere.'

"Why don't we…"

"Just deal with them the old-fashioned way?"

'She swore she saw faint blue flames come from his eyes…'

"What do you say?"

…

.

.

.

Notes

Chapter end.

This chapter is too big already, so please, no complaining about cliffhanging...

I think that at most, there'll be two to four more chapters on this subject before Philip returns to his Manor, and then, there'll likely be a large time skip, jumping to the end of his 4-month stay in this city.

It can change of course, but my goal was to have this arc pretty much be half resolved before making a time skip and ending it.

I'll likely show a few more POVs after the time skip, showing what others did or are doing.

And I also had some ideas for things he could do during the time skip as side activities or after on his way back to the Palace.

It feels weird to say this, but we are actually approaching the end of this Volume.

The second Volume of this series, how interesting.

In any case, this is my stop.

Bye~!

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