In the distance stood the City of Dawn.
Months of travel had passed in a blink. After countless perils and near-death encounters, the son and father duo finally arrived at their destination.
This place could only be described as bustling. There was none of the pompous arrogance Jack had seen in the Holy Theocracy. This place felt…alive!
Colorful banners all over, lots of chatter, the warmth of chimney fire, and people from all walks of life lining up to enter the double iron gates.
Yet….all turned around when Jack and Edgar showed up.
"Jack, this is where our new life starts!!!" The shout full of gusto caught everyone's attention, and skeptical looks were sent their way.
One had to know that there was an incredible clash between that exclamation full of confidence/hope…and their current appearances.
- Greasy hair
- Ashen faces
- Torn clothes
- Crippled father?!
They were shown a wide spectrum of human reactions: pity, amusement, concern, and lots of visible disgust!
Jack couldn't help but laugh inwardly. How would they react if they knew his dad was a big shot in some faraway land? (Or had been)
Before long, there were tons of whispers: "Pfft— What a fool!" "New life beginning? More like, new life begging!…." "As if! The guards will arrest him in no time."
Jack couldn't help but be perplexed… were they all fools?! Couldn't they see at a glance that there was something extraordinary about his father?! He was obviously…never mind.
The man looked like an idiot as he gazed at Dawn City.
"Psst— Dad? What's up?" Jack faintly whispered.
"Son, let me tell you. There's an entrance fee of 4 silvers to enter the gates." Edgar gave him the most heroic look ever. "Not to brag, but we're very broke."
"…."
"But don't worry, I have a plan!"
Under the judging gazes of the bystanders, Edgar walked all the way next to the gate with Jack in tow. He wasn't just walking over…he was actually cutting queue?!
But every time someone was about to complain, a single look from the man was enough to shut them down. A few stern guards even showed up…only to turn straight back!
"This, son, is a General's Aura," Edgar whispered as he winked.
Yet the "Mighty General" didn't hesitate one bit to sit his ass right before the gate (that they were too broke to cross), holding a newly made sign.
| Single Father! Will work for Food and Shelter! |
He then gave the most satisfied look at his son. 'How is it? Impressed?' He was even mischievously smiling at the people from earlier. 'Who said I'll be arrested?'
But then it happened… A Squad Captain showed up!
The man's armor was as sturdy as the martial pressure he emitted. Bystanders drew cold breaths as they saw him, knowing he'd definitely be mighty.
As for how powerful… Jack still had trouble making sense of the power levels in this world. Still, the man's gigantic sword could have easily cut a cow in half!
The atmosphere became tense. Many were already betting on whether the mysterious beggar father would follow the Captain quietly or if there'd be a fight.
The two stared at one another.
From seconds to minutes, time seemed to stop.
But just as the Captain was gathering the courage to 'evict' the freeloader, Edgar confidently spoke first.
"You broke your right leg in three places and haven't been able to exert the same power ever since. Not only that, but you also feel intense pain in your left shoulder every four nights." Edgar's diagnosis came out of bloody nowhere.
All he had done was observe how the man had walked, and it had been enough. This was the ability of a General that had seen more battlefields than years.
Back in the Holy Theocracy, this would have been considered nothing more than a parlor trick, but here….
"H-how did you know?! I never told anyone?! Who are you?! A healer?!" The Captain panicked.
Edgar didn't even bother replying, simply pointing at his sign.
| Single Father! Will work for Food and Shelter! |
"Ah! Wait here. I'll be right back!"
The Captain ran off hurriedly.
To him, this was a golden opportunity! He'd be rewarded if he brought great talent to the City Guard's side! He was now rushing to report to his superior.
But this baffled the bystanders.
That was it?! Cries of distress came out as many lost their bets. Yet this only increased the madness of the spectators, gossip:
"I can't believe he's still here!" "Did he really drive away a Captain while holding a baby?!" "The world's gone insane!" "Tch— Just wait, he'll be out of luck soon!"
Jack couldn't help but be impressed.
Getting in touch with local law enforcement was a surefire way to get access to not only the City, but also information, and backing. This was killing a dozen birds with one stone.
But before this plan could come to fruition, a commotion happened.
"Get out of the way, everyone!"
If Edgar's act of cutting in the queue had been eye-catching, this one was even more so. The craziest carriage had just shown up and was bypassing everyone lining up!
It was the most insane mix of destruction-potential…and willfulness.
On the one hand, the entire structure was reinforced, with sharp blades sticking out in many places, and was dragged by horrendous lightning-clad monstrous horses.
On the other hand, the carriage was pink. Never had Jack seen something that looked so deadly and cute simultaneously!
"W-what the?!"
Jack strained his ear. In recent months, his biggest achievements were learning to use magic to talk…and listen. Now, even the lowest of whispers wouldn't escape him.
This time, the bystanders had so much to say about the newcomers.
"That's the noble Thunder-Raven's family, right?" "They're the only great family that'd flaunt such a silly carriage." "Gasp… don't let the young lady hear you. You know her temper!"
But all voices came to a halt as the carriage stopped before the son and father duo.
The silent atmosphere couldn't have been tenser. Perhaps only Jack watched it all happen with great amusement. What was going to happen now?
A reinforced door was opened, then a slender foot came out, soon followed by a 10-years or so young lady that could only be called cute. Yet her words were as harsh as lightning.
"Humph. You have the gal to beg here? Why shouldn't I smite you right here and then?" She waved a hand, a lightning ball appearing in her grasp.
It crackled with enough energy to easily roast a baby whole!
That's when Edgar used his "General's Aura". Except the opposing lady was far too bravely foolish to back down. The whole "threat" seemed to pass right above her head.
"What's with that glare? Are you constipated or something?"
"…."
Jack saw his father at a complete loss for the first time since his arrival in this new world. A man that had weathered storm after storm…. actually wasn't sure how to react here.
Intimidate the kid? Surely there were better options? Move out of the way? He was still waiting for that one soldier to come back. What should be done?!
"Pfft— Hahahaha!"
Jack erupted in crystalline laughter.
His "innocent" laughter instantly defused the situation.
That's when the young lady gazed at him for the first time.
As her incredibly deep purple eyes met his, he froze. It had only been for an instant, but why did it seem like there was lightning in them?! But then….
[A Certain Thunder Manifestation Is Quivering!]
What the heck was this, and how much trouble would it bring him?! Jack wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. His luck definitely was the worst!
But before he could dwell on it, a flurry of carriages had appeared at the gates. By coincidence or design….it seemed like all the City's powers were coming here.
How much tumult would ensue? So much for a quiet life….
.
.
.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Jack Bright (Classless)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
BODY 0 (STR 0 / AGI 0 / RES 0)
SOUL 38 ( MAGIC 4 / SENSE 16 / WILL 18)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Titles (4)
- PTSD (+Nightmares)
- Holy Goddess' Cursed
- Self-Taught (+Learning Speed)
- Slumbering One (+Rest Efficiency)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Skills (5)
- Danger Sense (S)
- Mana Sharing (F)
- Mana Manipulation (F)
- Senses Enhancement (F) 🆕
- Dormant Obliteration Curse (SSS+)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━