Chapter 34: Chapter 34 : Travelling Together
After finishing the deal with the female beastmen, Arthur stored Lara and Mozu's corpses in his storage as he didn't want to possess them in front of Mary because that was his big secret and only Lucy can know about it.
To be honest, even though Mary said she would guide them, she felt awkward now that she thought about it thoroughly, I mean, she clearly knew they were a couple, heck! Lucy called him 'hubby' earlier, so wouldn't come with them is considered interfering? nevertheless, what was done is done and nothing can change it since she promised to guide them to the Ma Clan, then she would do it.
Arthur made sure to look around and see if there is anything worth taking, but there is none, it seems that principal took all the goods and ran away...
He then turned around and asked Mary
"Since you are going to guide us, how about you tell us where this clan is? I'm quite interested."
Mary was taken aback for a moment before stabilizing her posture and hastily replying
"Err...It's in the Itas continent, as for exact location, it's very difficult to describe, plus there are various magical arrays that distract any invaders, but I know them all, plus a lot of the people there know me, so they will probably welcome us.."
Once Arthur heard her response, he was 2 parts delighted and 3 parts excited, because he loved traveling and discovering this world, and he wanted to go to the eastern continent for a long time now.
It is said that it's a small continent compared to the 3 others, but it has some strong individuals.
It has no official ruler, but everyone knew that the elves were the one in control there and opposing them is like opposing all the other races.
In fact, the elves were a peaceful race and very rarely fought, and many similar races living there also didn't like fighting, such as fairies and spirits.
The continent is one giant forest, but of course, there are some scattered cities, but they were not as big as in the human continent.
One of the most famous cities is Rondo, it is the city located near the world tree, and it's where the Elves mainly live, except some others who are scattered here and there.
As for fairies and spirits, they liked living in forests and enjoy nature, they are rarely seen and aren't hostile against visitors, they would only attack if you invade their terrorism and try to steal or kill someone or something.
....
Very soon, the trio left the office and headed out of the building.
Actually, Arthur didn't want to leave just yet, he wanted to get the library! he really hoped there are some good books left so he can take them.
To be honest, he enjoyed reading, and enjoyed even more discovering new things about this world, it's true he still didn't read all of Zodiak's books as they were a lot, but he still wanted to amass even more and read them in his free time, which he would most certainly have a lot of from now on, because since Mary joined them, he can't transform into lightning and carry her with him, first because they were not soul linked, and even if it was possible he would not do it.
One must know that to do it, he needs to hold her, and he would never touch another woman when he has Lucy, moreover, she is with him so how could he shamelessly touch another woman, so the travel this time would not be fast but not too slow either.
He had the dark cloud and with his speed, it should be fine to travel at fast speed, but he wanted to enjoy travelling more and pass time exploring, in fact, he wasn't very rushed to get to the clan as it would obviously not disappear in a day or two, so it doesn't really hurt to take some time and enjoy his life with Lucy.
There were some holy church soldiers still patrolling not too far away and didn't seem to notice what happened, so Arthur disposed of them in a flash using his lightning form, then he entered the library.
As for Lucy and Mary, they stayed outside to stand guard if anyone came plus Lucy wasn't interested a lot in reading, in fact she hated it, she only read a lot of books in the cave for the sake of Arthur, so now that she is given a choice, she would rather do nothing than reading.
Mary saw how Arthur became lightning and in a split second all those soldiers instantly died, she couldn't even follow him when he was in his original form much less now, she could only mutter some things with a low voice, still not believing what she saw
"S-So fast..., I can't even follow him with my eyes.."
Unfortunately, this did not pass unheard by Lucy, she turned her gaze at the still surprised Mary and proudly said
"Hehe, of course, you can't, no one can beat my hubby now! in a way it's thanks to you hehe"
Lucy seemed so proud as she bragged about Arthur, she indeed said some arrogant words by saying he is unbeatable but Mary knew they were not just some arrogant words, and he is pretty much unbeatable, heck! even Lucy herself became such a terrifying individual, and Mary would shiver every time she remembered that kick of Lucy.
Lucy behavior seemed to suddenly change once Arthur was mentioned, and she continued to talk about how strong he is his magic, etcetera....
Even Mary was dumbfounded when she saw how much Lucy changed in the course of this one year, she never heard her talk in the past, but now she seemed rather talkative, especially when her 'hubby' was mentioned.
....
Once he was in the Library, Arthur looked in excitement, indeed his hopes didn't betray him and the library had some books, in fact, pretty much 40% of the books are still here, as for the others, they were either taken or burned as he noticed there were some black ashes here and there, fights must have occurred there but it was not that much damaged.
Without losing a second, he began rampaging around the library, he stored bookshelf after bookshelf without even seeing the books names, he would do it later, as for now, he would take all.
He didn't care if it was stealing or not, the Academy didn't belong to anyone right now, so it's like he found a treasure and simply took it.
Surprisingly, the area where skill books were supposed to be was totally empty, it seems someone was smart enough to take them but neglected the other books, and that someone was a complete idiot in Arthur's eyes.
'How could you ignore such precious books? damn fool'
5 minutes later, everything was stored in his dark ring, he didn't know why or how, but this storage ring had a very big space, even with all the furniture, gold, books, items and everything else, the storage was still empty, Arthur never ceased thanking Zodiak for leaving such a wonderful thing.
he transformed into lightning yet again and in a split second left the building, and just by chance, he happened to hear Lucy talk and brag about him and his skills.
"You know, my hubby can use ice magic, yes you heard right! ice magic, just like your big sister, so what's the big deal if she can use it? hmpf! my hubby can use lightning magic too, and many other things, hmpf hmpf! that Sonia is nothing compared to my hubby"
Though he was partially glad she was bragging proudly about him, he still didn't like Mary hearing about his abilities, so he decided to punish Lucy with something.
With his incredible speed, he rushed at Lucy, she was still happily talking so she didn't notice him, and even if she did, she can't react in time due to how fast he is.
Just as he was going to crash into her, his left hand stretched and landed on her butt, squeezing it a little, but he soon retracted and appeared next to her, as if nothing happened.
"Oh yeah, I didn't tell you about his....Ah~~"
being interrupted like that, Lucy couldn't help but moan after she felt someone squeeze her buttocks, she then noticed Arthur appear out of nowhere, so she quickly pulled the strings together and knew he was obviously the culprit.
As for Mary, she didn't see what happened and was only taken aback when she saw Arthur appear out of thin air, nonetheless, she came back to her senses in a second and looked at Lucy, though she didn't see what happened, she heard Lucy and her moan so she became confused.
Lucy glared at Arthur for sometime before finally saying
"You....."
Arthur pretended that he didn't hear her and began whistling and looking away from her piercing glare.
One must say his acting his skills are so poor to the point that he can be seen through in a second, nonetheless, he continued with that act until Lucy retracted her gaze after snorting, seemingly not caring about him anymore.
Of course, she was not angry nor did she blame him, she just felt a little embarrassed as she was in front of Mary and that happened, so she could only pretend to be angry with him.
The trio didn't stay much longer in the academy, instead, they used the teleportation array leading to 'Laksy city'.
Nothing special really happened, they did meet some holy church soldiers, but Mary finished them off this time.
Arthur and Lucy would chat without a care in the world and seemed to completely forget about the existence of Mary, which made her a little sad and cast out, but she didn't utter a word and silently followed behind them, after all, she was only a guide, so why did she expect to become their companion or their friend?
It was around noon when they arrived and the city was bustling, stalls were put as far as the eye can see, and many buyers were bargaining with the sellers about a decent price, there were blacksmiths, cloth shops, etcetera.
What angered Arthur a little, is when he saw the slave traders selling their slaves who were put in a cage made out of steel as if they were animals, he came from the world where slavery has long since disappeared, so seeing living beings treated like that didn't seem right.
He felt pity, but he can't just buy them all then release them, because he was not some savior or a hero of justice, but he also was kind a black-hearted person, however, there really is nothing he could do except wish them a good luck to at least get a good master, maybe someday he will stop this nonsense and make slavery disappear completely.
Even Mary didn't like what she saw, especially when almost all the slaves were beastmen, in fact, beastmen were the most common slaves, either for fighting, house labors, or even sexual needs, very rarely would you see demons or elves, as for other races, they were hard to find in the first place so to find a slave of one of them is near impossible.
Once the trio appeared, they attracted a lot of attention, especially Lucy, white robe, blood red eyes, silver hair, a voluptuous body, a curvy waist and an enchanting figure, who would not be attracted to her, her figure really looked like an angel or a goddess.
"Hey, W-who is this beauty?..." (random citizen A)
"I don't know bro, maybe a princess or a noble?" (random citizen B)
"I don't know who she is, but damn! I've never seen someone as beautiful as her, even the emperor's daughter is not her match" (random middle-aged man)
"ah! When I see her then I remember that when I return home I'll only see my ugly wife...how could life be so unfair.."(an old man)
" 'Slap' Who did you say was ugly? you are ugly! your whole family is ugly, back in the day, men chased me all day long but I chose you, damn that was the dumbest mistake I've ever made, come with me, NOW"
The old man's wife slapped him a few times before dragging him from the collar to a nearby alley, people around could only sigh and pity the man.
As for Lucy, she was used to this gazes and reactions, so she didn't pay them any attention and continued walking with Arthur and Mary, she actually was holding Arthur's arm intimately, even her breasts were pressing on his arm.
Arthur enjoyed the feeling of her chest, those soft round balls, he really wanted to touch them right now and enjoy them, but he didn't do it, they were now in public and he couldn't do something this reckless, just her holding her arm like that was enough for him.
He ignored the burning gazes of the surrounding men, and just kept walking and observing the stalls seeing if there is anything worth buying.
They roamed the city for 2 hours, but none of them bought anything as they didn't anything worth it.
Finally, they stopped in front of a renewed inn and entered it. Even though it was in the middle of the day, it was still bustling as many soldiers, mercenaries and citizens were either eating or drinking.
Like always, Lucy attract a lot of attention yet again, and all present men were looking at her body up and down, while drooling, it would be a lie to say they were not enchanted and mesmerized by her beauty, they lusted over her body, and some of them even began shaking from excitement, while other sneakily put their hands on their pants and 'began training'....
Arthur, Lucy, and Mary headed towards the reception desk, where a muscular guy was standing, he was also looking at Lucy and was attracted by her prettiness but he didn't dare hold his gaze for a long time as he looked at Arthur and Mary as if assessing them. And to be honest, he was jealous of Arthur, as he saw the beauty hold his arm like that.
Actually, Arthur's appearance wasn't bad, to begin with, it's ordinary, but with his red eyes, it added to a touch of charm to him that made him eye-catching.
Very soon, they arrived in front of the muscular man, and Mary handled the talking, she booked 2 rooms, one for her and the other for Lucy and Arthur.
When the muscular man received the payment, he headed off to get the keys for the rooms.
The trio stood in front of the desk, patiently waiting for the muscular man to come back when some people headed to their direction.
It was 4 people, they all seemed to have a tattoo on their shoulder, it was a scorpion, they all seemed like experienced fighters, and they had either swords or sabers sheathed on their waist.
3 of the incoming people had an ordinary appearance, just like any other citizen, except they excluded a cold aura, as if they killed countless lives, as for the 4th one, he was slightly taller than the rest, with scars on his neck and chest.
"Hello there little girl, how about you come with this uncle? This uncle is from a mercenary group called 'The Black Scorpions', you should know about it, right? I will surely treat you well."
The man who seemed to be the boss was the one who spoke first, he cut through the chase and shamelessly invited Lucy to join him.
Even though the other men were sizing her up and lusting over her, none dared to speak to her as they suspected her to be a noble or someone with a strong backing, but this man from a mercenary, casually came and asked her to come with him, his tone even contained a bit of threat.
Arthur was really pissed that this man dared to take his wife like that and speak disrespectfully towards her, but he calmed himself, he didn't want to start a slaughter just for this, he should be more reasonable, however, that didn't mean he should sit by and watch.
"I think you misunderstood something, she is my wife, so how about you on your way and we go on ours?"
Once he heard that, the tall man, burst out in laughter, and after some time, he looked at Arthur with a mocking gaze and said
"Your wife? So what! she must be with you because you maybe are a little rich, but I, Bill, am richer than you, plus I'm a sectional leader of the mercenary black scorpion, it's not something that You could possibly match.."
Bill then turned his head to look at Lucy and continued speaking
"So how about it little girl? I see that you are pretty so why won't you come enjoy the night with this uncle?"
Lucy was unfazed and still nonchalantly held arm, she didn't pay Bill any attention, she didn't even spare a glance for him, for her this kind of scumbag was not worth her time.
As for Arthur, he was sure that peacefully talking his way out of this is an impossible task, heck! if it was the past him, these 4 people would already be dead for sure, but he wanted to take a different route, a better one, so just killing is by no means the best outcome.
he stretched his free arm, which was not held by Lucy, and gently put it on her chin, his face descended to match her height and soon, his lips landed on hers, he didn't hold back and kissed her intimately.
He thought that the best way to deal with those people is to show them that she is his woman, and it's not that just simple words from them that would change that.
His actions surprised Lucy, she didn't expect him to kiss her out of the blue, and in front of all these people too, she was not used to that, but she didn't struggle, in fact, she kissed him back.
The surroundings people were dumbstruck, even Bill was astonished, he didn't expect this to happen, every time he mentions that he is from the black scorpion mercenary, everyone would show him respect and every girl would come with him right away, even noble girls were tainted by him, so when he saw this gorgeous woman, his desires surged up, and he thought that he must get his hands on her.
Mary who was behind them didn't know what to do as she saw what happened, a tinge of red appeared on her face, she dropped her head down not daring to look anymore as she felt embarrassed.
One must know, she is indeed an experienced fighter but except that, she knew nothing, for all her life, she followed her big sister, Sonia, so apart from fighting and magic, she didn't experience love, or had a boyfriend.
It was a simple kiss between a couple, yet it angered almost all people present, they stared maliciously at Arthur, with envious eyes, their jealousy now could even reach the skies.
I mean, who wouldn't be jealous if they saw a beauty like that kiss someone in front of them, they could only blame that someone, as he was the one who got the kiss and enjoyed the feeling, as for them, they were nothing but viewers, and could only watch from afar.
Their kiss finally came to an end and their lips separated, though Arthur was still reluctant to let go, as he didn't enjoy as much as usual, he had to, though he dared to kiss her, he didn't do it that intimately.
As for Bill, he was shaking from anger, not only was he rejected, with this simple kiss, it's like Arthur didn't give him any face and ignored his existence, and that made him even more enraged.
In the spur of the moment, he unsheathed his saber and viciously slashed toward Arthur with no intention of holding back, he really didn't care anymore, someone who disrespected like him must certainly die or he would lose so much face that he will no longer be feared or respected.
Seeing what just happened, neither Arthur nor Lucy were worried, instead, they were as calm as a toad in the sun, this slash of his was a joke to them, even for someone like Mary, it was a child's play to block it, much less for them.
Arthur didn't take action this time, Lucy did, in a split second she crushed that sabre by just putting a little force in her fingers, then she grabbed his stretched arm and threw him at the 3 people behind him, even though she tried using minimal strength, it didn't matter that much as the 4 people were sent flying until they hit the tables and chairs not too far away from their current location.
The 3 people were not heavily injured, even Bill was not, but nonetheless, he screamed in pain as his wrist was crushed by her arm, it seems she still can't control her strength and unconsciously crushed his wrist.
"This is just a warning, scram! before I become serious!"
Lucy's cold voice swept over all the inn, and everyone didn't dare even breathe heavily, her voice contained a chill that made them rub the invisible cold sweat in their forehead.
In reality, they all understood that she was not kidding, they literally couldn't see what happened, they only saw Bill slash at Arthur, then he somehow was sent flying towards his 3 lackeys.
Bill was helped up by his subordinates, but he was still groaning from pain and holding his swelled wrist, it was truly an agonizing pain, but this time he didn't dare say any bold words, he maliciously stared at her, then turned around and left while saying
"Don't think you can get away from this, black scorpion mercenary is not just for show and it sure as hell does not let its people get bullied, I'll remember this!"
Silence ruled over the place and none spoke, they shifted their gazes from the trio and seemingly resumed what they were previously doing.
The muscular man finally came back, but he paid no heed to what happened as if it was a usual thing, he passed the keys to the trio and told them the location of their rooms.
Just as they were going to enter their rooms, Arthur turned to look at Mary and said
"Stay in your room for tonight, me and Lucy will go out to resolve some matters, we will go back in a few hours"
Mary could only obediently nod and enter her room without speaking any further.
As for Lucy, she was confused as she doesn't remember them needing to go anywhere, so she looked at Arthur appearing questioning him on what he was doing.
"Don't worry, I need to go see the Emperor, and I want to bring you along, plus I want some alone time with you~~ or is it that you don't want to come?"
Arthur relieved her puzzlement by saying that, to be honest, he wanted to go back to see the emperor only to apologize to his daughter, he really felt uneasy about what he did, and it was really excessive to do that to her, she was only a child after all, there was no need to be that ruthless, plus last time he shamelessly barged in there while hurting that many soldiers while they were only doing their duty, it was really inappropriate.
His point of view of many things dramatically changed, and he wanted to correct some mistakes he made and act more reasonably in the future, it's true some people need severe punishment or even death, but he didn't have to dismember them or heavily injure them just because they said a few things, that's only what a tyrant would do.
"Who said I don't want to come!" (Lucy)
Lucy pouted and crossed her arms seemingly furious, but even with that act, a smile formed on her captivating face.
They both left the inn, then Arthur wrapped his arm around her waist and rushed towards the emperor's castle using his lightning form, he used the lightning form in the city because he knew even like that no one would be able to see him, they would only see a yellow streak of light of lightning pass by them for a split second, so it was no big matter.
...
With his speed, it only took them a short amount of time to arrive at the familiar castle, but in the way, he possessed Lara and Mozu's bodies, and the familiar sound of notification soon rang in his head, and the blue screen appeared in front of him.
You successfully possessed Lara Singlore
You gained a new skill(passive) : [Advanced whip mastery] : when using a whip as a weapon : +15% damage/+5% agility
You gained a new skill(active) : [fire storm]: you use fire attribute to cause a blizzard which burns everything in its way
Cost: 250 mana
Cooldown: 1 hour
.....
To be honest, all skills she got were useless and weak, so Arthur passed them quickly and didn't bother with them, the only good thing he got from her was getting her stats, she had about 7000 intelligence, so it's at least better than nothing.
He then proceeded to the big prey, Mozu
You have successfully possessed Mozu
You have gained a new skill(active) : [Light bullet]: using a Light attribute, you can create bullets which attack with an incredible speed.
WARNING: You cannot use any skills related to light attribute if you do that nevertheless, that would cause too heavy consequences and your possible death
You have gained a new skill(active) : [Sara's blessing]: Your blind faith to the goddess of light, Sara, would be rewarded once you call out to her, and your stats would be doubled for 30 minutes
Cost: none
Cooldown: 1 month
WARNING: You cannot use any skills related to light attribute if you do that nevertheless, that would cause too heavy consequences and your possible death
You gained a new skill(passive) : [Advanced wind magic]: you can now use the wind to attack or defend
You gained a new skill(active) : [Soul essence flame] : It is a flame condensed by your soul, and each person has a unique flame, either in colour or power, this type of flame can be used for Alchemy and other things, but cannot be used to attack or deal damage.
You gained a new skill(passive) : [Basic Alchemy]: You can now concoct pills and create elixirs that strengthen you, increase your stats, heal injuries, or even poison your enemies: the quality of the pills, elixirs depends on your soul essence flame and Alchemy's skill Lvl.
Your stats have increased, please check your status window for more details
......
Honestly, Arthur was delighted by what this old man has, it was really a good harvest, he did indeed read about alchemy, but never expected Mozu to have the alchemy skill, it's really a great occasion, even his stats increased by quite a bit, the average stats of Mozu were 15k with only his intelligence being 19k, he really was strong, well compared to normal people of course, but to Arthur? he's nothing.
Arthur wanted to try the essence flame, so he concentrated for a bit and indeed a ball of flame appeared in his hand, it was a weird flame though, it was half white, half black, and didn't emit any heat or pressure or anything else.
Since the notice said it wasn't meant for attacking, so that may be why it didn't emit any heat.
Arthur shrugged that idea off and walked with Lucy toward the gates of the castle. He was somehow lost in thought about another thing, which is why he can't use the light attribute, but since he can't why bother with it right now? if he ever found a solution then it's good, if not then so be it, it's not like he didn't have other magic, hell! he can all 6 of main attributes, plus ice, void, and lightning, that's just insane.
Even his control in wind, earth is really good, as he had them both in advanced, he even gained strong skills for wind and earth, such as the black earth cage the old man next to the emperor used, but that cage was only strong to them, with a simple slash from a condensed sword energy, he can cut that cage in half...what a pity..
There were 2 guards standing near the gate, patrolling the area with great vigilance, and once they spotted someone coming, they held their swords and shields and shouted
"Who's there, for what purpose did you come here?"
Arthur couldn't help but chuckle seeing the guard, it was the same one who he injured last time, it seems he was somehow safe and back to his duty, he overdid it when he injured all those guards as they were only doing their job, so this time he decided to try another thing.
"haha, Little brother, did you already forget about me?"
Once Arthur was close enough, the guards saw his features, they were confused, they surely didn't know them, and them, as experienced fighters had a good memory because of high stats.
Arthur laughed then retrieved a mask, then seemingly put it on his face for a second before taking it off.
Seeing that the guard's bodies immediately stiffened and their faces paled, how could they forget about him? he was their nightmare!
The emperor himself even told all the guards to treat him courteously if they ever crossed his path and never anger him, so of course, they knew him.
Seeing as he was not coming to fight or didn't attack immediately, the guards relaxed a little, they lowered their weapons to not anger him and forced a smile on their face.
"hahaha, my lord, please for me, I'm a bit short-sighted, I see you come here to meet the emperor right?"
The guard also saw Lucy walking beside Arthur, he was stunned for a second but didn't stare for too long for fear of the wrath of Arthur, he opened the gate and adjusted his posture to appear more respectful.
"Indeed, I have come here to meet the Emperor"
The guard didn't seem to mind this time when Arthur called his majesty like that, instead, he bowed his head and replied:
"In that case, please wait a moment, we will immediately inform his majesty of your visit, in meantime, please enter!"
Arthur couldn't help but smile, this guard seemed to have learned his lesson and was very respectful towards him, in a way he felt happy and guilty, he didn't say anything else and entered the enormous garden which surrounded the castle, it was indeed a fascinating garden, decorated with many statues and had a lot of flowers of all colors, the view was just spectacular.
The guard then ran off to inform the emperor, he ran with his full speed as if his life depended on it, it was quite a funny sight, to be honest.
As for Arthur and Lucy, they walked around the garden, enjoying the view and chatting happily, Lucy was contemplating the roses and praising them so Arthur just told him to take whatever she liked, but for some reason she refused.
After a dozen of minutes, it was not the guard who came back, instead, it was the old man, who apparently was named Cylmar, his speed was way faster than the guard and with each step, he passed 5m or so.
To be honest, once Cylmar heard what the guard said, he didn't have time to inform his majesty, he didn't want to anger Arthur, so he wanted to personally welcome him and see what he wants, hopefully, he wouldn't cause trouble like last time.
In fact, he investigated his identity, but all he could find is that he was a council member of the Nemia Academy until he disappeared a year ago and he couldn't find what happened to him, and in a way he was relieved, as along Arthur don't cause trouble to his majesty then it's alright.
Cylmar soon arrived near Arthur, he also spotted Lucy but he didn't pay much attention to her, instead, he was more worried about Arthur, but seeing he did nothing to the guards this time, he felt reassured, nonetheless he didn't let his guard down.
"My, if it isn't Mr. Arthur, I'm sorry for the poor welcome but the guards were only doing their job"
Actually, last time Arthur came he was wearing a mask, nonetheless Cylmar managed to find his identity because of his clothes, his robe was quite unique with that symbol on it so he was easily discovered, nevertheless, Arthur only put that mask for show, it's not like he was trying his best to hide his identity back then.
Now that he saw his features, he was quite surprised to see that he was a young man, to have such strength at that age, just who is he?
Arthur softly laughed then replied
"No problem, I'm not mad about that, anyway, no need to be overly cautious Mr. Cylmar, I only came here today to have a little chat of the Emperor"
The old man was momentarily surprised by two things, first because Arthur was strangely different, last time he was ruthless and cold, but this time he appeared respectful and well mannered, though he still called his majesty the emperor, the second thing he was stunned about was that he knew his name, but after some logical thinking, it's to be expected, after all, Cylmar was famous for being a counselor of the emperor and almost everyone knew him so how could Arthur not know him?
"Oh, is that so, then I'm relieved, Please follow me, His majesty is currently on the other side of the garden, I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you"
Cylmar then put his hands behind his back, and walked slowly, guiding the duo towards the Emperor's location, so Arthur's followed him with Lucy without delaying any further.
.....
Alexander, the human emperor, was currently enjoying his day with his family in his castle's garden, he was with his wife, his eldest son, the crown prince and Celcy the female mage, she was actually a disciple of Cylmar and had a close relationship with the royal family so the Emperor treated her as family.
He was sitting next to his wife, Lynessa, they were both eating some fruits and watching their eldest son practice with that Celcy.
Actually, Alexander rarely took some time off, but when he did, he would only pass it relaxing at home, it would only be a few days, and he would tell higher-ups of the empire to handle the political matters in his short absence.
He had 3 children, but the most he was proud of was the eldest, Syth, he was very talented in fighting, and was a genius in handling swords, in fact, he was amongst the best in the country, plus he had a good affinity with lightning, one of the special attributes, and the most uncommon one.
Syth excelled in using that attribute, his attacks with lightning were frightening and could not be easily blocked.
He was currently sparring with Celcy, he was older than her, but he still regarded her as a little sister and would always spare some time to teach her a few tricks, since she was only a mage, he would teach her sometimes how to use mana in an efficient way or other good tricks.
In fact, Syth was not a playboy like his little brother, in fact, he never showed any interest in opposite sex, he always devoted his life to training and becoming strong, for him strength equaled power, he had no interest in ruling the empire, he just wanted to become the strongest.
......
As they were currently having fun and relaxing, they noticed Cylmar coming their way, and behind him, they saw 2 figures.
Though Syth and Celcy were sparring, they didn't notice them immediately, but Alexander with his high stats, saw them instantly and once his gaze landed on Arthur, his body stiffened and he became slightly anxious.
Actually, he and Cylmar knew Arthur's real appearance, and that's because when they investigated, they managed to find someone who imprinted Arthur's face on a crystal, also, his daughter told him about Arthur, his behavior, his features and other things, so when he saw him now, he immediately recognized him, heck! those red eyes alone were enough to confirm his suspicions.
Celcy and Syth also stopped sparring to see what is happening and who are these people.
After some seconds, they finally arrived a couple of meters near Alexander, his wife, and the two others.
Syth gazed at the 2 unfamiliar people with indifference, he first looked at Arthur but wasn't that much interested in him until he saw that black sheath and what looked like a sword, he as a swordsman and a fighter, really liked challenges, and wanted to be the best swordsman, so seeing the sword, his fighting spirit ignited.
He then looked at the woman beside Arthur, and he was momentarily surprised, even someone such as him who had no interest or whatsoever towards the woman, was mesmerized by her beauty and couldn't help but stare at her for some time, apparently lost in thought.
Cylmar heartily laughed and said
"Your Majesty, It seems Mr. Arthur have come to speak with you, so I brought him directly to you."
If he brought any other person, Alexander would have been irritated, but it was Arthur, he already saw what he was capable off so he dared not be arrogant or be rude.
"Ohh! it's Mr. Arthur, yes yes! it's been such a long time, why don't you sit so we can have a little chat?"
This time, Alexander became respectful, he feared Arthur and knew he can't beat him and can be easily killed, plus he didn't know that the behavior of Arthur changed, so he acted overly courteous and didn't dare anger him like last time.
"Your majesty is so courteous, please don't be alerted, I didn't come to cause trouble this time, I only want to chat with you for a bit, that's it"
Arthur called him 'your majesty' this time around. Actually, he didn't want to call him that, but he wanted to build a good relation ship with him, and forgetting about the past, because if he ever needed some help in political matters then maybe this man would help him.
Celcy also knew about Arthur, so when she heard his name, she became slightly angry and clenched her fists, last time she and her master were easily beaten by him so she trained all year to not end up in the same situation, she trained for hours and hours to overcome her weakness, as she felt bitter about what happened that night.
As for Syth, he was confused, his father didn't tell him about Arthur, so he obviously didn't know what happened in the past, even his sister didn't tell him about what happened to her, as he was quite reclusive so he rarely engaged in those matters, but now that he saw his father become this respectful and appear quite frustrated in front of this individual, he became interested and intrigued at the same time.
Lynessa, who was sitting next to her husband, became afraid once she heard of this man's name, it was the same one who slapped her, one could be lying to say she wasn't afraid of him, she deeply regretted saying those words, as it seems this man didn't care about her background or her status and could have easily killed her, so this time she didn't dare open her mouths and stayed silent.
Alexander breathed a sigh of relief once he heard that and said :
"So it's like that, in any case, I'm very grateful for your visit and this young lady...?"(-the emperor)
"She is my wife, her name is Lucy"(-Arthur)
"So it's Mrs. Lucy, thank you for your visit, you and your husband, why don't you take a sit?"(-the emperor)
Lucy just nodded toward the Emperor without saying anything and sat on a nearby chair, as for Arthur he also did the same.
The atmosphere seemed a little awkward, as the emperor, his wife, Arthur and Lucy were the only people sitting, while Cylmar, Syth, and Celcy were standing a couple of meters away, still staring at Arthur and Lucy.
Alexander, noticing his son and Celcy standing there without doing anything, hastily said
"Syth, Celcy, weren't you sparring? you can continue doing that, I'm going to have a little chat with Mr. Arthur here."
Though, he said that both of them didn't continue sparring, in fact, Syth walked closer to his father and said
"Father, we just finished, so how about we join you? would you mind Mr. Arthur?"
Even though he spoke to his father, he was looking at Arthur and brightly smiling, but Arthur knew it was this kind of people he didn't like the most, very shrewd and cunning, talented at hiding their motives.
Though he thought like that, Arthur just waved his hand and said
"No problem no problem!"
Whatever he wanted, Arthur didn't mind, he might be very cunning or planning something, that didn't matter either, he had enough strength to be able to stay confident against a brat like this.
Soon, Celcy and Syth took a seat next to the emperor, as for Cylmar, he preferred to stand so the emperor didn't insist and let him do as he pleases.
Time passed and no one talked, the atmosphere seemed awkward as no one dared take the initiative to speak, Alexander couldn't take it anymore and said
"Mr. Arthur, about what you want to chat about..."
The emperor seemed very disorganized, as he spoke with a hesitant voice.
As for Arthur, he was leisurely sitting in the chair, admiring the view and when he heard the emperor, he snapped out of it and coughed a few times before replying
"Well, I've come here to apologize to you and your daughter for what I have done, it was ruthless of my part and I shouldn't have done that, so I would be very pleased if you could call your daughter so I can properly apologize"
Hearing this, Alexander sat there, dumbstruck, he couldn't believe what he just heard, I mean, who would right? just a year ago, this man heavily injured his daughter, and even barged in his castle injuring people left and right without a care in the world, he even threatened him, but here he is now, apologizing, it seemed like it was a different person, but his eyes are most certainly not lying to him so what was going on here?
In any case, he came back to his senses and didn't think much of it, true, it's astonishing and strange he changed like this, nonetheless, the truth was in front of him, and since this man came to apologize then he will just let him do so, because, after some logical thoughts, it would be better to have a good relationship with a strong figure like this one.
"Good, good! about that matter, it's really alright, it was our fault, to begin with, as for my daughter, I will call her right away...."
Alexander then turned his head towards Cylmar, and the latter understood what he meant so he nodded and headed towards the castle to call for the princess.
...
Syth, who was silently sitting there, was still confused, what did this man do to my sister and my father? he really wanted to know what happened, but he couldn't ask his father now, so he just remained silent but he would sometimes sneak glances at Lucy who was nonchalantly gazing at the garden, ignoring the emperor and everybody else, it seemed as if she didn't care about the conversation.
As they were waiting for the Lisa to come, none of them talked and silence ruled over once again, but that didn't last long as the princess finally came with Cylmar.
Cylmar only told Lisa that her father called her and she needs to go see him hastily, so she headed to the garden with Cylmar with fast speed.
Once she was close enough, she saw her father with the usual people from her family, but there were 2 strangers, and when she was in range to distinguish their features, her heartbeat quickened and she felt fear.
In fact, she told her father about how Arthur injured her, but she sure as hell didn't tell anyone about what happened in that dungeon, that was her most terrifying nightmare, every time she remembered it she would shake non-stop, and now that she saw Arthur from afar, the fear from that time once again engulfed her.
Nonetheless, she didn't stop and headed to her father.
With her speed, she arrived next to him in a matter of seconds, she didn't dare look at Arthur and only looked at her father.
"Oh, Lisa, you're finally here. Do you know who this Mister is?"
The emperor gently talked to his daughter and pointed at Arthur.
Lisa had to turn to look at Arthur, so she mustered up courage and turned her head to look at him, only to see him smiling at her, surprisingly, there was no hint of coldness or killing intent like before, nevertheless, she still felt afraid.
"Y-yes father, It's Mr. Arthur"
When Arthur saw her current state, he really felt guilty, this girl became completely terrified by him, she could barely look at him, the arrogance she had when he first met her didn't show, it's as if she is another person.
"Mrs. Lisa, no need to be afraid, I came here to apologize for what I did, if you do not mind, I'll give you something in return, it may be not enough, but please accept it"
Actually, Lisa was surprised by what she said, but that didn't appease her fear, she only wanted to get done with this and return to her room, the farther from this man the better.
"D-Don't worry Sir Arthur, It was my arrogance and bad personality that angered you. I totally deserved that."
Arthur couldn't help but chuckle when he heard her say that a child was a child after all, after a lesson she seemed to have become more obedient and didn't act high and mighty anymore, but still, his actions were unnecessary and ruthless so he should at least pay her back in some way or another.
"Hahaha, it's good that Mrs. Lisa understood her faults, one should not be overly arrogant even if his strength reaches the skies, but even so, I hope you accept my gift, I know you are suited for close-range combat, so I brought you a good item"
Once he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and a 3m long red spear appeared from his storage, it was actually the 'Flaming Sky Spear' it was one of the treasures Zodiak left behind and he had a LOT of power weapons, they just were not suited for him or a bit weak for him, but for other people, these weapons are national treasures.
When he took out the spear, everyone except Lucy was taken aback, they stared with disbelief at the spear, it was a red spear with a bit of orange in his pole, it had a flame engraved in its shaft, and this symbol of flame was very famous in this world.
Actually, any weapon that had that symbol is the work of an ancient legendary blacksmiths, his weapon and armors are renowned to be the best and the top of the notch, anyone wielding his weapons is surely a powerhouse that cannot be reckoned with, so when they saw the spear, they couldn't believe their eyes.
Arthur stood up, walked in front of the princess, who was also looking at the spear and still in a daze, noticing her be still lost in thought, he spoke again
"It seems, you know of this weapon, it's called 'Flaming Sky Spear' and it's not bad, I'm sure it will help you, you can test it if you don't believe me"
he then stretched his hand and handed her the spear, she unconsciously took it and regained her senses.
"That's impossible, this spear was lost for ages! H-how could you have it!"(Alexander)
Alexander was really stunned, and he couldn't believe it was the real deal, but when he said that, he immediately regretted his words, who was Arthur? he was a mysterious figure with incredible strength and unknown background, so what if he got a legendary weapon?
"Ahem, I'm sorry for my outburst, I was not thinking properly, please excuse my rudeness"(Alexander)
"haha, it's okay, it's a normal reaction to have, but you can test it and see if it's really fake or not"
Lisa already forgot her fear of Arthur and was contemplating the spear, she began feeling it and even when holding it, she felt her strength greatly rise and her speed slightly increase, even her senses seemed to become better.
She distanced herself from them then started waving the spear with a practiced manner, and each time the spear moved, flames would appear.
What was special about this weapon is that even a person who is not a mage can use it and it will produce flames, plus the power of the flames depended on one's stats, so that made it even better.
The handling felt really smooth and the spear was neither very heavy nor too light, it was at a manageable weight.
After passing sometimes testing the spear, Lisa felt really excited, she even forgot that she was very afraid of Arthur.
Surprisingly, she turned around to look at her father and others and said
"It's real, it's really genuine, I can feel its power, I've only done a few moves but I Feel like this spear's ability is incredible"
She then walked toward Arthur and said
"Mr. Arthur, I graciously accept your gift, thank you!"
Arthur could only shake his head and laugh in his heart, after all, she is still a child, and to please a child, you only need to give him a candy, of course, he knew she wasn't that stupid, but he was sure she liked the present.
"No problem, no problem! I just hope you can forget about the past and start anew"
Lisa, who was brimming with joy, as if she never was afraid of him in the first place, nodded her head and said
"Yes!"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone