章 2: Return of an Otherworlder Adventurer!

"How frustrating…" A huge dark figure grumbled as his body sinks deeper into the blade of the sword that pierced through his chest.

"It seems like… I underestimated humanity too much!" The dark figure bitterly said as he slowly turned into dust and was blown along with the wind.

Then, in the next second, the gray scaly sword that pierced the dark figure's chest fell into the ground and was followed by its wielder's body.

Blood coming out from the swordsman's body spread across the floor, draining every last ounce of his strength.

'Bast@rd… I should be the one frustrated!' The swordsman cursed deep inside as his vision starts to be blurry.

'If not for your d@mn existence… We… Otherworlders… Would have not been summoned into this f@cked up world! And… I would have not lost everyone I loved!'

'So… Enjoy… your f@cking Eternal Slumber, Demon King Reves!' The swordsman chuckled as his vision get completely enveloped by a blinding bright light.

Several Seconds later, for some reason, the blinding light starts to dissipate—consequently allowing him to regain his vision.

At this moment, he somehow finds himself in the middle of a very familiar rowdy place.

"W-What's happening???" The swordsman asked before reactively tapping his body—checking the hole that was supposed to be in it.

For some reason, there were no scars, nor any signs that he sustained any injury on his body. On top of that, he finds his skin soft and firmer—free from any signs of scars or injuries.

But before he could even utter another word, a familiar voice scolded him, saying, "That's what I also want to know, son!"

"Son?!" The swordsman couldn't help but glare towards the woman who scolded him.

The woman glared at him in response and said, "Oi, Arturo! Be serious! This isn't the time for jokes!"

The Swordsman, named Arturo, could only stare blankly in response. It was only after several seconds was he able to get back to himself. He murmured, asking, "A-Am I in heaven?"

The black-haired woman—seemingly in her late 40s, frowned in response and scolded, saying, "Arturo! Didn't I just say to you to stop messing around!"

The woman could only shake her head before shifting her attention to the little girl beside her.

'So… I am not in heaven…' Arturo said deep inside.

A few seconds later, he started glancing around looking for clues about what had happened to him. Eventually, a red flag with a black shield and a black sword design had caught his eyes.

He stared at it for a few seconds before gnashing his teeth and saying angrily deep inside, 'Alvar Kingdom!!! I am in the f@cking Kingdom of Alvar! And… It seems like I returned to the past! The very f@cking day when all humans from Earth were summoned into this f@cked up world of Larwan!'

Fortunately, before his anger could even get ahead of himself, the giant bell of a nearby Cathedral rang—making Arturo glance towards its direction.

'This is bad!' Arturo frowned deep inside. Then, he said to himself, 'That's the f@cking signal that the "Otherworlders Summoning Ritual" was a success! And… That the f@cking "Slave Marking Ritual" would start soon!'

'Whether I really returned to the past or not, does not matter for now!'

'We should immediately get Artifacts at the Room of Treasures, and register at the Adventurer's Guild afterward!'

'I don't want to become a slave of these f@cking Original Dwellers once again!'

He immediately glanced towards his mother and his little sister before saying, "Mom, Lily… Follow me! We need to head at the back of that Cathedral Immediately!"

"Huh? Why?" His mother frowned and asked in response.

Arturo simply sighed and said, "I'll explain everything later, Mom! For now, our safety should be our priority! So… Just follow me!"

"Aish! Alright! Lead the way!" His mother hopelessly grumbled before grabbing the hand of her daughter and running right behind Arturo.

Soon, they were able to arrive at the gate of the garden that was located at the back of the Cathedral. At this moment, the guard standing outside the huge two doors at the back of the Cathedral glared at them and was wary of their actions.

Arturo could only force out a smile and glance at his mother before saying, "Mom, Lily… Stay here for a second! I'll go talk to the guard first!"

His mother simply frowned in response and said, "Can you tell us what's going on first?! And… Where the hell are we right now?!"

Arturo could only sigh heavily in response and say, "Aish! If you really want to know then…"

"It seems like we are in the world of Larwan! It is a magical world that only existed in one of the stories that I was able to read in the past!" He explained.

"Anyway… I am still not a hundred percent sure that we 'somehow' appeared in this magical world, but… I can't jeopardize our safety because of my slightest doubt!"

"Because… If we are really in the World of Larwan… Then… We'd be freaking dead meat if remained with the crowd!"

"So… For our safety… We need to get things called Artifacts and unlock our magical talent ASAP!"

"And we can get them inside this so-called Cathedral?" His mother asked with a frown on her face.

Arturo simply nodded in response and said, "That's if we are really in the World of Larwan!"

His mother processed everything that he said for almost a minute, before she hopelessly sighed heavily in response and said, "Aish! Let's talk about it in detail later on! For now… Let's ensure our safety in this foreign place!"

Arturo nodded once more before entering the garden behind the Cathedral.

Soon, he arrived in front of the fully armored guard. He bowed slightly as a sign of respect towards the guard and said, "Greetings, respected Paladin of the Alvar Kingdom Cathedral! I am Arturo Cruz, the Eldest Son of Merchant Matteo Cruz and Esmeralda Cruz from the Magaran Business District! I would like to inquire if this is the place where we could obtain the Artifacts that Baron Ernold Mathias told us about?!"

"THAT BUSINESS DISTRICT AGAIN?!" The guard angrily asked with a frown on his face.

Arturo could only force out a smile and nod in response.

The Paladin couldn't help but flick his tongue in response and said, "No wonder you are THIS LATE to come! Can I assume that you also did not receive the Baron's Recommendation Letter?"

"Sadly… Yes!" Arturo rubbed the back of his head in response—acting as if he was embarrassed towards the Paladin.

The Paladin simply shook his head in response and said, "Go call your acquaintances and enter the Cathedral! Just head straight to the left after you enter the Cathedral! You'll find the stairs down to the Room of Treasures! There… You'll meet another Paladin who's in charge of the "Artifact Contract Ritual"!"

"You have my thanks!" Arturo said happily before rushing back to his mother and little sister.

But deep inside, he was barely able to contain his excitement whilst thinking, 'As expected! Baron Ernold's influence even reaches the Cathedral and the Order of the Paladins—though not in a very good way!'

'Anyway… That Old Man won't be a problem for me! What I am more worried about right now is my father!'

'If I could remember correctly… He was in his office when the Otherworlders Summoning Ritual occurred! That is why he was not with us and was not as lucky as the three of us—to appear here inside the Alvar Kingdom!'

'Anyway… Looking for him would be impossible for now! So… We had no choice but to obtain our Artifacts without him! That way… Our Magical Abilities would be activated, and… We can evade the Slave Marking Ritual—saving us from the slavery and the abuses of the Original Dwellers of this world!'

'I know that there's no known way for us to return back to Earth! And… I am already past that stage of dreaming to return to that peaceful world, but… I won't give up on being able to leave a decent and peaceful life in this world!'

'I don't want to be forced to fight monsters to our death… Nor do I want to be mistreated by the original dwellers of this world! I am f@cking done with the slavery shit of this world!' He angrily said deep inside.

A few seconds later, he could only exhale heavily deep inside and say to himself bitterly, 'Sorry Dad… I'll have you to endure some difficulties for now! I promise that we will find you as soon as I ensure our safety, and that would longer fall into slavery!'

At this moment, he rejoined his mother and his little sister before he bitterly said, "Mom… Sadly… My hunch was right! It seems like we are currently in the World of Larwan!"

His mother simply frowned in response and asked, "C-Can't this place be part of some kind of adaptation of the story that you were saying, son? I mean…"

Arturo could only hopelessly shake his head and said, "I don't know, Mom… As I said earlier, I only recognize this place by piecing every basic information that I could gather! Now… Whether if we 'somehow' got transported to another world or not… We'll only know that truth if we'd actually be able to unlock Magical Abilities in the Cathedral!"

"I-I see…" His mother said with a worried look.

Arturo scratch the back of his head and asked, "Shall we go into the Cathedral, now? The Paladin already gave me permission to go inside the Cathedral."

"Let's see if we're actually in a different world or if we're just in some sort of weird TV show!" He said.

His mother simply nodded in response and said, "Let's get this over with! Go lead the way, son!"

Arturo simply nodded in response as he leads his mother and his little sister into the Cathedral. At this moment, deep inside, he can't help but to chuckle and say, 'The story b@llsh1t worked! Now… I don't need to explain every single thing to my mom, as to how I know such things! How convenient…'