They talked about a lot of things that day—going on and on for hours without end.
The conversation trailed until nighttime, and the group was still engaging in interesting discourse.
Talks on training, their experience working with—or rather, for—Ater, helping out in the recovery efforts of the city, and their thoughts on the upcoming march to the front lines.
It was a very stacked discussion to be had.
"Apparently, the Dragons have slowly been increasing their forces in the Front Lines, so it's best we return before anything serious happens." Clark said with a calm tone.
Rey didn't know whether it was just his imagination, or the boy was looking a lot calmer than he remembered.
'Is Brutus rubbing off on him or what?' He couldn't help but think.
Justin was still the same: cracking jokes—sometimes inappropriate ones—but all in all, being a pleasant person to be around.
Belle spoke sparingly, especially regarding her training with Lucielle.
"That woman is tough when it comes to training. Don't let her cheerful demeanor fool you!" That was Belle's verdict.
Apparently, Lucielle was incredibly strict when it came to the practice of Magic, which was why she never really had a direct disciple. She did help train and guide very talented Mages, but none was close enough to have an intimate 'Master and Apprentice' relationship with her.
Belle was chosen because she had an A-Tier Class—same as Lucielle—and her power as an Otherworlder could not be ignored.
In all likelihood, she would even surpass the Grand Mage at some point.
"But it seems I still have a lot to learn about Magic. Either way… I'm a lot stronger than I was before!" Belle concluded with a beam.
The girl didn't realize it yet, but her cheery attitude—especially the smile—was awfully similar to Lucielle's.
Anyone would agree that they suited each other perfectly.
"Funny how Sir Brutus is a lot more considerate than he looks." Justin laughed heartily.
"Right?" Clark agreed with him.
For over two months, they had trained and studied—even without Adonis' encouragement and presence.
When Rey asked them why they still stayed and chose to work hard despite every reason not to, they all had their unique responses.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"I want to help the people around me. To do that, I must become strong."
"Those Dragons took Eric's life. I'd be an awful friend if I didn't try my best to at least avenge him by finishing what he started."
"I guess… I just want to see how far I can go. I have this power, right? It would be a waste not to use it."
Clark, Justin, and Belle all had their reasons for moving forward. Trisha and Adonis must have also had theirs, but it was a shame that they weren't present.
"You should definitely visit Trisha if you can. Out of all of us, she seemed the most devastated after seeing your hidden power."
Rey smiled as he heard those words.
'I had a feeling…' Trisha had always sort of shared a level of camaraderie with Rey, considering how—despite the both of them being weaker than those at the top—they strived to improve and grow stronger by hard work.
'She must have felt betrayed that I was only lying to her. I made it seem like she could become very strong if she just worked harder despite me already being a lot stronger than I let on…'
According to what he was told, Trisha left for the Adventurers City only a few days ago, so by this time she was probably just settling in there.
'It's better I let things settle for a while before seeing her. Perhaps tomorrow…'
Inevitably, they also discussed their opinions on the letter Adonis left before he departed from the team.
Based on the reactions of everyone present, they still seemed slightly upset that he would leave without at least saying it to their faces.
"I mean… I know Adonis was the one who carried us through most of the fights, and he must have a lot weighing on him, but it's like he always told us: We are a team!" Justin sighed, shaking his head.
It was rare to see Justin upset, but he clearly felt betrayed by Adonis' actions.
"Eric sacrificed himself because he believed in Adonis. He believed in sticking together as friends and saving the world as its champions. Even Billy… "
These were all ideals that the Hero had imparted in all of them. But now that they had fully accepted their responsibility… where was he?
Where was Adonis?
"He probably has a plan in mind… but I just feel like he didn't trust us enough to divulge it to us. Maybe he didn't want to burden us any longer…"
Clark felt more disappointed in himself than Adonis; almost as if he was blaming himself for the departure of the Hero.
"Burden us any longer? Dude… what do you think he did by leaving us in a damaged city? He literally left the Capital for us to take care of while he went somewhere no one knows." Justin replied, clearly annoyed by Clark's interpretation of the whole thing.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"He did tell us in the letter not to bother or struggle any longer, and that he would take care of everything from this point on."
"Well, he can kiss my ass."
"Dude…"
"What? My ass is clean, so it's fine… probably."
Once again, the tense atmosphere went back into a more lighthearted haven.
Rey engaged in a few more shared ideas here and there, until finally he couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer.
He had to ask…
"Why are none of you asking about my Skills or Class? I thought you'd be curious."
The truth is, he had been expecting that question for a while now. He even prepared a response which would be something like:
"It's not something I can divulge at the moment. But, yeah… I'm very strong."
Rey didn't particularly mind telling his classmates what he could do, but there was one major reason why he avoided doing so.
It was a reason he had decided to suspend for the present moment.
"Well… personally, I am curious, but I don't want to push you to say it or make you uncomfortable." Justin said with a slight chuckle.
"Yeah, same here."
"I guess it's the same here. Besides, Sir Ater already told us not to make you uncomfortable and pester you when you finally woke up."
Once Rey heard the response from his classmates—no, his friends—he nodded and smiled even more.
"Thanks guys…"
It seemed his prepared response was not needed, after all.
"... I mean it."
********
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})[Moments Later]
Rey was in his room, laid upon his bed, while Ater floated beside him.
He was deep in thought, and since this was clear, there was perfect decorum in the wide expanse that surrounded him.
Ater said nothing, simply watching as his Master brooded on the thought that echoed in his mind.
"Hey, Ater… how long have you known?" Rey finally spoke up, his voice a mere whisper as it floated in the air.
"Since I first laid my eyes on him."
"...."
Rey fell silent for a moment. He was initially shocked by the discovery, but thankfully none of this showed thanks to his mastery over his outward display.
Despite the suddenness of it all, he acted like nothing had just happened.
'It certainly explains a lot of things, but… I still don't get it.' Rey rose to his feet and stared blankly into the air.
'Justin is working for Adrien.'
[STATUS WINDOW]
- Name: Justin Baker
- Race: Undead (Otherworlder)
- Class: Ghost Assassin (A-Tier)
- Level: 120 (64.90% EXP)
- Life Force: 300 (+150) [1,000]
- Mana Level: 200 (+100) [500]
- Combat Ability: 100 (+50) [500]
- Stat Points: 0
- Skills (Exclusive): [Mimic]. [Marionette]. [Stealth]. [Sleep]. [Voice Mimic]. [High Perception].
- Skills (Non-Exclusive): [Dash]. [SideStep]. [Ghost Mode]. [Greater Regeneration]. [Greater Mana Recovery]. [Mind Transfer]
- Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
[Additional Information]
A former human who became an Undead and servant of a Necromancer. His will to live is strong, and while he is on the side of good… evil is not out of the question to achieve his goals.
[End Of Information]
"I don't know why I didn't see it until now…" Rey mumbled, recollecting the Status Window that stood in front of Justin's face when he Appraised all three of his 'friends.'
He was just curious—interested in seeing how far they had advanced over the course of training for over two months.
The other two had pretty standard ones, but… Justin had two Status Windows.
One was the type that Rey had always seen—the one where he was still a human, with less Levels, Stats, and overall information.
But the second one was completely different.
It was the true Justin.
"How long do you think he has been working for Adrien?" Rey asked, even though he already had his suspicions.
The moment Ater responded, though, he could no longer deny it.
"If I were to guess… I'd say it was from the very beginning."
*
*
*
Thanks for reading!
Well, it looks like the cat is out of the bag. But, I'm sure I already made it obvious. I even dropped some hints here and there…
