"H-How did you do this?" Ask Luna (the receptionist of the adventurer guild).
"Sorry, but I can't tell you." I respond.
Luna holds the dark golem core, amazed by what she's holding.
I hope I can get a fair price for this. Getting here was nothing but a stroke of luck
-----
After training with my sister, I had requested that one of the maids accompany me through the town (not that I really had a choice in the matter).
This was technically my first time being outside the mansion, at least, that's what everyone thinks.
The maid who accompanied me told me that those carriages on the metal poles were called trains and that the glowing lanterns connected by poles were called streetlights. They were powered by something called electricity which is basically lightning in a more stable form.
There were also regular carriages that moved independently. They were powered by something called fuel, which is a form of oil or a similar substance.
All this was a bit too much, I could learn about them later. Besides I only had one reason to come out today, and that was to go sell one of the golem cores I had acquired from Malik's body the previous night.
The only problem was that I needed an opportunity to escape. I already had a way to make the maid not notice my disappearance, then came the problem: how would I disappear?
[ Replicate: Allows the user to make a replica of themselves or any object or individual they wish to copy. Once a day has passed, the replica will disappear]
Normally, I would have used this skill to make a copy of myself, but the problem is, the replica can't move.
Pretty useless.
That's what I thought when I read about the skill's capabilities, but now I have a way to address that problem.
Solution: Malik.
If I were to place Malik's soul into the replica then he would be able to move it as he so wishes.
I need to create a body for him eventually, so I might as well take advantage of his soul-state right now.
Before we left the mansion, I used [ Replicate ] to create an exact body double of myself. Then I transferred Malik's soul into the body double.
At first, the body didn't move. I thought maybe something had happened to Malik's soul. Until the body started to incinerate in a bright purple flame. The flame completely engulfed the body. As the flame died down, the body's eyes opened.
I didn't tell Malik what I was doing so at first he was looking around, scouting my room until he actually spotted me.
When I told him what I was doing, his face immediately turned red and before I knew it, I was kneeling before Malik, listening to him bickering about communication and trust.
My head hurts just remembering it.
After he calmed down, I planned to let Malik go with the maid, but the maid came into my room a bit earlier than I expected. It's a miracle I was able to hide Malik just as she came in.
As we walked through the town, I had Malik stay close behind us. I was thinking of other ways for me to escape when-.
"Somebody stop him!" A voice shouted from behind.
A man wearing a mask passed through us. He was holding some sort of necklace.
The guards around the town chased him. Rampaging through the town to catch the thief. They bumbed and moved aside any civilian in their way.
But then the luckiest, well technically unluckiest thing happened. A wave of magic energy crashed through the area. At first, I thought maybe a powerful monster had appeared but when I located the source of the mana, I saw the same man who had just passed us. This time he stood still holding a sword. The guards circled him in an attempt to restrain him. The man channeled his magical energy onto his sword, illuminating it in a red light.
The man swung his sword.
In one swift motion, the man beheded all the guards surrounding him.
Their heads rolled on the ground, dripped in a pool of their own blood.
A few of the guards who had stayed behind from the main guards started to close in on him once more.
When I looked closely, the man was holding a hostage.
It was a little girl with red hair covering her eyes. She looked as if she had been knocked out.
The man then told the guards:
" If you dare come near me again, this little girl will suffer for your actions."
He placed his sword below the girl's neck.
The guards looked at each other with worry in their eyes. The man wasn't kidding.
Slowly but surely, they backed away.
The man swept the girl over his shoulder. He smiled, then ran.
In all the commotion, the maid paid attention to the scene unfolding in front of her. She had diverted all her attention to one thing therefore, I had the opportunity to run away.
I slowly stepped back, ensuring that she didn't notice me. Once I gained enough distance from her, I gave the signal.
'now'
From the back of an alley, Malik had been waiting for me to give him a signal. The moment I gave it, he ran from the alley, passing me as I ran to it.
He had run to the petrified maid and held her hand.
"Excuse me, are you ok?"
The maid snapped back from her petrified gaze.
"Ahh, yes I'm fine, Lord Abel, thank you for being concerned."
As she held onto Malik's hand, the two began to walk back to the Mansion.
I'm guessing the maid didn't want to put Malik (me) into danger.
Smart move.
I watched from the back of the alley, as the guards started conversing with each other about what they would do next. One thought it would be a good idea to tell my father what happened, but the rest thought father would be too busy to do anything. Another thought it would be best if they hired some adventurers for this, but the other guards agreed it made them look pathetic. In short, the guards didn't know what to do. Can't say I blame them, I mean how were they even going to find this kidnapper, let alone take him on?
Well, it didn't care.
" I only have one goal for today," I tell myself
My mana starts to wrap around my body, forming my black bodysuit and cloak.
" And that's to sell this core."
-----
And that's what led to this.
Luna keeps holding the core as if it's a precious diamond that can never be found.
" How did you even find this. Golems are rare to find and they are incredibly powerful on their own. So tell me Mr. Noir, how did you manage to obtain this?"
I can't just say I found a portal at the lake in the middle of the forest.
" That's need to know, and you don't need to know," I tell her.
She looks at me with a stern gaze. I don't know if she knows this but her mana is starting to leak out.
One adventurer approaches me and puts his hand on my shoulder.
" Look kid, you don't know what you're doing. This woman can destroy this whole town and I'm pretty sure you don't want that.".
" Thats right." Says another adventurer " she was once known as the-"
The wave of magic energy emanating from Luna increased. Her red eyes began to glow, and her hair began to be dyed a crimson red colour.
The adventurer with his hand over my shoulder backed away from me but fell. He looked at Luna in horror.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
He got up and quickly ran away towards the gate still screaming at the top of his lungs. The other adventures followed closely behind him.
In a few seconds, the whole place became as quiet as a ghost town.
I turned back at Luna,
Her hair became black and her eyes stopped glowing. Her frightful demeanor had changed back to the calm and collected Luna I had met the previous night.
" How's that? I assumed you didn't want other people to hear this so I chased them away."
That was her just scaring them? A few of them actually looked like they had seen a demon.
" So, I'm assuming you can tell me now right?" She said with a smile on her face.
Well, now what do I do?
" Well, you see...I have been tracking down the dark golem that killed my parents." I say, recollecting the lie I told the other night.
" I tracked it down to the forest last night where I was met with a battalion of dark golems. I tried fighting them but they overwhelmed me with their numbers. I was able to kill the one who took my parents, and ran off with the core."
I lower my head down to make sure I sell the lie. Once again, I feel like a total ba*tard.
Sniff
As I look up, I see Luna with tears in her eyes, trying not to cry.
She comes out from the receptionist's desk and kneels down in front of me. She reaches out her hands, grabbing a hold of me before covering her hands around my whole body.
" I'm so sorry you have to go through this."
Oh, I get it. She's hugging me.
"If you ever need anything, just tell me, and I'll do everything in my power to do it."
I haven't been hugged in a long while. It's nice, knowing that someone actually cares.
"Ok, I will."
------
300 gold coins for a golem core.
She paid me 300 gold coins. With this, I can pay back Claudia's money and use the rest myself. Pretty sweet deal.
As I leave the guild and start to make my way home, I notice that the guards are still there.
Guess they still haven't come up with a solution on what to do.
That hug Luna gave me is a warmth that I haven't felt in a long time, and in who knows how long, that red-haired little girl won't ever get to feel that warmth again.
I let out a heavy sigh.
I start walking towards the forest. When I passed by there yesterday, I had noticed a small hut concealed with a stealth skill. I didn't have time to investigate it so I passed by it.
That must be where the man took the little red-haired girl.
'Hey Malik?' I say telepathically.
'Yes.' He responds.
'I'll be back later than expected.'
'Why is that?'
'I've got a little girl to save.'
-----
The stealth barrier was amateur work—a thin veil of mana that rippled like water if one looked at it long enough.
Abel stepped through the threshold. The inside of the hut smelled of damp wood and rust.
The man was there, unmasking himself as he stood over the unconscious red-haired girl.
"You should have kept running while you had the chance." Said Abel. His voice was muffled by the mask he wore.
The man spun around and ignited his sword in the red mana once more.
He blinked, looking down—way down—at the tiny child standing in his doorway.
"A... kid? How did you get past the—"
'Sir Abel' Malik's voice echoed in Abel's mind, sounding worried. ' Your sister is trying to feed me carrots. Please, hurry.'
Abel sighed.
"I have five minutes before my 'body' has a meltdown over vegetables. Let's get this over with."
The man roared, swinging the red-lit blade in a wide, desperate motion.
He was fast for a kidnapper but for Abel, it was like watching a fish try to move on land.
The man continues his relentless attacks. His mana increased the power of his blade. Yet all Abel did was dodge.
'please hurry sir Abel.'
Things are looking pretty dire for Malik, but what was his problem with carrots?
'poor you.' Abel thought
It was time to end things
Abel stepped inside the man's guard, passing easily under the path of the sword.
A single palm was placed against the man's sternum.
[ Mana Pulse ]
It wasn't enough to kill—dead bodies are a hassle to deal with—but it sent a concentrated jolt of mana directly into the nervous system. The magical energy flickered and died.
It's was neither a skill nor a spell. It was a direct effect of Abel's mana.
The man's eyes rolled back, and he hit the floor with a heavy thud, unconscious.
Abel walked over to the girl. She was breathing steadily, merely deep in sleep from the mana shock earlier.
'Malik, I've got the girl. How's the carrots?'
' I ate them,' Malik replied, his mental tone dripping with despair. 'She patted my head and called me a "good boy." I may never recover my dignity.'
"Better you than me," Abel whispered.
Picking up the girl, who wasn't much taller than him, Abel walked out of the hut and tracked his way back to town. The plan was simple: leave her where the guards would easily find her.
He wondered what the kidnapper wanted to do with her.
Unbeknownst to Abel, the red-haired little girl started to regain her conscious.
The first thing the red-haired girl saw was the back of a boy carrying her.
Questions flooded the little girl's mind.
Who was this boy, and where was he taking her?
She began to stress out and worried about what would happen to her. The pressure was too much and once again, the girl lost her consciousness.