Chương 298: Levande

After stepping out of the portal and into the mountains, Damion took out his tablet to get his bearings. Once he knew which way he needed to go, he began using Blink as a means of fast travel. Every cast only moved him 5 meters, but it was 5 meters in the blink of an eye, and he was casting the spell as fast as he could. It did not take Damion long for Levande to come into sight and once it did, Damion ceased his teleporting method of travel and continued forward on foot.

When he reached the city wall, he realized he had a slight problem. He had not arrived at the town by way of road and as far as he could see in either direction along the wall, there was no gate. Not wanting to waste time, Damion leapt up and landed on the top of the wall before jumping down and walking into the city. No alarm sounded, which Damion took as a good sign. Towns in Yellow Zones tended to have alarms that would alert the guards to something passing over the wall.

Levande was on the edge of the Argentum White Zone though, so it seemed they were not too worried about dangerous beasts or bandits sneaking over the wall. Now that he was inside the city, Damion had another problem to work out. How to find his family. Mage Teft's message said they were living under the name Brunnen. With that as a lead, Damion connected his tablet to the city directory and looked them up. He discovered they lived in a small apartment complex near the center of the city.

Damion resisted the urge to run as he made his way through Levande. It would not do to draw attention to himself. When he finally was standing outside the door to their apartment, Damion felt a bit afraid, wondering what his family would think. Would they blame him for their having to live in secret? Would they be angry it took him so long to find them? Would they forgive him for not being strong enough to protect them? After mustering up the courage, Damion knocked on the door.

The door opened a moment later and Damion had to look down to see that it was Bethany who had opened it.

"Hewwo," Bethany greeted.

"Bethany! How many times must I tell you not to open the door?" Sharon said as she rushed to the door to see who was paying them a visit.

"Hello, little one," Damion answered Bethany while he waited for his mother to reach the door. When Sharon arrived at the door, she looked at Damion with a confused look.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"I had hoped you would recognize me, but I guess my disguise really is that good," Damion answered. He then pulled Bethany's stuffed rabbit out of the Magic System Inventory and handed it to her.

"This should clear some things up."

"Bunbun!

'ook mama, Bunbun," Bethany said excited to see her lost toy returned to her.

"May I come in, mother."

"Da… Damion?" Sharon Wells cried as she embraced the unfamiliar appearance of her son.

"Come in. Come in."

"Thank you. I would have come sooner, but I wanted to make sure no one would follow me," Damion said as he stepped inside, and the door closed behind him. Once the door was closed, he removed the Metamorphic Bracelet and reverted to his natural appearance. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"Oh, it is so good to see you," his mother said, pulling her son into another hug.

"Bra'her," Bethany squealed when she suddenly recognized her brother. The little girl rushed over and wrapped her arms around his legs.

"I had drem of you."

"You did," Damion smiled, kneeling down to hug his sister.

"I had a dream about you too." Bethany giggled as Damion lifted her up and gave her a quick spin before setting her back down.

"Have you all been well?" Damion asked his mother.

"Just fine. We've spent most of our days worrying about you. Helga kept us informed about the remarkable things you accomplished in that school. But honestly, we really did not understand to much about them. We just accepted Helga's word that they were remarkable."

"Have you heard from her lately?" Damion asked.

"A message just a few days ago, letting us know you had graduated fine, but she would be going on an extended trip and would likely not be able to do much for us for a while. But now you are here, so I think everything will be alright. But there is one person here that you still need to say hello to."

"Where is dad? Is he busy redesigning this city for fun?"

"I wasn't talking about your father, who is at work, but instead Elicia." Damion swallowed hard when he heard her name. Arica had mentioned her being moved somewhere safe and he guessed Mage Teft thought the best place for her was with his family.

"She is here?" Damion asked quietly.

"Yes she is. She is sleeping in a bit this morning. I must tell you; I was a bit surprised when she showed up at our door. You could have at least let your mother know you were involved with a girl before you send her over pregnant."

"Mage Teft didn't tell me you all were alive until after I graduated. I've spent the last year thinking…"

"Don't worry son," his mother said, pulling his head down onto her shoulder.

"I know you had it rough. Helga explained it all to us. I don't know if this was the best way, but it seems to have turned out alright, so I can't complain." When his mother was finished comforting him, she let him up and Damion made his way to the bedrooms where Elicia was sleeping. Slowly opening the door, he silently stepped into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Not much longer than a month had passed since he saw her last, but he had missed her quite a bit.

Spending nearly every moment with someone for almost a year brought them quite close together and now here she was, carrying his child. Damion reached up and stroked her hair and gently touched her cheek. Waking at the touch, Elicia could hardly believe her eyes when she saw her love sitting on the bed, watching her sleep. She quickly reached out and hugged him.

"What are you doing here?" Elicia asked after releasing Damion from the hug.

"I made an artifact that can disguise me, so I came for a visit. How have you been?"

"Wonderful. This past month with your family has been so relaxing and freeing. I never really understood what it truly meant to be part of a family until I came here."

"Mom must have been pretty shocked when you showed up."

"To tell you the truth, yes. Honestly, after the stories she's told of your childhood, I don't think she ever expected you to give her a grandchild."

"What?" Damion asked, rather shocked at the appraisement.

"It's true. She told me you were a very driven little boy. Always very serious about training and about studying."

"Oh."

"And I told her that had not changed at all."

"No, I suppose it hasn't. But I have been trying to make time for other people," Damion told her and kissed her forehead.

"How long are you staying?"

"I can't stay too long. I was able to come here because no one could follow me. But I don't want to remain too long, and risk being recognized."

"I understand. You will wait until dinner though, for your father to come home right?"

"Yes. I also want to try something while I am here."

"Oh really?" Elicia teased.

"Nothing like that," Damion told her. He then took out his body scanner from the Magic System Inventory and activated it to scan Elicia's body.

"What are you doing?" Elicia asked after he put the scanner away and took out his tablet.

"Here, look at this." Damion turned the tablet so she could see the image of the fetus in her womb.

"Is that our?"

"Yes, that is our baby."