Chương 107: 104. Hide n’ Seek

"—everything is good… it's just that… we need some time to go over everything that happened," Xenia said, avoiding his gaze.

"I've never lied, you know. I told you the truth from the start," Eurynomos said. He, too, was avoiding her gaze.

"It's not like you expected us to believe it. You're a nine-year-old boy… at least your body is. It's too much." Eury didn't blame her. He kind of expected something like that to happen. At least they didn't run as soon as they saw him. That was much better than almost a month ago. He nodded and walked away from her. It was best to give them some time to come to terms with everything, and whatever happened afterward, he couldn't really do anything to change it. His frown deepened as he took in the area around him.

A beautiful forest, filled with tall trees that made everything around them green, with the blue hint the leaves gave. The new world was much more beautiful than he'd expected, and the dungeon rooms were as well. He couldn't even compare them to the bare wasteland the Demon Continent was. As soon as he was far enough from his party, he allowed himself to exhale the breath he didn't know he was holding.

Life as a human was much more complicated than he initially thought, and the more time he spent as a human, the more complications arose from everyone around him. He hadn't spent too much time on the human continent back in his old world, but at the time, he couldn't appreciate the beautiful landscapes he had witnessed or the few friends he had managed to make because of his own forsaken pride.

At least he'd managed to take control of his pride even before his life in his world ended at the hands of the Heroes' Party. Eury chuckled at that.

"The Heroes' Party," he muttered. Eury and his sages had a similar name in the demonic tongue—Keroi. The heroic names they were given, in some kind of fucked-up way, were true. But not for the right reasons. They sacrificed themselves in a game the gods played because that was the only way to save most of their people. The alternative was a war that was going to bring countless calamities—on both the human continent and the demon continent. Not that wars didn't happen.

Eury wasn't sure when the last time he'd lived in a peaceful world was. But at least most of those wars were only fought by the few nobles who had started them. They weren't even a fraction of what was going to happen if they didn't step up and decide to become the playthings of a few bored gods. They were nothing but performers on a playground. Eury wasn't sure why he allowed the memories to play out in his mind.

The war, all the casualties, and the final act that was supposed to bring an end to their lives and, with it, peace between humanity and his people. Yet, at the last moment, before the play was done and with it, his life, something had snapped in his head, and he'd taken the gift the unknown entity had given him—the Philosopher's Stone. He shook his head. The past should remain in the past, he told himself. There was no way he could find out if the entity had done what it promised.

Worrying about it constantly wasn't going to help him. He had better things to do instead. Trying to learn why humans were so complicated and how to read situations better. That was the least he could do if he ever wanted to have a better life as a human and keep the friends he'd managed to make. It was hard for Eury to understand them, but he was doing a much better job than he had back in his old world, even from the first day he arrived in the new one.

He knew it was going to take some time, but eventually, he was going to learn and improve. And he already had someone who was capable of teaching him… well, at least the most obvious things. The mage wasn't really that good with people either, but he was still better than him. He wasn't sure how far he'd walked away from his party, but he saw the mage and the kid who was with him. The mage was floating in the air in a lotus position, while the kid sat on the ground. Both of them were silent, meditating.

Eury got closer to them, and the boy opened his eyes. He had a grin on his face, but in moments it was gone, replaced with a look of disappointment. When he was just a few steps from them, the boy closed his eyes, returning to meditation, while Adolin had a huge frown on his face.

"Four levels just for that? How is that fair?" He heard Adolin mutter. The mage didn't look too happy. Eurynomos stopped next to Adolin.

"What are you guys doing?" Adolin opened his eyes and glanced at him.

"Nothing much. Teaching the kid the Full Focus Technique." The kid, on the other hand, didn't move a muscle. His smile soon returned, and his face looked focused. Eurynomos knew the technique in question, but it didn't work for demons, so he never really needed to learn it. Now that he thought about it, most of the techniques he knew only worked on demons. He had already tried a few, but they didn't work, and none of them were registered by the blessing. The blessing really had something against him.

It allowed him to increase his level and attribute points, but they didn't really work. The only attribute that actually worked was Intelligence because the core didn't need a grown body to function. According to the blessing, he was only allowed to increase his level because he was an old soul, but his body had yet to keep up with him. In two to three years, the blessing would allow him to use his strength like everyone else could. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent.

Report any sightings. He couldn't wait for the time when he would finally be able to travel long distances without having to take a dozen breaks. That brought him to the opportunity at hand. The Archmage of Calamity, the one who knew countless spells and techniques, was in front of him. And he, too, like the boy, needed a few techniques. If he wanted Adolin to teach him any, he needed to give his best, pitiful expression.

"Master Mage," Eury said. Talking with Adolin had never been a problem for him because he wasn't like the other humans. Well, maybe he was, but they had a long history, and both of them had gone through a lot, and… the mage was really bad at acting like a normal human. Adolin's eyes snapped open, and his gaze settled on him.

"No." The mage said it and closed his eyes again.

"But! Master Mage! I also want to grow up and become powerful like…" Maybe it was time to learn the other boy's name.

"…the boy!" Eury tried a few more times, but it was all for nought! How was he supposed to get that asshole to teach him? It was impossible… unless he was willing to give him a few more stakes in his dungeon. No! Not unless he had another choice.

"What is it going to take?" Eury finally asked. Negotiating with Adolin seemed to be the better choice. At least there was a chance that the man would make a compromise.

"Hmm…" Adolin muttered. His eyes finally opened again.

"Well, I wouldn't mind a few… a few dozen skewers, some bread, and anything else you can cook up!" Eurynomos's mouth fell open. He knew that Adolin was… unique, and yet he still tried doing it the normal way… well, it became normal when his stomach hurt from hunger for the tenth time. So, he adapted his pitiful expression and started doing his best to get some coins or food from the people of Wolk. The people, which surprised him the most, gave him coins, food, and drinks.

Even though they didn't have any extra for themselves, they still gave him what little they had. It was on his second week of eating from the charity of the people of Wolk that he finally felt that he belonged there.

"Are you stuck in your head again?" He heard Adolin's voice.

"Umm… works!"

"Well," he pointed toward Clay.

"Do what he does." Eurynomos nodded and sat in a lotus position, imitating the mage, and floated his body with a spell. He wanted to look cool as well.... A week before Adolin's arrival at Wolk City.

"—twenty-three, twenty-two, twenty-one…" Melia's heart thumped as she took off running. Her friends scattered as well, each taking a different direction. The streets were filled with people going about their day. She slipped between a pair of them before having to stop to avoid crashing into one of the guards. Where should she hide? Her excitement at finally being allowed to play had prevented her from finding a place to hide beforehand.

She ran through a small alleyway between two houses before taking a left turn and almost crashing into one of the ladies who worked at the bathhouse.

"I'm sorry," she said, already running away.

"Slow down!" came the shout from behind her, but she ignored it. The time was almost up, and she still hadn't found a place to hide. She couldn't afford any distractions, or she would be the first to be caught. She couldn't allow that. She had to prove that she was good at the game. If she managed to stay hidden until the end, perhaps they would invite her the next time they played. Melia wasn't sure where she was going, but she had a good feeling about it.

Soon, she found herself in the better part of the village, where the merchants, the village elder, and the Baron lived. Her mother had warned her to avoid that part of the village, but it was already too late. She slipped behind one of the houses and sat on the ground, her back against the wooden fence. The itch on her hand was becoming unbearable, but she couldn't stop now. She needed to find somewhere to hide. Where should she go?

It was only the second time she had come to this part of the village, and she didn't know any good places to hide. She glanced around. On her left was an opening that led toward the village's palisade. The only thing she could use to hide on that side was the watchtower, but it was too far away, and she could be spotted long before she reached it. The other side was filled with houses, and most of them didn't have anywhere she could hide. Hiding inside a house was forbidden.

The only place she found suitable was the red house, a few houses down the street. It was the village elder's house, and she would probably be in trouble if she got caught, but there was no time to lose. She ran toward it. The house had an open courtyard and a huge garden in the back. Slowly, she moved around the front of the house, careful not to let anyone spot her. She heard voices coming from inside, so she crouched and moved beneath the window, holding her breath. Her heart thumped in her chest.

In just a few moments, she arrived in the garden. It was one of the most beautiful places she had ever visited. The garden was filled with flowers of three, even four, different colors. The closest to her was a blue flower, and she almost picked it. Thankfully, she remembered which house she was in. She had always loved colorful things, but there weren't many colorful things in the village, except for the patch of flowers just outside the village gate. The village was mostly gray, with a few painted houses.

Everything else was the same—gray. The same color as the trees in the forest. A loud crash came from behind her. She dove to the ground, her arms covering her head. Her heart thumped. When nothing hit her, she lifted her head and saw that no one was around her. She sighed in relief. The Baron's daughter and her friends weren't there. More crashing noises came from behind her, so she made herself as small as she could and hid behind the only bench in the garden.

The noises were coming from inside the house, just a few steps away.

"—Lord, we should send a letter to the church. That's the only way the village could survive this," the voice said. Melia quickly recognized it. It was the voice of the village elder. It was impossible not to recognize it, as the village elder gave speeches every first day of the week.

"And how do you suppose we are to do that?" another voice yelled. It was familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place it.

"Bring whatever is plaguing the village back to Wolk?"

"I… no. We send the merchant who arrived yesterday. He hasn't been here long enough to catch whatever it is."

"And if he already has it? Do we risk the entire City?"

"Elliot and the others were already headed toward Wolk before we even discovered it. What will happen if they have it too and bring it to Wolk without anyone notifying the church there?" the elder said.

"Fuck! Have the villagers started the prayers?"

"They have... but there is no answer or any change in the ill." The shouting continued as Melia remained hidden. At this point, no one would find her. The shouting from the house would turn everyone away. Perhaps she could even win. A smile appeared on her face. At some point, the itching on her hand became unbearable. She scratched it, but it had no effect. It had begun two days ago, and it had been itching constantly ever since.

At first, a light scratch was enough to make it go away, but with time, it had only grown itchier. She pulled back her sleeve, uncovering the part of her arm where the itching was coming from. A black mark covered her skin, the flesh around it red and cracked. Melia stared at it. It had been much smaller yesterday, and a week ago, it had been nothing more than a small black dot. She scratched it, and the itching immediately eased, but a burning sensation followed.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stop and focused on hiding. She had to win.

"Fine! Have it your way. If anything happens in the City, I'll have your head, even if you somehow survive this." A louder crash came from inside.

"My daughter has the mark!" a voice shouted from inside. Melia finally recognized the voice. It was the Baron.

"After the merchant leaves, close the gate. Don't let anyone leave." Melia's heart sank. If she wasn't allowed to leave, she wouldn't be able to see the colorful flowers outside the gate.