Level Up Legacy

Not all things made sense anymore, and Arthur knew that this path was the one his father was pushing him to take. However, betraying Mistletoe was not something he avoided at this rate. If his deranged father indeed planned on endangering his mouth, it would be in a situation where Arthur could not reach her in time. This predicament fits the bill.

The urgency in his heart aimed the gun at his hesitation and pulled the trigger. Arthur knew that after he left Runera this time, he would become the enemy of Mistletoe and perhaps the world if Sier leaks his identity. However, if waging war against the world saves the last of his family, then Arthur will bleed.

"You have my word, Alexie Linan," said Velos with a hand over his heart. Arthur stared at him and realized that he might not leave this place empty-handed.

"I ask for your discretion over my runic attainments," said Arthur toward the two. "I wish you two are the only ones accompanying me into the ruins. We will not need any other guards."

"The guards will be assigned here to stop those who wish to escape if you fail to catch them. So there is no need to feel pressured to answer our expectations," said Velos. Arthur raised a brow at him while giving him a side glance.

"Dear Captain," smiled Arthur at him. "Have you not heard of Hidden Gems?"

"The name rings a bell."

"It is the little store he opened with Oriole," sneered Jumana. "It competes with top workshops worldwide in Jerano, and it became the first-ranking store for a few days."

"A small victory against titans makes it a gigantic one," said Velos with surprise. "Lead the way, then. Do not let my foolish assumptions offend you."

The runemasters of Runera were all like this, and it made Arthur smile. As annoying and headstrong as they were, they were honest once they recognized you. It was the fact that most of them were not a part of the seven families and lacked their arrogance.

"No offense taken, Captain," said Arthur as he walked toward one of the paths. "The runes in this place are still active. Therefore, it must be this path that they took."

"How did they go past the encryption?" asked Jumana with a frown as the two of them followed after Arthur. "Are there traitors in Runera?"

"Judging by the state of the corpse, I believe they have a high perception stat that allowed them to see past the misleading runes."

"That is plausible, but it should not be enough."

Arthur did not comment on that because he knew that if Sier used the God of Sight, it would be a breeze to see past encryption of this level. However, as he reached the end of the hallway, Arthur realized that an illusion was in place.

"This does not belong to the ruins," said Arthur. "I will leave it to you, captain," said Arthur toward Velos, who nodded and used his mana.

The illusion dissolved before them, and Arthur confirmed that it did not come from an illusion array. Instead, someone implanted this to cover their tracks, and it must be the reason he felt the difference over here.

'Is he... inviting me over?' wondered Arthur with a frown. 'It doesn't matter. I need to get them to the intruders as soon as possible.'

"We still need to decipher the encryption over there," said Velos as he turned toward them with the illusion dissolving behind him. "This is where you prove your worth."

Arthur did not answer and walked toward the giant gate. As his fingers touched it, the runic map appeared in his mind. The countless runes did not deceive him, and he read the year here.

2044.

The unsettling feeling of impending doom rekindled in his heart, and it did not serve well to make Arthur delay his work. In a minute, the gate opened to leave the two grandmasters behind him with dropped jaws.

"I won't appreciate any disclosure of this," said Arthur to the two. "I have perfected a certain technique to decipher runes, although it does not work all the time. This has been passed down through my family for generations."

"Ah, sure," said Jumana with a playful smile, filled with greed at the prospect of a new technique. Arthur decided to let her dream of getting it from him better than her suspecting his identity. "We can talk more in detail later on."

As the encryption fell to pieces in front of them, the gate turned into a portal. The three were surprised to see a different realm inside the ruins, but this highlighted what was inside.

"There seems to be a place beyond this portal," said Jumana with a frown as she closed the portal to examine it. "It does not make sense. What is the purpose behind these ruins?"

Her question made Arthur realize that it indeed made very little meaning so far. However, the first two layers must have been as protective measures against outsiders, and this one was the first real peek as to what lies inside this place.

"Whatever the outcome we end up with is," said Velos while patting his shoulder, "thank you for giving me this chance."

"You are growing too sentimental, old man," smiled Arthur before shaking the captain's grip away. "Let us enter this realm. The culprits should be inside as well."

"This is the path of life so that we can expect a realm with these characteristics," said Arthur. "I don't expect us to end up in the same place. Once we are inside, you are on your own, and I do not guarantee that we will catch them."

"You don't want to leave the city anymore?"

"Do you trust me now?" asked Arthur with surprise. Velos stared at him silently before shaking his head. "I can see you are not that naive, but there is nothing I have to do with this intrusion."

"It is hard to believe that when you know this much and have led us so far," said Velos with a shake of his head. "You are a respectable runemaster, and I will take responsibility for your hate."

"You know that if anything happens to my family, I will come back to kill you one day," said Arthur while standing beside the portal. "The only reason I am pursuing them is to end this mad show."

"We all have our reasons, and I will let you leave once this matter is resolved," said Velos. "And if the time comes and you want to kill me, I will happily be your opponent."

"Let us hope that doesn't happen," said Arthur before walking into the portal. "I will see you on the other side."

Arthur walked through the portals for reasons both of his own and the circumstances. He also needed to understand why Sier killed Grandmaster Casca and infiltrated the ruins. As his body was transported somewhere else, Arthur wondered if he should have risked his life to leave the city.

Velos Avens was an Astra-ranker backed with many arrays and a temporal spirit. Arthur did not have a chance to inflict a wound and a lesser chance to defeat him. As versatile as his abilities were, Arthur knew there was a limit to the amount of change he could bring.

As his body materialized, Arthur realized that his hunch was correct. He was standing inside a giant bamboo forest that stretched as far as the eyes could see. Jumana and Velos seem to have been transported somewhere else, as no one appeared even after a few minutes.

"I expected something more tropical," said Arthur as he looked around. "And less real. This is not an illusion but a handcrafted space separated from the ruins. What is the reason behind this place?"

Arthur wondered as he looked around. However, it did not seem like there were any signs of danger, so he wandered around the bamboo forest.

His quest was long and tedious, but Arthur kept looking for anything to lead him to Mistletoe. At least, he wanted to find them before Velos and Jumana had a chance at foiling his father's foolery.

Mistletoe was one of the core parts of his life in this timeline, and becoming their enemy is precisely what his father wanted. The path ahead would be laid with destruction and blood.

Arthur finally saw something other than bamboo as his thoughts reached this point. A small hut created from bamboo and leaves was in the middle of the forest, with a small fire beside it. As he got closer, Arthur realized that someone was beside the fire.

"You must be the outsider," greeted the man with his back toward Arthur. "I can tell that you don't know me in this lifetime, but we met before. Have a seat, King Arthur," after proposing, the man turned. Arthur stared at Sier, whose eyes were eerily violet now.

"A pleasure to meet you, God of Sight."