Sorry for being so late, but unfortunately, I'm still not done on writing the whole batch I wanted to post here, so you will have to wait some more before the next chapter.
Holy shit, it's taking a whole week to write a damn 1200 words long chapter... But I don't think anything bad will happen if I post this particular chapter, so enjoy this for the time being.
Also, I want to announce that when I will publish the next chapter, I will also change the title, because shit, "The Way Home is Stained in Calamity" is one shitty name for this sort of fanfiction... Considering everything I want to fit here, I guess I'll call it "Malice" instead.
Anyway, enjoy the story.
Volume I ─ Lost in the New World
Chapter 10 ─ Irregularity
Ashton silently stared at the Knight's back before he decided to approach the desk, stopping when he was standing right at his side. And as Ashton waited for him to finish dealing with the person at the other side of the desk, the young man casually swept a glance over the piece of furniture.
'Dion Graham, huh.' The only noteworthy thing he found there was the name tag sitting on a corner, with the Knight's name engraved on it.
But at least, now he had a name to associate with the face that made him feel uncomfortable.
His eyes wandered back at the old man, who had just told the latest newcomer of his new directions, and just as the newcomer left the desk, Ashton took the initiative and called out the Knight. "Sir."
Upon being called, Dion glanced back with his signature grumpy expression ─ which looked exactly as it was before the whole matter began ─ and simply hummed in reply. "Hmm?"
"I… have been told to give you these documents by the soldier you left with me in that room," Ashton announced as he extended the papers in his hands to Dion.
However, Dion simply stared at the documents with a disgruntled gaze before looking up at Ashton.
"You've been told to? Is that why you're here?" There was a hint of sarcasm in Dion's voice for some reason, but Ashton was not perceptive enough to pick it up, seeing how bland his reply was.
"Yes."
A sigh of surrender left Dion's mouth as he simply took the documents out of Ashton's hands before quickly reading them.
When he was done, he didn't say anything related to the document's contents and simply placed them on the desk, together with the others.
"Very well." Although Dion seemed to have accepted Ashton in the military, his tone still suggested that he was very annoyed.
"Go through that door," Dion pointed to a wooden door at the right of the recruitment office as he said that. "And then take the stairs at the end of the hallway. The first floor and upward are the living quarters, talk with the employee on the first floor about your living arrangements."
"Ok, bye." Ashton didn't linger there any longer and walked up to the door that Dion mentioned, leaving said person staring at his back with a sharp expression.
Once Ashton closed the door behind him, Dion pulled his gaze away from him ─ along with exhaling an exasperated sigh ─ and casually glanced at the documents that the young man handed over.
"A normal human overloaded with magical power…" He muttered under his breath. "So that's why he felt like that, huh."
Yes, that was the reason for Dion's rash threat to Ashton.
It was not because he didn't write certain details in the document, although that did play a part in the matter. People like that came here in a dime and dozens every year, whether because they were simply illiterate or under unmentioned circumstances.
No, the real reason for that course of action was that he could "feel" large quantities of magic power stored in Ashton's body, quantities that normally would belong to a monster.
It wasn't to say that he could sense magic power, but with enough experience with lots of monsters, anybody would be able to perceive the different levels of magic power concentrated within individuals.
In normal circumstances, humans couldn't have any significant amount of mana within their bodies, to the point where it was negligible for Dion's senses, but it was still possible to expand their storage and reach quantities that would permit them to cast some spells.
However, it was also widely known that learning magic took many decades of one's lifespan. Following that fact, it could be said that only elders could be recognized as wizards since only old people would plausibly have enough time in their lives to learn magic.
One couldn't blame Dion for suspecting that Ashton was a monster in disguise, as the idea of him being a wizard was comparable to an infant working as a full-fledged blacksmith.
But on the other hand, that meant that Ashton ─ who was just a normal human according to Leslie's report ─ had enough magic power to be comparable to monsters, creatures who were more likely to learn magic through instinct rather than intensive study.
It was easy to see where Dion's thoughts were moving at this rate.
He wanted to weaponize it, he wanted to weaponize that asset that belonged exclusively to Ashton. Having a seemingly normal human who had the potential to learn and utilize magic better than most monsters would bolster their military forces to new levels.
It was a shame that he was so… "weak".
Well, that attitude was something that could be fixed in the army given enough time.
"Next." Dion pushed those thoughts aside and looked up at the newcomer before him, resuming his job.
Meanwhile, Ashton was casually walking through the large hallway of the east wing, which was filled with soldiers and what he assumed to be staff members, seeing as they were all wearing white and blue robes with similar motifs.
Looking around, he could see various rooms and halls for miscellaneous purposes, such as a canteen capable of hosting hundreds of people at once, a couple of doors that were off-limits for people like him, and new hallways extending toward the unknown.
Considering that he would live here for the time being, he'd have to explore this facility as soon as he gets the opportunity so that he wouldn't get lost in the building sooner or later. But as for now, he had to find his new residence.
And soon enough, Ashton went up to the first floor and found the employee he was supposed to meet under Dion's orders, where he received his next set of instructions.
They were very simple: He just had to walk up to any door from this floor, or the higher ones, and if the apartment beyond that particular door had less than four people living in it, he was free to take a spot in that residence for himself.
And then, he just had to wait there until the next day, when he was going to receive his next set of orders from another employee.
That was it, he was free to do anything he wanted until then.
"Thank you." After giving his thanks to the employee, Ashton resumed his walk on the first floor, once again observing his surroundings.
Unlike on the ground floor, because these higher floors were related to the living quarters, Ashton felt like he was walking through a hotel, except that this place was less stylish for obvious reasons.
After all, these were the barracks. The army lived here, not tourists.
But it wasn't like Ashton minded such a thing.
For someone who was used to living in a modern city, being suddenly welcomed by a more "outdated" and "simple" setting gave him a particular feeling of wonder that only he could feel.
It was like he was now living inside a movie with the full knowledge of being under such circumstances, although the feeling of misplacement was still there, hidden in a corner of his mind.
But just as Ashton was ruminating about being alone in this world once again, a sudden voice loudly called his name, pulling his attention away from his depressing thoughts.
"Oh, Ashton!"
"Hmm?" With a clueless expression, Ashton looked at his surroundings to find the source of the voice.
"Over here!" At the second shout, Ashton managed to find the person who called him, currently waving at him from a door while a smile was plastered on his face
For a moment, Ashton looked confused at the person before he recognized him as the man who helped him find the barracks, Jean.
'Oh, It's that guy…' Ashton barely considered Jean as an acquaintance, which was why it took him a few seconds to distinguish his face. But even so, he still walked closer to the man to greet him.
"Hello."
"Hey!" Jean enthusiastically saluted back before he spoke. "You certainly took your time at the back of the reception, didn't you? Did you come up here just now?"
"Yeah, I did. I was about to look for an apartment…" At the mention of the topic, Ashton trailed off as he looked behind Jean, noticing a large bedroom with four beds lined up close to each other.
One of them had a backpack sitting on the mattress, meaning that the bed had already been claimed, but that didn't seem to be the case with the other three.
"...Say, you still have a spot for one in there?" Ashton curiously asked, and Jean replied with a smiling nod.
"What a coincidence, I was just about to ask that. Of course there is a spot! I am the only person living here as of now."
"Cool." With that said, Ashton stepped inside and made himself welcome in his new residence.
And now, on the many reviews I received during this period of inactivity!
Sh4d0wgh0st: Yeah GoblinMilk is right for all her fault, manipulation and evilness we must remember Ilias did the right thing for the wrong reasons when she started the moster war 1000 years prior... the dark goddess and her spawn are as much to blame for the state of the world as the megalomaniac light goddess. The humans in the setting have always been shafted as the true victims being played by both sides.
Many in other fanfiction whitewashes their favourite waifus because those cute girl are just misunderstood and 'humans are the true monsters' then you hear Alma Elma saying she must protect the 'innocent' monster by raping and killing strong humans...
Answer: I probably said it before, but the only person in the main cast that I can say has no blame to take is Luka. As for everyone else, they all have faults on something different for each person, starting from Alice and her Four Heavenly Knights up to the two Goddesses and their closest servants.
DG2: He should've leveled up after that 'intense' interrogation.
Answer: If that would make him level up, may God have mercy on him if Alma Elma gets her hands on him...
Guest (1): More like whitewashing everyone that is a monster.
Answer: I guess this review is connected to Sh4d0wgh0st, so I won't say anything extra.
Turt19: Alright i am back i kinda forgot about MGQ fics for a while so bear with me. Good idea about trying to start as a beginner-friendly fic so people who didn't play MGQ can get smoothed in, though i don't know if i missed a part but will there be parts of paradox aswell this time?
Answer: Yes, absolutely. I think I said it in one of the last two chapters before this one, but I have no intention to leave the content that came out in Paradox forgotten, unless it's stuff that is entirely exclusive in that sequel, such as Nero and Neris. But I am willing to add places like Finoa or Grandeur, since nobody said anything against them not existing in the original story, unlike Luddite Village.
Guest (2): Talk about pathetic, cumming from that.
Answer: ...I really don't know what to tell you, my man. I never been with a woman, but usually a porn video and 5 minutes or so in the bathroom works fine enough for me.
Guest (3): That's great and all, but it doesn't change the fact that it's pathetic from the MC, thar the story take way too much time, and the supposed system is nowhere to be seen.
It's simple, if you are writing a gamer fic, and that by one or two chapters the MC isn't actively doing his best to level up as fast as he can, all the while the author take his sweet time for anything, all the while nerfing the system with 'infinite potential', this isn't worth reading.
Jesus, it's been nine chapters! Get a move on already.
Answer: ...?
There are so many things wrong with what you have just said that I'm not going to bother correcting any of them, I would have to extend this chapter up to 6000 words with the author note alone if I did that.
So you know what? I'll just say this.
No, fuck you.