He better not be where I think he is.

A frustrated young boy muttered to himself as he ran across the street. Making turns around blocks and houses, he ran as fast as his small legs could carry.

Mom and dad are gonna kill us if we don't get back before lunch, well not exactly kill, but I mean... mom's scary when she's mad. Dang it bro, why do you always do this to us?!

The boy continued to run down the block. He slowed down when he reached a busy part of the camp. He was in a hurry but he knew that running carelessly near a construction site was a bad idea. He also didn't want to risk bumping near the tents and carts loitering around the area.

Can't you understand that those thugs are bad? They don't even want to be friends with people like us to begin with. If they bully you again, I swear...

After running for a while, he reached the part of the camp he wanted to go to. He was extremely exhausted from running and the obstacles along the way such as scattered trash bins and wrecked food stalls did not help in his pursuit. He panted as he tried to catch his breath after what felt like running in a marathon. He eventually steadied his breathing before looking at his surroundings.

The boy found himself in a fairly opulent area, with industrial structures and advanced machines surrounding him. The houses also had numerous metallic attachments and reinforced steel walls all around them. As much as the location looked like a mechanic's dream, the boy resented going to this particular area of the camp.

Don't get too distracted, I gotta find him fast.

The boy quickly looked around the area. He was slightly surprised that there weren't people around as he was in one of the known busiest areas in the camp, but he didn't pay too much mind to that issue. The boy started to doubt himself when he couldn't find who he was looking for, that was until he heard a distant yell. The source of the scream came from a young boy's voice which immediately alerted him.

He went to where he thought he heard the sound and later found himself in a rather shady alley. There he saw the four familiar young delinquents he knew all too well, and they appeared to be surrounding a young boy who was kneeling on the ground. He couldn't see the young boy's face very well because he was facing the opposite direction but when he saw the recognizable toy plane beside him, he felt sudden rage from the commotion.

"Hey! What are you doing with my brother!?" the furious boy yelled, calling the group's attention.

"Well, look who it is..." one from the group replied with a smirk. "Dear big brother coming to save his poor baby brother again. Seems like you're just a pathetic wimp who always depends on someone to help him."

"Why you!"

The boy rushed toward the group but three of the delinquents surrounded him and bound his arms from behind before he was able to react to their assault. The three delinquents were keeping him in place while the fourth one, the group's leader, slowly approached him with a smug look on his face.

"You won't get away with this, Locke!" the boy yelled in spite as he tried to struggle out of the delinquents' grasp, but to no avail.

"You know... everything would've been fine if you just listened to what I said last time. You remember that don't you?" the boy named Locke, remarked maliciously.

"Grr..."

"I told you, that I don't ever want to see you or you're pathetic brother's face ever again! But then, here we are now. That stupidly annoying punk over there barged into our territory without permission from my family's personnel again, and he still thinks that I could be friends with a lowly commoner like him? Ha! Don't make me laugh! And then of course, his older brother shows his disgraceful face in front of me as well."

"Did you not understand what we agreed upon? Or are you two so poor that your parents didn't even bother enrolling you in a school and that you couldn't even understand basic words? Oh wait, you are poor, worthless even! My family shouldn't even live in the same camp with stinky beggars like you, let alone breathe in the same air as you pathetic buffoons," Locke added. "And what? Do you think I'll tolerate this? Do you think I'll just let you and your pitiful excuse of a brother over there go? No no no, we're way past that now."

"Yeah, we're gonna give you a bad time for crossing us, you... uhhh... assholes!" one of the delinquents concurred. "Give us all your toys!"

"Lode, why don't you... just... never mind..." Locke's mood quickly shifted from malice to utter disappointment. "Now, where were we? Ah yes, of course. We're going to decide what we should do to you two."

"No!"

Everyone's attention diverted towards the boy on the ground. He looked tired and exhausted but he didn't appear to be physically injured. He had tears in his eyes and he was clutching his toy plane tightly.

"Please... don't hurt my brother... it wasn't his fault, it was mine. Please I'll g-give you anything you want, just let him go! Here, you can even have my toy plane if you w-want!"

The young boy raised his hands, offering the mechanical toy plane to the leader. Locke raised his brow as he grabbed the toy from the boy and inspected it closely. From the sophisticated parts to its shining exterior, the toy looked almost realistic that one could mistake that it was more of a machine than a mere toy. After a few moments of inspection, Locke smirked as he held the toy in his hand before turning to his gang.

"Woah, Locke, that toy looks amazing!" Lode smiled as if he just pulled out three UR cards from a single card pack. "We should just take it from him!"

"Hmm... you're right Lode, it does look awesome, way cooler than any toy I've ever seen," Locke concurred. "But I mean... would we just let them go just because they're giving us a toy? What do you guys think?"

Before the rest of his gang was able to respond, Locke dropped the toy plane on the ground and stomped on it multiple times. The impact force generated from his shoes smashed the toy into pieces, scattering them to the ground. Everyone who witnessed the childish brutality was left shocked and speechless.

"M-m-my p-plane..."

The boy crawled to grab the broken frame of the plane, the feeling of devastation was only equal to the ravaged condition of the toy. The boy then gathered a broken piece that belonged to the plane and tried to connect it back but the piece barely stuck to the frame before falling once again on the hard pavement. Giving up from desperately trying to attach the fallen pieces, the boy clutched the toy tightly to his chest as he started to sob uncontrollably.

"W-why? M-my brother... b-built that p-plane..."

"Hahahahaha! Oh, that reaction is priceless!" Locke mocked while laughing loudly. "You really are pathetic! Do you think I'd accept anything from some worthless filth like you? I don't care how cool that toy looked. If it belonged to a commoner, then it ain't worth shit!"

The boy who was being held by Locke's gang could no longer contain his impending fury. He could stand the delinquent leader's insults any day. He has also heard him insult his brother right in front of his face numerous times already, and has eventually grown a tolerance for it. But seeing the toy he built for him that his brother held dear get mercilessly destroyed, was enough for the kettle to boil.

The harsh treatment and everything that had happened during their previous encounters made the boy snap; he has never felt so angry in his life. Quickly thinking of a way to retaliate against the injustice, he thought of a way to get out of the gang's restraints. With a cry of rage, he stomped on one of the group's feet and slammed his shoulder against the young delinquent who was behind him, the force was enough to knock him unconscious.

He then punched the one from his left, knocking him down towards the barrels beside them. The third delinquent came from behind him and punched the boy back, making him stagger to the ground. Locke took notice of the commotion and later on joined his gang to fight back against the enraged kid. The boy quickly regained back his bearings and pushed the delinquent towards Locke, knocking them both down.

The delinquent that was punched earlier went back towards the boy by delivering a kick. Them being all young, every attack they make was all clumsily executed, but the same goes for their reaction time. The kick was poorly performed but the boy was too slow to register it, and left him being knocked towards a wall.

"No one punches me, without getting hit back!" the delinquent angrily replied.

The delinquent, from what the boy could remember was named Lode, lunged towards him. The boy quickly got away from the wall, allowing Lode to foolishly hit the wall instead. His ungraceful assault led him vulnerable which gave the boy time to punch him squarely in the face. Before he was able to do anything further, he failed to notice Locke getting back up who then surprised him with a kick from behind his back.

"No commoner has the right to attack me!" Locke shouted before kicking the boy again.

But the boy's wrath was further motivating him to fight back as he quickly got back up and delivered a swiftly executed punch directly towards Locke's face. He then kicked him squarely to his stomach, leaving Locke to pathetically stumble on the ground. The boy panted in exhaustion as he tried to steady his breathing, he was still extremely angry and he wasn't done punishing the delinquents who dared insult his brother.

He approached Locke who was trying to get up from the ground. His burning rage against him was telling him to bring him more pain for everything that he did to him, but mostly what he did to his brother. He saw a loose metal pipe conveniently placed near the trash bins and went to grab it. He raised the pipe over his head as Locke was still struggling to get up from the pain he received from his stomach.

"You... you think you'll get away with what you will do? Go ahead, give me your worst!" Locke said as he groaned in pain. "But after this, you think you'll still be safe? My family is rich and powerful! So I don't care if you hit me with that pipe because the pain you will experience soon will be a lot worse than this. Once I told them what you did to me, there will be no place you or your family can hide! You will suffer, especially your STUPID BROTHER!"

"Grrrgghhaaa! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"No don't!"

The boy failed to notice his brother who was now behind him. He tried to stop his older brother from doing something that he would regret later on, so he went behind him to stop his arms from delivering the blunt weapon to its intended target. But his brother only felt annoyed from someone interfering with what he needed to do. He tried to shake him off him by struggling against his grasp aggressively. Eventually, he faced back towards the one who was restraining him and through his blind rage, he swung the pipe against him without acknowledging who it was.

It took a while for the enraged boy to realize what had happened, and when he did acknowledge it, he felt his entire world turn upside down. The force of his attack powered by his rage had unintentionally knocked his brother towards a large steel outdoor trash bin. Panic rose through his body as he rushed towards his unconscious brother.

He was about to shake him vigorously to wake him up until he saw blood dripping behind his head. All the rage he felt from that point on instantly vanished the moment he realized what he did. He didn't want to believe what was happening in front of him, he denied that everything up to that point was real. He was frozen from his spot as he was still having difficulties processing the events that took place.

His trembling hands made him drop the metal pipe he was holding. He stared at the blunt weapon and noticed that there were also stains of blood on it. His uncontrolled rage turned into an intense feeling of regret, guilt, and shame as he carefully held his unconscious brother in his arms. He then checked for his pulse and was slightly relieved that he was still alive.

He gave way to tears as he hugged his brother. He wanted to scream, to say how sorry he was for doing something terrible to him but no words came out of his mouth. He didn't know why or how exactly it happened. All he could remember was that he was so furious at the delinquents who were bullying his brother and then the irony came down upon him when he was the one who hurt his brother physically, even if it wasn't intentional.

He was still trying to assess what he was currently feeling as he wasn't as good at expressing emotions in a relatively quick manner, especially since the emotions in his mind were competing for dominance. He did know that he was now more mad at himself for accidentally succumbing to his temper. But despite his misfortune, he needed to get back home to help his brother.

And the longer they stayed there in the alley, the higher the risk of something even worse that could happen to his brother. He stood up and he positioned himself to carry his brother on his back. But just as he was about to do so, he was tackled from behind, causing him and his attacker to fall to the ground.

"You think I'm done with you? You're gonna be sorry for messing with me!" Lode stated as he tried to keep the boy in place.

"Grrr..."

Though feeling fatigued from all the fighting, the boy still had enough spirit in him to fight back. He rolled to the side before delivering an elbow strike to his assailant's face, rendering him slightly dazed. The boy used that opportunity to get back up, running towards his younger brother who was still lying on the ground unconscious. Unfortunately for him, Lode stood up from the ground, still wanting to fight back. Lode didn't even hesitate as he once again charged at him.

"I'm not done with you!"

The boy heard Lode's furious declaration but he was a bit too late to react. He turned back to face his attacker, only to receive yet another punch in the face. Lode was about to punch him again when the boy retaliated with a strong kick directed to his stomach, sending him a few distances away. But what happened next was something the both of them did not expect.

The boy's kick happened to knock Lode towards a wall that was occupied by a bunch of broken mirrors and rusty barbed wires nestled together. What was once Lode's healthy body was now a bloody mess with all the loose glass shards piercing throughout his entire body. Additionally, Lode felt the barbed wire that pierced his skin just below his back. Lode screamed in agony as he quickly tried to get out from where he was, but the more he moved, the more pain he felt from the glass shards and the more the barbed wire that stuck to him moved up in his body.

Eventually, Lode was able to pull his right arm out of the glass shard but the sudden abrupt movement instantly silenced him from screaming. Lode's body suddenly stopped moving and in a few seconds, blood sprayed everywhere. The movement of struggling that he made with his right arm triggered the long piece of barbed wire that stuck itself to its back to suddenly pierce all the way to his neck. And everything in between those parts of his body had a visible disoriented-shaped line running across it, almost as if his body was cut in half.

Lode's body became separated in two as both fell sideways from the barbed wire; revealing numerous internal organs such as the lungs, liver, intestines, etc. dropping from the bloodied ground. Lode's neck and head, however, remained on top of the barbed wire; the general appearance was similar to that of a head on a pike if only the head was slightly on the side and the body's esophagus still hanging just below the neck. His heart was also on the ground, still beating, but the sight of it did not make the scenery any better.

The boy who watched the entire scene unfold was utterly frozen in shock. He didn't know why or how it happened but he knew that he caused someone else's demise, in a brutal and ruthless way. He just stood there, both eyes and mouth widely opened. He did not know why he kick the young delinquent towards that specific area in the alley and he was mostly not paying attention to his surroundings more than he should have because he was merely trying to defend himself and he most probably had enough of the delinquents trying to fight him because he badly needed to leave to attend to his brother's current state.

But the boy was silently questioning himself whether his predicament in the situation would justify his horrendous act, even if what he did wasn't intentional and that he wasn't completely himself because of his emotions complicating themselves in his mind.

"L-lode?"

The boy's stupor was cut off by a voice he could recognize. He looked back to see Locke, who was clutching his stomach in pain, with horror and shock apparent in his eyes. Immediately, fear overrode all the other emotions running through his head, instinctively making him step away from Locke. The boy continued walking back in the opposite direction, running towards his younger brother.

He was lost on what he should do to assess the situation but he knew he needed to help his brother quickly. He set aside his nefarious actions; both to his brother and to one of the delinquents, and carefully carried his unconscious brother on his back. He didn't know if what he was doing was right because he had no knowledge of performing first aid and he was too tired to think properly, let alone afford to successfully carry his brother whose head was bleeding all the way back home.

With conflicting ideas in his mind, he was left to figure out everything along the way. He surmised that he would just decide what to do as he go home and then take a breather afterwards from everything that just happened and hopefully find a way to remedy the problems he caused if he could. Right now, his brother was his priority so with little power he had left, he stood up with his brother on his back and proceeded to walk away.

But just as he was about to leave, the boy heard silent weeping behind him. He glanced behind him to see Locke staring at Lode's remains.

"You... killed... my brother..."

After hearing that statement, the boy felt as if he was eternally cursed to be haunted by what he did. Scared of what might happen next, the boy speedily walked away from the darkened alley, never once looking back at the scene he caused. Though he escaped from the possible wrath of a fellow brother's lament, the action he made will forever haunt him in the depths of his young mind.


Two groggy eyes lightly opened followed by a tired groan. The man felt like he had just woken up from a bad dream, which wasn't too far from the truth. The first things his senses could pick up were light murmurs and incomprehensible noises in front of him. He rubbed his eyes and then fully opened them, finally looking at his surroundings.

From his perspective, he noticed that he was in a room. The room had a bunch of shelves, a few chairs, decorative plants, and numerous antique-looking bottles and trinkets. The fascinating ornaments did not pique the man's interest as his attention was directed elsewhere; specifically to the two individuals who were talking to each other right in front of him.

They appeared to be in deep conversation as the man realized that they haven't noticed him awake yet, but for reasons he could not fully describe yet, the man preferred the act of ignorance. He didn't know why he was in that room he was currently in or what insanity occurred that caused him to be where he was. What was even weirder were the two individuals in front of him.

One was a boy with distinctive purple hair who wore a maroon cape and an outfit that he discerned was something an adventurer from the Medieval Ages would wear. He felt a bit weird for seeing someone wearing such outfit if being from his time was a consideration but looking at the other individual was what made his head throb more painfully than it already was. Said person barely resembled human as the most predominant trait her appearance had was the long snake tail where her legs should have been. She also had white hair, light-purple skin, weird ornaments and garments all around her, and barely had any clothing to cover most of her skin.

If it made the man feel any better, he was probably in some sort of a costume party and he happened to just be drunk and somehow fallen unconscious. But as much as he wanted to think that way, his logical mind was demanding him to acknowledge the sinister facts. The first was that he doesn't drink alcoholic beverages, so there was no way that he'd be drunk. Even if one of his closest co-workers tried so many times to force him to drink, he never gave in.

The second was that the snake lady's attire appeared to be too real to be a mere costume and for whatever weird reasons he had, her presence also terrified him for a bit. Not to the point that just by seeing someone like her, he'd run away, but in the sense that she's not someone he could freely mess with. The third was that the more he observed the two individuals in front of him, the more he could recognize who they were. Eventually, his mind was finally able to process everything in front of him and he felt the entirety of his mind break into pieces.

Crap, of course, how the hell could I forget?

If he could slap himself, he would've but he didn't want to make sudden movements to attract his 'companions' attention. He was still having difficulties accepting the painful truth in front of him and he didn't really feel like confronting them. He needed more time to think of his current situation and what exactly happened as to why he was in bed. It wasn't that he somehow forgot the details of the previous events before he was unconscious, but the dream he just had combined with the extreme discomfort he could feel in his back was dulling his mind's capabilities to recall exact events.

My back freaking hurts like hell!

The man slowly rubbed his back as he tried his best to recall his recent misfortune. The universe, however, had a habit of tormenting anyone in its domain and decided that it was a good idea to mess with the poor man's troubles.

"Valon! You're finally awake!"

Curse you, universe!

Valon could see the boy approaching him as he sat down on the chair beside the bed.

"Yeah... sure am..."

"I'm glad you're alright, you uhh... were in pretty bad shape when we got to you..."

"Ughhh... what... happened?" Valon asked, groaning in pain. "Why am I here? In this room?"

"Oh, well, uhh... you were knocked out unconscious yesterday."

"Huh... wait, yesterday?"

"Yeah, you've been resting here since yesterday. If you're wondering where we are exactly, we're in the medical ward, here in the Sutherland Inn."

"Man, I was out like a light since yesterday? Wait, so what time is it now?"

"Uhh... I'm not sure exactly, maybe early noon? Alice and I have already eaten breakfast but we couldn't just leave you here like this so we were waiting for you to wake up," Luka remarked. "Oh, speaking of breakfast, here's yours."

Luka reached for the silver cloche food cover on top of a drawer near Valon's bed and set it aside, revealing a tray holding a spoon and a bowl filled with a viscous yellow broth and pale brown toppings floating on the surface. The tray also held an empty glass and a silver pitcher filled with water.

"Do you want me to—"

"Nah, it's fine dude, I can reach it from here," Valon interjected, placing the tray on top of his lap as he then dipped the spoon into the broth and started to eat. "Mmm... chicken soup? Tastes good and it's still warm. Your cook or the inn's?"

"It's made by the cooks here in the inn," Luka answered before changing the topic. "So how are you feeling?"

"Besides the back pain? I feel alright, I guess..."

"Okay... well... I was really surprised by what you did back there yesterday!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Valon asked as he took another sip of the chicken soup.

"You were really awesome back there!" Luka exclaimed. "I mean you lost to her in the end but still... I didn't know you could fight like that!"

"What?"

Wait, fight?

"Yeah, you took on Granberia!"

Oh heavens no...

Suddenly, numerous images of the previous events that took place filled the technician's mind; images portraying different scenarios in his battle against the legendary dragonkin from when he first threw the explosive boomerang to when he was hit in the face that ultimately knocked him out. Though still vague, Valon can discern certain events and actions that he made in their battle. He was too focused on his thoughts that he didn't pay attention to the summary of his fight against the Heavenly Knight that Luka provided as well as ignored his praises and compliments.

"And just as I was finally able to catch up with you guys, I saw it!" Luka said in excitement. "Okay, I was kinda still dizzy at that time but I saw it! I saw how that weird metal thing appear from your hand and then you used it to punch her in the face!"

Valon nearly choked on the soup that was in his mouth.

"That was probably the best fight I've ever seen!" Luka whooped in joy. "Uhh... not that it was okay to see you get knocked out like that... I actually panicked when you collapsed to the ground... but you were just amazing back there, and everything that you did just surprised me!"

Please stop...

Luka's compliments did not make Valon feel any better, rather he felt worse than he already was. Acknowledging his previous actions, he knew he screwed up badly on so many levels. The first was that he unintentionally got himself involved in something he shouldn't have been in. Fighting Granberia would no doubt cause a whole lot of new possibilities and alterations that would change the game's intended storyline entirely. He intervened in a major event of the plot and now the inevitability of unexpected consequences was something he would now have to face.

But that issue paled in comparison to the extreme discomfort he was feeling right then. He knew that from everything he did, his companions would no doubt ask him questions. He was okay with Luka doing the questioning but he knew better than that. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the intimidating form of the Monster Lord, her eyes closed and her hands crossed; waiting for the right time to take action.

"Hmph... I was honestly surprised as well."

The fear inside Valon turned into terror as he felt his entire body freeze. He knew what was coming and he still had yet to mentally prepare himself. Changing the course of the storyline was one thing, but now he would have to face the lamia's interrogation. He knew in the back of his mind that he made a lot of claims that now contradicted his previous actions and calling him out as a liar would only make his current situation worse. If only he didn't interfere with Luka's encounter with Granberia, then he'd be spared from the Monster Lord's questioning, but one can only play it safe for so long.

"Care to tell me how you suddenly learned how to fight like that?"

That was it, that was what the technician was terrified of. Alice's voice was disturbingly nonchalant. Luka could feel the air getting stale all of a sudden but he didn't pay much mind to it while Valon felt the air was suffocating him. He took another sip from his broth with his spoon, trying to remedy his growing anxiety but his fear betrayed him through the intense shivering from his hands.

He was now aware that the lamia have a plethora of questions, specifically about the claims he made and possibly things about himself that piqued her interest. He would be fine about it if not for the fact that he didn't want to reveal any sensitive information about himself that would contribute to the massive changes that would ultimately alter the world for good as well as the knowledge of the true nature of this world and how he knew so much about it. There would be a huge possibility of risking his identity.

If they also knew about the fact that they were in a video game, both Alice and Luka would most likely experience an existential crisis, and possibly everyone else they encounter if they happen to believe that information. And the worst part was that Alice could easily extract information out of him if she just hypnotized Valon to tell the truths about himself and what he knew. Valon surely did not want to risk knowing whether he was immune to the Monster Lord's hypnosis or not.

Right now, Valon could only hope that Alice finds his answers reasonable, convincing, and logical. He already knew that he made false claims which were why he was being interrogated in the first place, but he figured that he could make more claims and reasons as to why he lied or why he didn't tell them the whole truth regarding the claims he told them.

I have already omitted the truth to them plenty of times and Alice didn't hypnotize me for any of them. As long as I make my answers sound genuine and that they hold some truth in them, I should be fine. But one wrong word that comes out of my mouth that would further make me suspicious of her and it's game over.

"If I'm not mistaken, you told us two days ago back at the camp that you weren't very good at fighting. Truth be told, you are partly right about that claim. I was observing you and Luka back at the city plaza, and yes I saw everything that transpired in your battle."

Of course she did, and now that just makes me even dumber than I already was. How the hell did I forget that she watching the whole thing?

"I saw how you fought her; with the way you evade her attacks and running away while throwing your projectiles at her. Not the most conventional of methods when it comes to fighting in my opinion but you held yourself decently in the beginning. Of course, you weren't really doing much to hurt her back but with the actions you made while fending her off and how you maneuvered around the buildings was admittedly impressive."

The lamia's words by any means weren't noticeably hostile but they were terrifyingly calm for the technician's liking. He couldn't tell whether she was just really curious about the matter of if she was openly suspecting him for something, and from his case, he's most likely to believe the latter.

"It wouldn't be problematic if you just lied about your fighting abilities for whatever reason that you keep for yourself. But for someone who claimed to be fearful of monsters because he is still getting used to being around them, suddenly decided to fight a monster, and then performing decently well is suspicious, no?"

"And the monster he happened to fight against was Granberia, who I may add, is one of the fiercest, most powerful, and most battle-hardened monsters in the world. Not to mention that she is one of the Four Heavenly Knights and is a direct subordinate of the current Monster Lord. The fact that you were able to hold your own pretty well against her and how you were extremely evasive against someone who is undoubtedly way quicker than you are is a mighty impressive feat, and coming from a human no less," Alice replied, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Crap, crap, crap. Jee, Valon, how the hell could you forget that you were being observed by the freaking Monster Lord.

"Those things you used against her, staying above the rooftops which I assume was for the high ground advantage, then luring her to that arch formation, hmm? Oh and that little detour to push that wooden stall on top of her? If I have to guess, you were using everything around you against her. Not too common for a fighting tactic but still... it was slightly clever on your part, considering who you're facing up against."

Valon had the intuition that Alice had something more to say to further prove her statement about his so-called 'fighting tactics,' but for whatever reason he didn't know and was slightly thankful for, the lamia didn't press further.

So she saw that too, huh. Damn it I'm screwed.

"From my observations, while barely showing any remarkable feats of physical strength, you made up for it with your impressive display of agility. In my opinion, there were still a few errors in your performance but they are all reasonable because you were clearly outmatched. Don't bother denying, but I think we can both agree that you already knew from the start that you weren't a match for her, am I correct?"

Valon was too uncomfortable to respond, mostly because he couldn't keep up with her statements that were overwhelming him. It wasn't that he was too scared to say anything, but he had that feeling that he'd rather just let his subtle impressions do the talking for him on that particular aspect.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. And assuming you knew that fact, you tried your best to catch her off guard at the beginning by using your never-before-seen devices. You sticking above ground because you wanted to have the advantage of sight was an incredibly wise decision for your part, not that it helped you a lot, but still clever nonetheless. And it made it slightly difficult for her to deal with you in a single blow because you were always on the run, not like the other guards she fought back at the city plaza. This tells me that you're not just agile, but you are also cunning and quick-witted... for a human."

For reasons he couldn't describe, Valon felt his soul leave his body at that moment when he saw the lamia's piercing gaze; her eyes closely resembled that of a snake with slits in between the irises.

"Overall, the claim you made that you weren't very good at fighting, as I previously mentioned, is only partly right. In close quarters or a direct fight, you'd obviously stand no chance. But you knew that you wouldn't be a match against her from the very start. Assuming that you knew that fact after observing her while hiding behind that cart, you went for the idea of trying to surprise her first and then attack her with long-ranged attacks while continuously moving to not get caught by her when she attacks you."

"That being said, you are 'very good' at fighting, just in a different way. What you did back there was more in the process of evading attacks than making the attacks, but that doesn't change the fact that you still fought her, and you performed decently well; way better than her previous opponents. You were smarter than the guards who only relied on brute strength to fight and you were able to figure out how to get over your general weakness and instead stick to something that you can do to bring the playing field to your favor. You fought smart, not hard, which now made me curious as to how and where did you learn how to fight like that?"

"I'm not saying that most of the fighters I've seen and fought with are dumb. It's just that you were able to hold your own against one of the most powerful monsters in the world with only your agility and intelligence, along with your unique arsenal of weapons. This proves that either you have a lot of experience in this sort of fighting or that you just knew how Granberia fought based on what you observed while you were hiding and adapted to it when you decided to confront her yourself.

"It's just impossible to think that you could just claim that you have no combat experience when you literally fought against someone with years of training in the arts of combat and lasted for a while longer than any of the experienced guards of the city. Hell, it even almost looked like that Granberia was actually enjoying the fight because someone was able to give her an actual challenge. With your performance, claiming to have 'no fighting experience' is an outright lie."

Valon, who was still trying to figure out a way to respond, had difficulties eating his chicken soup. He was trying his best not to show how nervous he felt while he was being interrogated but it was incredibly noticeable that he was from his body's intense shivering.

"But if I'm being completely honest, I don't care if you don't tell me about where or how you learned how to fight the way you did."

"Huh?" Valon couldn't stop himself from uttering in confusion after the lamia's last statement.

"I would admit that I am indeed impressed with your fighting skills and how you showed them during your battle and I would assume that you did hone your capabilities for quite some time to reach the level you are now in. While you piqued my interest about that matter, you have your reasons why you lied, right?"

Oh crap, why do I feel like her knowing I had reasons to make those claims is even worse than her just flatly asking me about them.

"We all have secrets to keep for ourselves after all and we all have reasons why we keep them, however ridiculous they may be. It's also not like the information you would provide me would be beneficial on my end anyway. So what if you can hold your own against a Heavenly Knight? To me, you still have much to learn in the ways of combat and you did lose to her in the end. It was only a matter of time before she'd take advantage of your fatigue and use that opportunity to finally finish you. And even with your skills, it's not like you're an actual threat to me, well... not yet anyway."

Valon didn't pay too much mind to the somewhat vague criticism and the implications of the last sentence that the lamia gave him, he was just only relieved that Alice accepted that he had his own reasons for giving out false claims about himself, specifically his combat skills. He was about to relax when he heard the lamia speak again.

"What I am now ambivalent about, however, is your claim about being terrified of monsters. You made it clear to us that you are scared of monsters more than you cared to admit and that was proven after your panicked reaction while you were hiding from that slug girl and that traumatic expression I saw on your face after nearly being violated by the Mandragora. You looked even more horrified in that incident than Luka, even if he had it worse than you did. I can also remember what you said before that the only reason why you didn't run away from the mere sight of me was because of Luka or that you thought we knew each other."

"But here you are, incapacitated yesterday because you had the seemingly bright idea to take on a Heavenly Knight by yourself. And out of all the monsters we've encountered that you decided to fight, it just had to be one of the Four Heavenly Knights. Why her? Why her of all monsters? How come you were able to bring yourself to fight a supremely powerful opponent such as Granberia? How come you were able to stand up to her and not the other less powerful monsters we've met along the way?"

Valon was still trying to process the lamia's argumentative points but he figured that he should answer the question straight away, considering he did know an easy answer to this inquiry.

"W-well... that's because... Luka was in danger... so I just..."

"So you're saying that Luka wasn't already in danger when he was being assaulted by the slug girl?"

"W-what? N-no! That's not—"

"And what's even funnier is that you could've dealt with the slug girl easily. I can understand your dilemma with the Mandragora because you just stood there like an idiot and got yourself paralyzed, but in the case of the slug girl, you had an option to intervene. Yes, you did help Luka but you did that by telling him to throw the salt, instead of doing something more effective. With what you displayed yesterday, there were a plethora of ways that you could've done to help Luka deal with the threat successfully."

"With your agility, you'd undoubtedly be quicker to evade and attack than the slug girl. If you concentrate enough, there'd only be a tiny chance that she'd be able to hit you or catch you, or if you're lucky enough, you might not even let her hit you at all. The weapons that you had could've also made quick work of her, especially if you used those explosive projectiles. And if you don't want that, then you can use something else. Since you're not against the idea of using objects around you to your advantage, what's stopping you from using a long and sturdy stick to hit her in the face with or the various rocks on the ground as projectiles?"

"The point is, you could've helped more effectively in that situation but instead, you just remained hidden and just told Luka what to do. It's smart that you know that Luka had salt with him, which happened to be a slug's natural weakness. But throwing valuable seasonings in a fight is stupid, especially because it's supposed to be used in cooking and seasoning food, not for throwing and wasting them on slugs."

She's still really mad about that, huh?

"And even if you didn't try to help, the slug girl is indisputably less intimidating than Granberia. Anyone with common sense would prefer fighting a slug girl than a dragon who also happened to be a Heavenly Knight. Said Heavenly Knight, as I previously mentioned, is one of the most powerful and overly experienced warriors."

"On one side, you have one that had faced armies and defeated them all single-handedly and on the other side, you have a wandering slug girl who just wanted to satisfy herself, but with no actual combat experience whatsoever. If you were able to hold your own against someone like Granberia, then you'd have no excuse to not help Luka fight the slug girl, unless you had some unusual reason as to why you didn't. What? You're not into slug girls, is that it?"

"N-n-no... that's not it!"

"Then why? Why did you decide to confront Granberia while you just remained in your hiding spot when Luka was fighting the slug girl? It's obviously not a matter of fighting capabilities if your recent performance would be an indication. No matter how I look at it, it just doesn't make any logical sense. Granberia would obviously be someone who you shouldn't even dare face in battle but you did anyway, and yet you didn't choose to face someone as slightly timid in terms of movement such as the slug girl, because you claimed on that same day that you were terrified of monsters, which also makes everything that you did contradictory."

"Because if we're purely basing on your discomfort around monsters, then you shouldn't even be able to fight Granberia the way you did. The fear that you had from the slug girl and the Mandragora didn't manifest itself, in fact, it was the opposite. The apparent expression on your face held no ounce of fear and your movements showed no signs of hesitation as if you were really determined to take her down."

"It would be somewhat agreeable with your claim if you did something different to help Luka when he was badly beaten. You helped Luka with his confrontation with the slug girl by telling him to throw salt. Perhaps, the most logical thing you could do with the situation yesterday is try to defend Luka by trying to talk with the Heavenly Knight. And if you did decide to help him by aiding him in battle, that would be something you could do as well, but with a slightly different demeanor than what you had yesterday."

"Luka did show courage, foolishly I might add, and was also determined to stop her from taking control of the city. But he was visibly shaking like a leaf while he was holding his sword, the signs of fear apparent in his eyes. But you, you were different. You had no fear nor hesitation in what you were doing. You were silent, not once did you talk nor did you respond when she wanted to know your name."

Wait, she wanted to know my name? When did that happen? Ohh... that must be when she was slowly approaching me before I blew that arch above her. I could've sworn I heard her talk but I was too tired to comprehend what she said.

"It was just you, running while attacking back. You were fully focused on wanting to take her down, not once showing that you were afraid, as if the doubts you had while you were behind that cart completely vanished from existence. And that showcase of the sudden change in emotions, coming from someone who claimed that they were 'still getting used to being around monsters' is marginally uncharacteristic of you, don't you think?"

"What I really want to know is what made you decide to fight her? I highly doubt that it's purely just because of Luka 'being in danger,' because if that was the case, then you would've helped anyway, albeit differently than what you did yesterday. And if it made you feel somewhat fearless as you previously showed, then the reasons go deeper than just being afraid."

Why did I fight Granberia?

The temporary pause after Alice's statement allowed Valon to try and ponder the answer for himself. Now that he contemplated it more, he couldn't exactly remember the exact reason as to why he suddenly decided that it was a good idea to throw an explosive boomerang towards Granberia, and then proceeded to attack her as much as he could.

Eventually, after a few rounds of reminiscence, he finally found the reason. He could remember not the fear, but the rage that overwhelmed his mind after seeing Granberia lowering her sword towards the defenseless boy. At that moment, he thought he was about to witness the kind and noble aspiring hero's demise. The thought of the young boy's death, who still had so much to live, broke the technician from the inside.

He couldn't believe that someone honorable such as Granberia would kill a young boy just because they refused to answer her question. She was someone who despises the weak being bullied but seeing her lowering her mighty blade towards the weak and injured hero was what enraged him. He didn't know why she would even consider that and even if she was determined to accomplish her duties, she still had no justifiable reason to needlessly kill someone, especially someone who shows great honor in her acts. But suddenly, Valon's eyes widened in shock at the realization of the dragonkin's intentions.

She... she never planned to kill Luka, didn't she?

Valon knew that there was something off with her character when he thought that she really was going to kill Luka, but only now did he realize what she was really trying to do. Back when he was hiding behind the cart, he could recall that Granberia wanted to know who taught Luka one of the Cursed Sword Techniques. When Luka refused to tell her who it was, she attacked him in a swift motion, causing him to fall to the ground injured.

She then looked to where he was hiding and revealed that she had an idea who it was. The dragonkin's words terrified Valon because he thought that she spotted him. However, he felt confused because there was no way that he'd teach Luka the technique. After all, he was not a monster, and the Cursed Sword Arts are something that has only been taught to monsters, based on the information he could remember from the game.

He also recalled himself doubting whether Granberia would really kill Luka and that she was most probably just lowering her blade because she baiting out someone. Basically, she intentionally tried to lower her sword so that the one who supposedly taught Luka the technique would reveal themselves to her, and that was exactly what the Heavenly Knight did. She wasn't really going to kill Luka, she only lowered her blade as much as he could towards the boy to lure out Alice.

But Valon felt like a complete idiot for not carefully assessing her intentions. He had already considered the idea before but he let his emotions get the best of him. He let the boiling rage consume him which resulted in his unnecessary battle with the dragonkin. The anger that was inside him and the fight overall are what caused him to make irreversible mistakes that he regretted ever committing.

Looking back at his performance, he made numerous mistakes that he could've avoided. The first mistake he could remember was that there were times when he forgot to keep an eye on his opponent which made it more difficult for him to react. He knew just how fast the dragonkin was and not paying attention to where a quick opponent would go was outright stupid. The second mistake was that he forgot to wear his helmet. His helmet had a motion radar setting that can be manually toggled.

The radar can detect almost any form of movement up to 50 feet, not the best range but the ability to quickly know where his opponent was would have offered him a huge advantage. He wouldn't have to rely on knowing where Granberia was at all times and instead focus more on trying to attack and evade during the fight if he only had his helmet on.

The third mistake he could recall was using the arch formation as a way to hurt Granberia. He resorted to using a large structure to inflict damage without even considering the harm it could do. Not only was he responsible for the property damage in the city that he didn't even reside in, but he also could've hurt someone else who wasn't involved in their fight, or worse, he could've killed someone.

And the final mistake that made him furious at himself was the fact that he hurt Luka. He was the one who threw the explosive boomerang towards Granberia without even thinking that Luka was dangerously nearby, and the range of the explosion got to him and he was knocked away at a distance. The hero was already badly beaten after what he experienced from the Heavenly Knight's attacks and then the technician just had to make it worse by throwing an explosive. What made it even worse was that he never even cared that Luka was affected by the blast at that moment.

"Because I was a fool..."

"Huh?" Alice asked, surprised by the man's answer.

"I was a fool, okay?!" Valon suddenly blurted out in a yell, catching his companions off guard. "I was stupid! The whole fight was just one big dumb mistake that I made! My performance doesn't even matter because I didn't get anything useful out of the experience, and I lost to her in the end anyway. I made so many mistakes that could've been avoided."

He saw it himself that Luka was knocked away by the blast but he didn't even do anything to help him afterwards, hell he didn't even feel bad after doing what he did. He was too angry at Granberia and his mind was solely focused on trying to hurt her as much as he could that he wasn't fully himself. He was mad at her for considering the idea of killing Luka when he was actually the one who nearly killed him. Granberia never planned to kill Luka and she just lowered her sword to make it look like she was going to kill him, but in truth, she only did that to lure Alice out into revealing herself.

"And the true reason why I tried to fight her off was that I'm an idiot for thinking that she was going to kill you, Luka! While she was lowering her sword, I just... snapped. I couldn't just stand there and hide like a coward when I was about to be a witness to a murder that I could've prevented because I could help. When I saw you silently calling for help, I... I lost control of myself."

Though Valon didn't intentionally try to get Luka involved in the blast, he did throw the explosive boomerang on purpose because he wanted to attack the dragonkin. The thought of him hurting Luka and almost getting him killed made the technician clench his fists in silent rage. He was extremely angry at himself for making incredibly stupid decisions that led to unwanted results.

It also didn't help that what he did was almost similar to what happened in his dream a while ago. The dream, or rather, a distant memory of his past; was one of the many memories in his life that he wanted to forget. That one memory where he could remember his burning fury towards his younger brother's bullies and the consequences of his actions where he was consumed by his own rage.

"While I was fighting, I... I was lost to my rage. I was planning somehow but they're all just short-termed plans to try and damage her as much as I could, and that's just literally all I did. I was mad at her because I thought she was going to kill you, and I wanted to hurt her because of it. So I threw everything I had at her, without thinking of a constructive plan that would actually deal with her. I was just angry, furious, aggravated, that I just let my emotions get the best of me."

Overall, he was frustrated at himself to realize that his battle against the dragonkin was completely unnecessary. It only just brought more harm than good and he even misjudged Granberia's intentions that ultimately caused the fight to occur. He felt even dumber that he already considered the possibility behind the dragonkin's actions but his emotions acted first before his mind did; ironically coming from a technician who was supposed to use his mind to operate on various machines.

"And because of that, I realized how big of an idiot I was, thinking that she would actually kill you! But no, she didn't. I knew firsthand before we even fought that she didn't plan to kill you! That was the problem, I was aware of what she was trying to do but I never even stopped for a second to think about it! I knew what she was up to when she was lowering her sword, I knew that she was just trying to do it as bait!"

"I knew that she was trying to lure out the person who taught you one of the Cursed Sword Techniques, the lure that was supposed to be for Alice. But oopsy-daisy-my-brain-is-crazy, I was the one who was lured by the bait! I was the one who foolishly just threw an explosive boomerang at her, thinking that it would solve anything! I was the one who let anger control my actions and made those decisions without even considering the consequences. Everything I did back there was outright the definition of stupidity!"

Valon was about to say more when he eventually saw his companions' shocked reactions. Both Alice and Luka widened their eyes in complete shock, not expecting the man to flatly vent all his emotions to them, and decided that they should just let him continue doing so. Finally realizing the awkward change of the tension in the air, Valon sighed before rubbing his head in frustration.

"How much of my venting did you hear?" Valon asked with visible annoyance.

"Uhh... everything?" Luka, who finally decided that it was alright to speak, answered with slight hesitation.

"Of course you did..." Valon sighed once again before speaking. "Ughhh... okay, look, I'm... I'm sorry for the sudden outburst. I didn't mean to be loud and rude with my answers. Just... forget everything I said, or perhaps you won't... god... just... ughhh..."

The wrath he felt for himself was instantly replaced with the feeling of embarrassment. He kept his head low, pretending to rub his head from the imaginary pain to not be seen by his companions. He never thought he'd vent out his frustrations in front of his companions and he felt way dumber than he already was after doing it. He wasn't actually done venting out everything in his mind but he felt so humiliated to even say anything else. So he decided, as much as it pained him, to stay where he was while covering his face.

The tension in the air that was once menacing due to Alice's constant bombardment of questions and statements towards Valon was replaced by silent awkwardness. None of the ones present in the room dared to say a single word. Both Luka and Alice were completely shocked by the man's sudden outburst. They didn't expect that someone who barely talked in their journey was able to voice out what he felt in an overly expressive manner and they were both too shocked to come up with a response. After a long minute of unbearable and uncomfortable silence, however, Alice finally decided to speak.

"Hmm... that was certainly... enlightening and... surprising," Alice began, looking at the man who was still covering his face with his hand. "Well, what happened has already happened. There's no point dwelling in the past. And you did acknowledge your mistakes, in a manner that was completely unexpected but nevertheless, what you still did is commendable. Not a lot would have the courage to try and face off as someone as formidable as Granberia, much less catch her off guard and be able to hold their own against her for a fairly decent amount of time."

"I agree!" Luka remarked in agreement, trying his best to cheer the man up. "What you did back there was totally awesome with all the jumping and throwing that you did! Well I mean... I still think what Alice did was way cooler though, uhh, no offense... but uhh... you did really good too."

"Hmm? What did Alice do?" Valon asked, despite him already knowing the answer.

"Oh! She was the one who got rid of Granberia," Luka exclaimed. "She uhh... said some... things to her that made her leave, right after she took you down of course."

"And by 'some things,' you mean she insulted her or something?"

"Uhh... yeah... that..."

"Wait, how did you know that?" Alice asked, narrowing her eyes.

Valon inwardly slapped himself for saying something unnecessary again. The last thing he needed was to tell them what he knew about the world of MGQ and that he practically knew a lot about certain characters.

"Let's just say, I was only partly unconscious and I could still make out a few words that I could hear," Valon replied with slight confidence.

Alice kept her eyes narrowed after hearing the man's answer until eventually, her expression went back to its neutral condescending nature.

"Well, it looks like you uhh... settled your curiosity already, huh Alice?" Luka asked.

"Hmm... actually I still have a few questions for him. If he doesn't mind."

"Oh, uhh... I don't know... Valon would you—"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine, go ask away. I'm not done with my food anyway. My soup's gotten cold but I still want to finish it."

Valon removed his hands from his face as he took another spoonful of the remaining chicken soup as he waited for Alice's inquiries.

"If I can recall, you told us on that same night at the camp, when I offered you to train, that you didn't have any weapons with you because you broke them all. So then why did you miraculously have some? I saw you use them during your fight with Granberia and that was a day after you made that claim."

Oh yeah... that too... of course...

"The most logical reason I can think of is that you bought them from the shops around the city, but that would be highly unlikely because all the houses and buildings in the city were boarded up with various forms of blockades and the people were determined to stay indoors during the entire commotion happening in the city. The only ones that were outside were the three of us and the city guards. So unless there was an establishment that I somehow missed on our way to Iliasburg, then there'd be no way for you have to those weapons. Unless of course, you already do have some with you from the start."

"I honestly wouldn't bother asking if all you had were the common weapons that most of you humans use. I personally don't care if you lied about that as well. But those projectiles that you use, never have I've seen one before in all my life. Their appearances and designs are completely foreign to me and the way they work based on how you used them is something I've never grasped the idea of."

And they're gonna question the technology behind it. Man... this really sucks... but I mean they're bound to know about it one way or another, it's pretty much inevitable at this point, especially after everything I did. I just wish I was able to hide it for a bit longer though.

"Ughh... well, you're right, I lied about that too. I did have some weapons with me already. But the reason why I told you that I broke them all was just an excuse to not use them. You see, all the weapons that I still currently have with me now are just mini-bombs. They're all throwable bombs that are very limited in number, so I don't have a lot of it and once I used them all, I would have none left."

Well, there's really no use in lying about my weapons, but that doesn't mean that I'll tell them everything I know.

"Oh, so that's why you didn't want to train using those weapons because you didn't want to run out of those things," Luka responded.

"Well, that and because I was really exhausted and hurt that time, remember?"

"Oh yeah..."

"But wait, what about that last weapon you used, the one that randomly appeared on your right arm?" Alice queried. "That one didn't seem to be a throwable weapon."

"That's because it isn't. It's just a collapsible metallic gauntlet that I recently built."

"You built it?" Alice asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, I did say that I broke all my weapons, and while I didn't break 'all' of them, some of them did. And I figured that I had to make something that I'd be able to use for a long time, you know, something that's not consumable. Yesterday morning when I told you that I woke up early and that I went out for a walk? Yeah well after that long walk, I used some of the time I had left before morning to build some kind of weapon and a gauntlet was just something I thought of at that time."

"Hmm... it's a bit hard to believe..." Alice kept her questioning gaze towards the man. "But I guess that would also explain why you smelled like burnt iron yesterday."

Of course... her sense of smell is just unmatched! How could I forget another important detail about her!

"And the rest of the weapons that you had? I know you had more, and you also had that weird device on your other arm that shot out that hook line or whatever it is. And then there's also that strange blue barrier that protected you from most of Granberia's attacks. Did you also make all of those?"

"Well, not all of them. But those mini-bombs that you saw me use, I built those."

"Then care to tell me what this is?" Alice asked as she grabbed something beside where she was sitting.

Valon's eyes widened when he saw what it was. It appeared to be a small metallic object with sharp curved ends on both sides with a familiar piece of machinery in the center of the device.

Why am I not surprised that she was able to pick one of those.

"This thing piqued my curiosity," Alice stated as she took a closer look at the object. "This was one of your projectiles, yes? The first one that you threw at Granberia that managed to hurl her away at a fairly good distance."

"It's a kaboomerang," Valon deadpanned.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, I came up with the name, hilarious I know," Valon replied. "But I mean the name says it all. It's a boomerang and it goes kaboom, so, kaboomerang."

"Uh-huh..." Alice internally questioned the way the man names his things but she didn't want to pry on that matter any further. "What is this made of? I saw how it was able to pierce through Granberia's scales."

"Chromium-Vanadium steel. Not my preferred type of steel alloy as I personally prefer Titanium alloy because it's much more lightweight and would result in a more aerodynamic flight, but Chromium-Vanadium is cheaper and more common to find so yeah, I work with what I have. If you want to know the explosive inside, it's just TNT that I compacted in a small chip," Valon casually replied but his demeanor changed to that of confusion when he saw Alice's shocked expression. "Uhh... did I say something wrong?"

"N-no, I'm just surprised is all. I just didn't think you'd be knowledgeable about things like these," Alice replied. "To be fair though, you haven't really told us anything about yourself besides the fact that you're uncomfortable around monsters, someone who's always daydreaming, and making idiotic decisions when you decided it was a good idea to throw salt at that slug girl."

"Are you still mad about that, Alice?" Luka asked.

"Hmph, of course! You don't just randomly throw your seasonings!" Alice exclaimed. "Especially when it could've been used to make a more delicious meal!"

"Sheesh, I'm gonna buy more salt, okay?" Luka replied. "Just let it go, Alice. And didn't you like what I made anyway?"

Valon observed as the two main characters of the game argue with each other once again. Despite how unpleasant it was, their argument couldn't have occurred at a more appropriate time. He could use this opportunity to process things a little more carefully without having to use all of his concentration in coming up with a convincing answer. His thoughts wandered back to his showdown with the dragonkin and the numerous mistakes he made.

First was that he was interrogated because of the questionable claims that he told his companions, and he also now had the risk of telling a few information about himself that he didn't want to disclose yet but left him with no other optimal choices.

The second was that he made an incredibly unnecessary ruckus that could've been fully avoided if only he wasn't a complete idiot. His fight against the Heavenly Knight of Fire was completely unnecessary and it only further complicated a few things that he would now have to deal with.

His previous actions related to the fight could create ripples that would forever change the flow of the intended storyline in the game. The one thing he was trying so hard to avoid was to directly interfere in the hero's journey, but he did just that and now everything unintended that would follow through with his actions would be because of him. It would be somewhat alright if he just slightly intervened like the cases with the slug girl and the Mandragora where he was only helping to a small degree, but his reckless actions that started the battle against the dragonkin were an act of utter interference.

Nothing that he had ever done in the world of MGQ would be as conspicuous and attention-catching as 'Valon's battle against Granberia.' The promise of staying in a low profile was completely destroyed, and being unimportant to the story's plot has completely changed. His companions now knew of his fighting capabilities and quite possibly everyone in Iliasburg. What he just did would be overly noteworthy and something that might be written in history if he would be alive for that long in this world.

Everything he did in that fight was exactly the opposite of what he was trying to establish for himself. To make matters worse, Granberia herself would obviously take interest in him, which would mean that he unintentionally made himself known to another major character in the game. A guy like him who was able to hold his own against Granberia would no doubt be something that would spread throughout the world. And to make it even worse than it already was, Ilias and her peers would also take more interest in him now because of the performance he made.

His goal of not standing out has completely become the opposite and now he had to face the consequences of his actions. He would now have more difficulties in trying to make excuses to not interfere in the hero's journey because his companions now knew that he's capable of helping much more. And then he was also bound to reveal more of his talent in technology and quite possibly interrogate him more about how he was able to acquire such parts and have the ideas to build such gadgets. In hindsight, it wouldn't appear as much of a big deal to disclose his knowledge of technology but Valon knew just how dangerous it was to divulge vital information.

His knowledge would inevitably act as a way for those who live in the world of MGQ to know about his origins and where he really came from. It would now only be a matter of time before they find out, especially since some of them would've known of the objects that belonged to the Delta Cosmoknights, if they were able to find the pieces of machinery that they left behind.

Knowledgeable people like Tamamo, Michaela, and especially Promestein, might take interest in the nature of the unknown machines and if they knew anything about it, Valon would run the risk of being exposed. It also didn't help that the pieces of machinery, like the ones he found just outside Ilias Village, could be anywhere around this godforsaken world.

His greatest threat was Ilias, because she was always watching the hero on his journey and since he's traveling with the hero, that would certainly mean that she was also watching him. And if she wasn't as interested in him before then she would be now. Not only did he reveal most of his technological devices in a fight but he also stood his ground against Granberia. If he was able to hold his own against one of the Four Heavenly Knights, then Ilias might deem him as a possible threat, even more so than before if she already considered that notion.

As much as he wanted to delve deeper into even more problems due to his recent disclosure, his thoughts diverted to another issue that he already encountered before but he never put much thought into it. He recalled seeing a faint image of his younger brother through Luka when he told him that he was glad that he was okay. It wasn't just that the words were exact but the way Luka phrased them was completely identical to how his brother talked. He didn't know if his mind was just messing with him because of the brain damage he took when he was in Ilias Village, but he certainly felt uncomfortable when he saw a glimpse of his brother Ralph.

At first, Valon tried to ignore the idea, but seeing a clearer image of his younger brother through Luka again, bothered him. The scenario wasn't completely identical but after he saw Luka's expression while Granberia was lowering her sword, the first thing that his mind generated was the same expression of his defenseless younger brother who was slowly being approached by an adult Aresian. What also troubled him was that he felt the same fear and rage when he thought that Luka was going to die.

The disturbing image combined with the pulsating sensations in his mind was what caused him to succumb to his roaring emotions, acting as the catalysts that started the battle against the Heavenly Knight of Fire. Valon didn't know why he was only now seeing glimpses of his younger brother through Luka. A part of him didn't want to acknowledge if there was some sort of unknown connection to what his mind was seeing or insinuating and the other part wanted him to investigate this matter further. He wanted to know if it was just because of the after-effects of his mental state when he lose his brother in the incident or if there was something more sinister involved.

Bringing the topic of the hero in question to his mind, Valon still felt angry at himself for what he did. He wasn't done venting out his frustrations, and if he allowed himself to do so further, he would've included his mistake about what he did to him. He didn't know if he could ever forgive himself for what he did. What made him furious in the first place was that he thought that Granberia was going to kill Luka, and because of that, he let his emotions run wild and started a senseless dispute that was completely avoidable.

He wasn't completely in control of himself despite being able to quickly think on his feet while he was avoiding various attacks. He could still think and discern his surroundings carefully but his rage was overwhelming his thoughts, preventing him from feeling any other emotions. But because of his rage, he brought harm to the nearly incapacitated hero, which would've also killed him. And now, his rage was all directed at himself because of his previous actions.

"Hey, Valon, we're going," Luka stated, catching the man's attention.

"Sheesh, even after everything that just happened, you're still daydreaming?" Alice asked in annoyance. "Why don't you tell us more about what you're really thinking about, huh? Because I have a feeling that it's no longer just about worrying about your brother if all you ever did in the entire trip is wander in your thoughts."

"Come on, Alice... just let him be. Maybe he's worried about something else besides his brother," Luka remarked. "Besides, he did just fight Granberia."

"Hmm... I guess that is acceptable," Alice responded in agreement. "Being able to stand against Granberia the way you did would bring you complications. Knowing her, she would want to fight you again."

Valon momentarily froze from the implications of the lamia's statement.

Crap! I totally forgot to consider that!

Alice left the room after feeling amused by the man's panicked reaction.

"Valon, come on, let's go!" Luka called as he went to follow Alice.

Valon could only sigh in frustration after seeing Luka leave the room. His mood did not improve, knowing the things he did and the possible consequences of his actions; the changes that might occur, the risk of revealing more about himself, the known threats he would encounter in the future, and the fact that he nearly killed the main character of the game—the last one was something he was still infuriated at. Acknowledging the concept of having new unknown variables that would present themselves in the hero's journey later on, the technician stepped out of the room with mixed emotions.


Kudos to those who got the delinquent brothers' names reference. I wished that series had more seasons, it had so much potential.

Now to address the comments:

I actually didn't expect people to enjoy the fight scene in the previous chapter. Funny enough, I actually just crammed that part of that chapter. I think I just straightforwardly wrote everything that came to my mind as I was writing the whole thing like I didn't actually plan the scenes for it, everything was just impromptu writing. But hey, I appreciate your positive reviews about it, I mean I know it's not perfect and that it's far from being a good fight scene but if people enjoyed it then I'd say it qualifies for being decent. Once again, thanks for the reviews!